The Upper Paleolithic

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Recommended: Short note on paleolithic art

The upper paleolithic era brought us many social and cultural innovations. From the development of art, to the continued development of useful tools and weapons, the people existing in this time were the true forbears of modern human civilization. The advances made in self-awareness are extremely apparent as well, with significant new trends in social networks and personal adornment leading to what would be the foundation of society as we know it. These things combined make the upper paleolithic one of the most important periods of human development.
Although there were many advances before this period, the upper paleolithic brought us traditions which form the basis of modern art. While artistic expression undoubtedly occurred before this time period, it is extremely apparent that art was flourishing during the upper paleolithic. For example, cave paintings, such as those found in the Cave of Lascaux, become more prominent (Price & Feinman, 2013). The depictions of every day life for the people living in this era shows a need for humans to express themselves to others visually in ways that had not been done before. Upon analyzing sites like the Cave of Lascaux and others, such as La Vache, it is apparent that humans have a shared need for artistic expression as a form of communication and historical record, a way of saying “I was here.” This is a trait that remains very prominent within us to this day, influencing modern art, music, speech - almost any form of artistic expression. All modern art forms can, in one way or another, trace their roots back to this early art and the need to express aspects of daily life to others.
The Upper Paleolithic period was also home to great technological advances when it comes to tool and ...

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Works Cited

Fernandez, E., & Joris, O. (n.d.). Per sonal or naments in the early upper paleolithic of western eur asia:an evaluation of the record. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/779301/Personal_Ornaments_in_the_Early_Upper_Paleolithic_of_Western_Eurasia_an_Evaluation_of_the_Record

Milliken, S. (2007). Neanderthals, anatomically modern humans, and ‘modern human behaviour’ in italy. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 26(4), 331-358. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezp1r.riosalado.edu/ehost/detail?sid=cae2e42e-6569-4993-a8c4-134211362cdc@sessionmgr113&vid=5&hid=107&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==

Oneil, D. (2013). Early modern human culture. Retrieved from http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_5.htm

Price, T. D., & Feinman, G. (2013). Images of the past. (7th ed., pp. 124-125). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

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