The Beginning of the Upper Paleolithic

Abstract

With the Upper Paleolithic, anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) appeared on the European scene. Correlations of the changes in biology and in behavior, as well as the search for behavioral differences between the moderns and the archaics, have been the subject of research for over a century (Mellars, 1989). The Central European record suggests that not all of the changes traditionally associated with the Upper Paleolithic, especially the technological ones, can be ascribed only to modern humans: some may have been earlier and some later (Svoboda, 1993c). On the other hand, the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) archaeological record is being enriched by the first sound evidence of symbolic behavior, as reflected in Aurignacian art (Hahn, 1986).