10 characteristics of the Lower PALEOLITHIC

The characteristics of the Lower Paleolithic are that humans were still nomads, that they learned to use fire, that they still lived in caves, that from Africa they spread to the world... In unProfesor we tell you in detail.

He Paleolithic is considered one of the most relevant historical periods in history, It was the longest period in our history, where the foundations of human societies were laid and where a large part of our essence as beings was born. For this reason, it is important to analyze this period in depth, and even determine the characteristics of each of the stages that divide them.

Therefore, in this lesson from a Teacher we must talk about one of these periods, explaining the characteristics of the Lower Paleolithic.

Index

1. What was the Lower Paleolithic?
2. The two cultural industries of the Lower Paleolithic
3. What are the characteristics of the Lower Paleolithic

Before discovering the characteristics of the Lower Paleolithic, let's get to know this period of history better.

It is considered the first stage of all those that divide the Paleolithic, being prior to both Superior like the Intermediate. At the same time, it is the longest period in all of prehistory, since it is considered that it began about 2.5 million years ago with the first known tools, and that it ended about 125,000 years ago with the appearance of the well-known Mousterian industry.

The Lower Paleolithic is considered to be closely related to the Pleistocene, being both periods parallel. For this reason, the stage was marked by the last stages of the glaciations, marking these the great changes in the human species that were going to happen.

The great characteristics of this period, and therefore deserves its own section, are the two large industries that had a presence in the Lower Paleolithic, being those that define many of the main characteristics of this stage.

The relevance of these lithic industries It is based on the fact that its characteristics are those that define the Lower Paleolithic, being the main differences between this period and the previous and subsequent ones.

• The first of the two great lithic industries was the olduvayense, also know as technical mode 1 or the industry of carved edges. This industry was based on carving tools on boulders, in order to create flakes through the use of percussion techniques.
• The other great lithic industry of the Lower Paleolithic was the so-called acheulean, characterized by having many relevant tools such as carved edges, trihedrons, and the well-known bifaces. Its main characteristic was that they made tools with an oval shape and pear-shaped, the axes carried by homo erectus and homo heidelbergensis being especially well known.

To continue with this lesson from a Teacher we must talk about the main characteristics of the Lower Paleolithic, since this will help us to understand what defines this period, and the great differences it has with other stages of Prehistory.

The main features from the Lower Paleolithic are the following:

1. The life of human beings was still nomadic, Since they did not have agriculture or livestock, they had to go in search of food constantly. This was also marked by low temperatures, since these prevented living abroad, and therefore the human being had to travel in search of a place to live.
2. The two great activities were the hunting And Gathering, being the two mechanisms with which they counted to be able to obtain food. For this reason, the diet of human beings was based on fruit and meat.
3. In this period the human being learned to use the fire, understanding how it could be used.
4. The tools of the period were made of stone, and they were much more rudimentary than those that we can find in later periods, since the knowledge of human beings regarding the manufacture of tools was still very primitive.
5. The hominid species were still evolving, and for this reason the main protagonist of this stage is the Homo Habilis located in Africa. Little by little Homo Erectus was taking presence, and especially in the regions of the Acheulean industry.
6. They had the ability to divide the space they inhabited, since in the deposits you can find three well-defined places. On one side was the area where they lived, on the other where they despised the animals and finally the area where they worked the stone.
7. The world was still shaped by ice ages, so the human being had to adapt to these and modify his way of life depending on the low temperatures of the regions. That is why they traveled to warmer areas, where life was easier. Here we discover the Earth's major ice ages.
8. The most common place to live were caves, since they had a lot of resources, and they were places where they could be protected from the low temperatures outside. It was strange that they lived in the open, although we have found external sites where human remains can be found.
9. The ancestors of humans inhabited the African continent during a large part of this period, but we must know that it was at this stage that this group of beings expanded throughout the rest of the world. For this reason it is said that human beings come from the African continent, since it was our ancestors who crossed the whole world from Africa.
10. Social groups were familiar and there was no type of structure or social scale. The only social difference seems to be the different positions in the family, and we can think that the adults had a greater relevance than the younger members of the family.

If you want to read more articles similar to Characteristics of the Lower Paleolithic, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

GOMEZ, M. S. (1976). Industries of the Lower Paleolithic in the Spanish plateau. Prehistoric works, 33, 121.

Grasso, D. AND. YO. (1961). The Lower Paleolithic of South America.

fedsa. Preysler, J. B., & Santafé, E. c. (2000). Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic.