The archeological background

African evidence

For the past two decades, the Middle Stone Age of Africa has been viewed as equivalent to the Middle Paleolithic in Europe, both chronologically and technologically. The prevailing view of the Middle to Later Stone Age transition was

that it resembled the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transitiona that is, it was revolutionary, reflecting the sudden appearance of modern behavior. This view is now being questioned by some prehistorians, particularly by Alison Brooks and

Sally McBrearty, of George Washington University and the University of Connecticut, respectively.

Brooks and McBrearty point out that evidence of blade production, such as that found in Ethiopia, dated at 180,000 years ago, and South Africa (the Howieson’s Poort industry), dated at 80,000 years ago, has been assigned too little importance.

Recently, McBrearty has reported blade production at a site in central Kenya (the Kapthurin formation), which is some 240,000 years old. These tools are 125,000 years older than the oldest known blades from the European Middle Paleolithic and more than 200,000 years older than those from the European Upper Paleolithic. If the production of such blades represents a signature for modern human behavior,

then evidence of this behavior clearly has a long history .For instance, tools made from bone are common in the Upper Paleolithic, but are almost unknown earlier. A striking exception is a collection of barbed bone points (like harpoon heads) found at the Katanda site in eastern Zaire, and reported by Brooks and her colleagues in 1995. These artifacts have been dated by thermoluminescence and electron spin resonance techniques at between 90,000 and 160,000 years old, or 135,000 years older than the previously oldest known artifacts of this kind. This discovery has encouraged archeologists to reconsider claims for other bone tools at several Middle Stone Age sites, though none is said to be as old as those found at Katanda.

Nothing discovered in Africa has matched the artistic expression for which the Upper Paleolithic of western Europe is so famous. The oldest, reliably dated rock painting in Africa appears in the Apollo cave, Namibia, dated at 27,000 years, which is equivalent to the oldest examples of art in Europe. In contrast, pigments and grinding stones for processing pigments have been found in many regions of

Africa, dating from at least 80,000 years ago. If such pigments were used for body decoration, for example, rather than treating hide, it would be significant in the context of the current question. It is impossible to prove which of these possibilities

is correct, however. Evidence of personal adornment, such as ostrich eggshell beads, appears in the record relatively late, about 60,000 years ago. Are these artifacts to be taken as evidence of absence of early symbolic behavior that is so often considered as reflecting the modern human mind at work? Not necessarily so, argues Brooks, given the very unfavorable conditions of preservation in the African environment and the paucity of sites investigated.

Recent discoveries at the Blombos Cave, South Africa, however, indicate that modern humans there were producing symbolic objects 77,000 years ago, or more than twice as long ago as in Europe. Christopher Henshilwood, of the Iziko Museum in Cape Town, and his colleagues reported in early 2002 the discovery of pieces of ochre that are inscribed with criss-crossed triangles and horizontal lines. The researchers interpret these markings to be notations of the sort that are seen in the European Upper Paleolithic. Moreover, Alison Brooks and her colleagues have discovered harpoonlike points and worked bone in Zaire, dated to at least 80,000

years. Again, these are typical of what is found in the European Upper Paleolithic.

Mavzu.Zamonaviy odam kelib chiqishiing arxeologik dalillari.
Zamonaviy odamlarning paydo bo`lish belgilarini Afrikada o`rta tosh davridan so`ngi tosh davriga o`tish bosqichida inson izlaridan topish mumkin. Bu davrlarni 250-40 ming va 40-10 ming yilliklarni o`z ichiga olgan deb hisoblash mumkin. Bundan 250 ming yil oldin uzoq vaqt amalda bo`lib kelgan sodda tosh qurollar texnologiyalarining tugashiga guvoh bo`lamiz. O`rta paleolitning boshlanishi tosh qurollar tiplarining 4 marta ko`paygan. O`rta paleolit davriga kelib tayyor yadro olish va undan paraxalar tayyorlash texnologiyalarida bir qator o`zgarishlar yuz berdi. Bu levullua texnologiyasi deyiladi va bu yo`l bilan 40 ga yaqin, har biri o`ziga xos keskichlariga ega qurollar tayyorlangan. Yevropaning o`rta paleolit davriga oid barcha manzilgohlardan yuqoridagi texnologiyaga xos tosh qurollar yig`ib olingan bo`lib, ayrimlari mahalliy nomlarga ega. Masalan, Fransiyaning neandertallar manzilgohi hisoblangan Le Mustye go`ridan topilgan tosh qurollar mustye texnologiyasi deyiladi. So`ngi paleolit davridan boshlab tosh qurollar tipi 100ga yaqinlashadi. Endilikda mehnat qurollarini yashash xom-ashyosi safiga ilgarilari kam uchragan fil suyagi va bug`i shoxi qo`shildi. Mustye davri tosh pichoqlari o`tgan davrlarga nisbatan mahorat bilan yasalgan.

Yevropadan bunday uslubdagi tosh qurollar topililishi bundan 40 mig yil ilgari keskin o`zgarishlar yuz berganidan dalolat beradi. O`zgarishlar qit`ada Orinyak madaniyatini olib kelgan zamonaviy odamlarning paydo bo`lishiga to`g`ri keladi. Orinyak madaniyatida fil va boshqa hayvon suyaklaridan tig` sifatida, jumladan tanaga naqsh tushirish kabilarda foydalanish boshlandi. Shuningdek, ochiq joyda manzilgohlar qurish xilma-xil va murakkabroq bo`ldi; artefaktlar bu davrda hatto manzilgohlararo aloqalar, hatto savdo munosabatlari (ayrim manzilgohlarda faqat juda uzoq joylarda uchraydigan chig`anoqlar va ekzotik toshlar) mavjud bo`lganligidan dalolat beradi; musiqa asboblari, xususan suyakdan qilingan fleytalar bilan shug`ullanishgan.