http://atlantic.evsc.virginia.edu/julia/AW/meta.html
Which as you may infer from the URL is a mets list of resources.
Lotsa good stuff here, including links to
http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVL-Aboriginal.html
A resource for Australian aboriginal studies, and to
http://www.halcyon.com/FWDP/wwwvl/indig-vl.html
which is the page for the Center For World Indigenous Studies.
Both of these are linked to the following, which has links to
the previous two:
http://www.nunanet.com/~nic/WWWVL-ANA.html
Which describes itself; " Nunavut Implementation Commission
(NIC) is pleased to play a role in the development of the World Wide Web
Virtual Library. This page provides links to circumpolar and aboriginal
North American resources, in conjuction with the Australian National
University's Aboriginal Studies WWW Virtual Library -- which contains
links to aboriginal resources in other parts of the world. "
All of this I found within, oh, 60 seconds of starting my
search.
So it's not like the information is exactly hidden, obscure, or
hard to find.
To summarize the below, for those who don't want to read it all,
the first gives a brief reprise of the known history of modern humans,
from the earliest known remains in Africa, which are dated at 130,000
BCE.--already outside Matthews window for creation.
The next part, on tools, give a history of hominid tool working
for the European/African and contiguous areas. This leads all the way
from homo erectus 1 to 2 million years ago, right through the neolithic
up to where "modern" histories start, around 10,000 BCE.
Enjoy, those of you who read on.
________________________________
First, from;
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/students/b-sklar/sapiensgen.html
A brief description of the known history of anatomically modern humans;
Homo sapiens sapiens
a.k.a. individuals "who know they know"
from sapere, "to know"
**Increasingly Human** Physical Features**
Homo sapiens sapiens, or anatomically modern human beings, evolved in
Africa (perhaps from late forms of Homo erectus). One early find was
made by Richard Leakey at a site in Omo, Ethiopia. The remains of three
individuals, dating back 130,000 years, showed both definite modern
traits as well as some remnants of Homo erectus characteristics.
Exactly when modern man left Africa is a mystery. It was believed that
this trek was made about 35,000 years ago during the warmer interglacial
period between Wurm stages II and III of the Ice Age. However evidence
now seems to indicate that Europe was invaded before this time.
A 43,000 year old find at Bacho Kiro, Bulgaria revealed modern bones and
tools of the Aurignacian culture, a highly advanced technique that
allows the individual to obtain five times as much cutting surface per
pound of stone than previous methods did.
A cave in Qafzeh, Israel giving a thermoluminescence date of 92,000
years old, revealed 16 individuals with modern characteristics and
several burials. The skulls show that these individuals retained no
trace of erectus characteristics and had a cranial capacity averaging
1500 cc.
Migration to North America is thought to have taken place approximately
12,000 year ago when the drop in sea level opened up a strip of land
across the Bering Straits (Beringia). The oldest finds, so far, on this
continent are the Clovis culture arrowheads dating back 11,500 years.
Increasingly Human
One of the biggest cultural advances of Homo sapiens sapiens occurred in
their tool making industries. The earliest of these European cultures,
Aurignacian, dates back 35,000 years. Here the techniques of carving and
shaping bone, to produce implements such as light, yet sharp spear
points, were introduced. This gave way to the Gravettian culture, during
a time when mammoth hunting was a specialty. The Solutrean technique,
which used pressure instead of hammering to loosen chips, produced
beautiful spear tips and delicate laurel leaf tips, too delicate to have
been used for anything except for symbolic purposes. Then, 10,000 years
ago came the emergence of the Magdalenian tool industry which shows many
similarities to that used by modern day Eskimo cultures. Of course, like
anything else in our history, these changes from tool industry to tool
industry did not happen abruptly, nor did they occur simultaneously
throughout Europe. Instead the changes evolved gradually, probably in
one local population and then spread, through contact, to neighboring
peoples.
Physical Features
Anatomically modern Homo sapiens differ from all other hominids in
several distinct ways. Instead of a receding forehead and a skull that
bulges in the back, our braincase is rounded and complete with a high
forehead. We no longer possess bony ridges over our eyes as did Homo
habilis and erectus. Our face is vertical with protruding jaws, a well
pronounced chin and smaller teeth, and a still larger braincase. In fact
we are not much different from these early types, the main differences
occurring in minor diversifications and adaptations (the races).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then from ;
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/students/b-sklar/cultures.html#acheulean
Tool Industries
**Oldowan** Acheulean** Mousterian**
**Aurignacian** Perigordian** Solutrean**
**Gravettian** Magdalenian**
Oldowan industry
The Oldowan assemblage is the oldest of the stone tool cultures, most
closely associated with Homo habilis, and at dated 2 to 1 million years
before the present. The type site for this assemblage, or the site from
which this assemblage is defined, is Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania where Mary
and Louis Leakey first discovered and described their find.
Oldowan tools belong to a pebble-chopper industry. For close to 500,000
years it was the dominant means of tool manufacture. The chopper, a
stone with many flakes chipped off to create a sharp edge, is the most
characteristic implement of this industry. Choppers could either be
unifacial (with flakes removed from only one side) or bifacial (with
flakes removed from both sides).
The by-product of this process, the flakes, while not as strong or easy
to use as choppers were, were sharp tools themselves. Other, unmodified
tools, such as stones for hammers, were also used.
The Oldowan culture was simple and unspecialized resulting in many
all-purpose types of tools which were used for such things as cutting
meat, skins or wood, scrapping hide, or whittling bone and wood into
other tools. It is in this universal property that the Oldowan tools
found their strength.
