Annex 31 : Paleolithic Tool Traditions

Paleolithic Tool Traditions
Paleolithic Stage  of Development Beginning (years ago) Tool Tradition Upper Paleolithic (in Europe)  17,000  Magdalenian 21,000 Solutrean 27,000 Gravettian 33,000+   Aurignacian/Chatelperronian   Middle Paleolithic (in Europe)     75,000+   Mousterian Lower Paleolithic (in Africa) 1,500,000     Acheulian   2,500,000 Oldowan		Note: the Acheulian Tradition began by at least 1.5 million years ago in Africa.  It did not reach Europe until much later when the first humans arrived.  The Mousterian Tradition is most well known from post-75,000 year old sites in Europe, but it very likely began in Africa around 150,000-100,000 years ago.  The first Upper Paleolithic tool traditions probably evolved in Africa by 90,000 years ago.