The upper paleolithic revolution.

Key Words Middle Paleolithic, modern humans s Abstract The transition from the Middle Paleolithic to the Upper Paleolithic is considered one of the major revolutions in the prehistory of humankind. Explanations of the observable archaeological phenomena in Eurasia, or the lack of such evidence in other regions, include biological arguments (the role of Cro-Magnons and the demise of the Neanderthals), as well as cultural-technological, and environmental arguments. The paper discusses issues of terminological ambiguities, chronological and geographical aspects of change, the emergence of what is viewed as the arch-types of modern forager societies, and the hotly debated and loaded issue of modern behavior. Finally, the various causes for the Upper Paleolithic revolution are enumerated, from the biological through the technocultural that relies on the analogy with the Neolithic revolution. OPENING REMARKS Paleolithic archaeology primarily addresses issues of stratigraphy, chronology, object assemblage analysis for defining cultural entities and adaptive strategies, examination of faunal and vegetal components, and site formation processes. Investigations often culminate in a coarse-grained reconstruction of prehistoric lifeways within an evolutionary context. Modern research stresses the necessity of establishing regional sequences and their Pleistocene and Holocene paleo-ecological conditions. Radiometric dates facilitate chronological correlations and the integration of the findings into a continent-wide record. For the Upper Paleolithic, the period under discussion, the combination of radiocarbon, thermoluminescence, and electron spin resonance dating techniques (Wagner 1998) assisted investigators during the past decade in constructing a reasonably coherent global chronology. Large standard deviations in thermoluminescence and electron spin resonance readings, as well as ambiguities concerning the calibration of 14C dates at the range of 40-30 thousand years ago (Ka) (Beck et al. 2001), make it difficult to establish the precise onset of the Upper Paleolithic revolution. However, with the current rapid progress in the use of these techniques one expects much better resolutions in the next decade. The dates in this paper are quoted as B.P. uncalibrated unless otherwise specified