Glossary of Key Terms

Chapter 9: Archaic Homo sapiens and the Middle Paleolithic

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z V W X Y Z

A

Aurignacian tradition
Toolmaking tradition in Europe and western Asia at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic.

L

Levalloisian technique
Toolmaking technique by which three or four long triangular flakes were detached from a specially prepared core. Developed by humans transitional from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens.

M

Middle Paleolithic
The middle part of the Old Stone Age characterized by the emergence of archaic H. sapiens and the development of the Mousterian tradition of toolmaking.

Mousterian tradition
Toolmaking tradition of the Neandertals and their contemporaries of Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa, featuring flake tools that are lighter and smaller than earlier Levalloisian flake tools.

Multiregional hypothesis
Populations of archaic Homo sapiens throughout the Old World evolved, at more or less the same time into modern humans.

N

Neanderthals
Lived in Europe and western Asia, living from about 125 000 years ago to about 29 000 years ago.

O

“Out of Africa” hypothesis
Modern humans evolved in one geographic region, expanding and replacing other populations.

U

Upper Paleolithic
The last part of the Old Stone Age, characterized by the emergence of more modern-looking hominines and an emphasis on the blade technique of toolmaking.