Upper Paleolithic Research Paper

Kenneth Molander Harris
ASB 222
10/19/14
The Upper Paleolithic time in human history is the final segment of the stone-age following the Lower and Middle Paleolithic times. During this time, homo sapien sapiens appear to have made tremendous strides like no time before it. Archaeologists have found ancient bones and artifacts all around the world which help them to paint a picture of ancient humans at different time periods. Using radiocarbon dating they can find out how old these bones and artifacts are (Price and Feinman, 2013, pg 137). This process has helped the ancient bones and artifacts found at archaeological sites to tell a story of our ancient ancestors in chronological order. As stated, the Upper Paleolithic has been revealed as
For the first time, human beings were making things for the sake of beauty- for the sake of art as opposed to only making things for practical purposes. This fact is what bears the most significance when discussing early art because it demonstrates the evolution of human consciousness. At Dolni Vestonice, in the Czech Republic, 2300 small clay figurines made with an oven were found. This is the oldest example of fired clay use in the world (Price and Feinman, 2013, pg 123). This is significant because fired clay is still used today and now it is known that people have been doing this for thousands upon thousands of years. These are an example of portable art. Another example of portable art are Venus Figurines which are figurines of women that exaggerate body part associated with fertility (Price and Feinman, 2013, pg 131). Both portable and mural art are the forms of art originally contrived in the Upper Paleolithic (Price and Feinman, 2013, pg 125). Beautiful Upper Paleolithic mural art was found In the Cave of Lascaux in France. Examples found in the cave include paintings of animals as well as engravings of humans wearing animal skins (Price and Feinman, 2013, pg 126). This form of art is common in other archaeological sites in France, Spain, South Africa, and Australia (Price and Feinman, 2013, pg 125).
The art of personal adornment began to move past the realm of practicality and into the tides of creativity during the Upper Paleolithic period. In East Africa, more the 50,000 years ago, pendants were among some of the earliest Upper Paleolithic artifacts ever found (Price and Feinman, 2013, pg 115). Bone needles have also been found which were used to sew clothing from animal skins along with buttons (Price and Feinman, 2013, pg 120). In Dolni Vestonice, pendants, necklaces and headbands made of shell, ivory, and bone were also uncovered (Price and Feinman, 2013, pg 123). These findings are important and interesting for the same reason as the other forms of art as well as the fact that people were beginning to look at themselves with introspection. People were no longer just concerned with their environment and survival. People started having ceremonies that included masks, face painting, and costumes for ceremonial occasions (Price and Feinman, 2013, pg 131). This concept of personal adornment has only grown with time. Today, apparel stores are everywhere and often play a huge role in many people’s lives. Clothing can be a very big part of self-expression for some people as well. This thinking seems to have its roots in the Upper