Acheulean Industry
The Acheulean industry is most characteristic of Homo erectus beginning
about 1.5 million years ago in Africa. The type site is St. Acheul in
northern France. Tools of this industry are more specialized then the
general all-purpose implements of the Oldowan culture and, while
choppers did not disappear overnight, they were not used as widely as
the new, more specialized implements (some erectus populations did
continue to rely on the earlier pebble-chopper industry).
Acheulean tools have flakes removed from all surfaces of the core so
that one is left with a completely reworked implement.
Unlike the large flakes removed from Oldowan tools, Acheulean knappers
removed many smaller flakes therefy giving them more control over the
finished product.
Tool industries reflect the characteristics of the people who made them.
In order to successfully work in this industry one must be able to
handle tools with percission, to have a mental image of the finished
product, and to be able to conceptualize the steps necessary to reach
that end. They also had to possess knowledge of the raw materials they
were working with for there are only a small number of rocks that
can withstand the continuous chipping off of small flakes without
cracking completely.
Archaeologists have uncovered what can be described as Acheulean tool
kits. That is, a number of tools found together on more than one
occassion. Four such kits have been identified perhaps reflecting the
increasingly specialized behavior of erectus (people doing different
things at different times, a division of labor perhaps).
Mousterian
The type site for the Mousterian industry is Le Moustier in Dordogne,
France, one of the earliest found Neanderthal sites. Following the
evolutionary trend, Mousterian tools are more precisely made and more
specialized than were Acheulean tools. Using the Levalloisean or
prepared-core technique, a Mousterian knapper could produce many flakes
which could then be reworked in a variety of ways.
The trend towards the increase in specialization resulted in various
types of tools being developed, all designed for a certain purpose, for
example:
POINT - triangular shape, for hunting
BURIN - chisel-like, used for cutting grooves
BORER - for making holes in soft material such as leather
DRILL - for making holes in harder material, used with a twisting motion
like a modern drill bit
Like with any aspect of a culture, much variety exists when one
considers different populations and different periods of time. This is
true not only when looking at the tool industries of early man but also
when examining their physical features, social organizations and
religions. The Mousterian industry itself has been subdivided into
five different tool assemblages (Mousterian of the Acheulean tradition,
Typical Mousterian, Quina Mousterian, Ferrasie Mousterian and
Denticulate Mousterian), although they all share the same general
characteristics. These variations might be the result of different
periods of time (in the development of the culture), different
populations, or different tasks within a population.
Throughout the life of the Neanderthal species the Mousterian industry
remained relatively unchanged. This provides us with evidence of their
cultural homogeneity and relative isolation from other species or
populations.
Aurignacian
The Aurignacian industry is one of the earlier Homo sapiens sapiens
cultures in Southeastern Europe and the Near East dating 32 - 18
thousand years ago. It contains characteristics of the Mousterian
industry indicating that it was probably closely related and most likely
derived from the former. Bone tools, such as spearheads, dominate these
assemblages. La Ferrassie and Laugerie-Haute, both located in the
southwest of France, are the type sites for this tool culture.
Like the Mousterian, the Aurignacian industry is sub-divided into five
stages based on the morphological characteristics of the antler points
found there. For example, different stages are characterized by either
split based points, double-ended or oval-sectioned points, bi-conical or
circular-sectioned points or beveled-base points.
This industry is known to have been contemporaneous with the Perigordian
industry of West Europe.
>From this point on, the kinds and varieties of tools made becomes
increasingly standardized. This is one result of using blades as blanks
for tool manufacture. However, as always, some regional and local
variations did exist.
Perigordian
This industry also shows signs of being related to the earlier
Mousterian tradition and was contemporaneous with the Aurignacian. The
Perigordian tool culture, like all other tool industries, was named for
the site from which it was first discovered and/or described, Perigord
in the Southwest of France. It is also broken down into three stages
(the Lower, Evolved Lower, and Upper Stages) based on the morphological
characteristics of the tool assemblages. This industry is characterized
by such implements as a knife with "a pointed blade and a curved back"
intentionally crafted so to protect the individual from cutting his or
her handwhile using it.
Solutrean
The Solutrean industry existed for only a brief period from around
18,000 to 15,000 BC. Evidence of it has only been found in areas of
southwestern France and Spain, perhaps indicating a regional adaptation.
Its type site is Solutre but it is also well documented at
Laugerie-Haute. The most characteristic feature of the Solutrean
industry is the beautifully crafted laurel-leaf blades. These blades
ere retouched using a pressure technique which requires great care for
such delicate implements.
Geological and archaeological layers in which evidence of the Solutrean
tradition is found are often referred to as "equine layers" due to the
amount of horse fossil remains also found in these levels. Many of these
fossils are broken or charred indicating that these animals were eaten
by the hominids of the time.
Gravettian
The Gravettian finds give us a date between 25,000 to 15,000 years ago
and a location of Eastern Europe. Ivory tools are common in this
industry, as are backed blades. The use of ivory tools indicates that
these people were mammoth hunters who used every part of the animals
(including their ivory tusks) to their advantage.
Magdalenian
The last tradition to evolve in the Old World was the Magdalenian
industry which (15 to 10,000 years ago). The sites that support such
finds can be found throughout Europe, while the type site of La
Madeleine is located in southwestern France. The variety of tools that
make up this assemblage is greater than any previously described
industry. Bone needles, harpoons, and microliths, small stone fragments
made from blades that measure from 1 to 3 centimeters in length), can be
attributed to this tool culture.
This industry, adapted to the hunting of reindeer in the cold tundra of
Europe, was abandoned once the land began to warm and forests blossomed
where the tundra once stood.
-- Michael Fisher, ET1/SS USN ret., lawstudent* * * He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself. Thomas Paine
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