The Upper Paleolithic Revolution

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Paragraph 1：The transition from the historical period known as the Middle Paleolithic to the Upper Paleolithic around 40 to 35 thousand years ago (kya) represents one of the major developments in the prehistory of humankind. The basic features of this transition include more versatile stone implements and the use of antler, bone, and ivory for tools, figurative art, music, and personal decoration. So striking were the strides in human achievement during this period that it is sometimes referred to as the Upper Paleolithic revolution.  

Paragraph 2：Until recently it had been argued that the Upper Paleolithic revolution was an archaeological phenomenon found only in Eurasia. The apparent lack of equivalent evidence in other regions suggested that a fundamental change had occurred in human intellectual development around 40 kya in Europe. The recent discovery in the Blombos Cave in South Africa of a block of decorated ochre and then sets of shell beads, dated to around 77 kya, opened up the debate. This supports other evidence of more versatile stone implements and bone tools found in Africa from the same period. Now the Upper Paleolithic revolution is being seen as simply the most visible example of the evolving process of modern human behavior that had been developing over a much longer timescale. 

1. Why does the author mention a a block of decorated ochre and sets of shell beads？ 

O To help make the point that archaeologists regard artistic creations as the highest kind of human achievement 

O To illustrate how the discovery of certain objects makes the discovery of certain other objects more likely 

O To give some of the evidence that has changed archaeologists’ thinking about human intellectual development

O To help explain why archaeologists have been slow to recognize the importance of certain evidence available to them 

Paragraph 3：This raises two further questions. First, what was happening to the human cognitive process during the 40,000 years or so between the creations in the Blombos Cave and the flourishing of human creativity in Europe around 35 kya, and second, was climate change a component? Climate change is associated with the sudden occurrence of creative activity in Europe at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. 

2. According to paragraph 3, what do archaeologists want to know about the climate during the 40,000 years between around 75 kya and 35 kya？ 

O Whether it was a reason that humans lived in caves 

O Whether it was stable throughout that period 

O Whether it changed in similar ways in Africa and in Europe 

O Whether it was a factor in how the human cognitive process developed

Paragraph 4：The question of whether the sudden transition seen in Europe was built on earlier developments in Africa has been addressed at length by anthropologists Sally McBrearty and Alison Brooks. They argue that the whole issue of the Upper Paleolithic revolution stems from a profound Eurocentric bias and a failure to appreciate the depth and breadth of the African archaeological record. In fact, many of the components of this revolution are found earlier in the African Middle Paleolithic, tens of thousands of years before they appeared in Europe. These features include blade and microlithic technology, bone tools, increased geographic range, specialized hunting, exploitation of aquatic resources, long-distance exchange networks, systematic processing and use of pigment, and art and decoration. These items do not occur suddenly together as predicted by the revolutionary model, but at sites that are widely separated in space and time. This suggests a gradual assembling of the package of modern human behaviors in Africa and its later export to other regions of the Old World. 

3. According to paragraph 4, anthropologists McBrearty and Brooks argue that archaeologists’ traditional understanding of the Upper Paleolithic revolution was flawed because 

O they underestimated available African archaeological evidence

O the archaeological evidence available to them contained errors 

O they could not distinguish artistic creations from objects meant for practical use 

O they based their judgments on the limited archaeological record available at that time 

4. Anthropologists McBrearty and Brooks consider such components of the Upper Paleolithic revolution as blade and microlithic technology to have 

O first emerged in the Middle Paleolithic Period, in Africa rather than in Europe

O emerged in Europe independently in many different places at different times 

O first emerged in Europe, then to have been further developed in Africa 

O been part of a similarly sudden, but earlier, cultural revolution in Africa 

Paragraph 5：The extraordinary range of rock art in Australia adds great weight to the idea that artistic creativity was part and parcel of the intellectual capacity of modern humans that migrated out of Africa around 70 kya. The fact that these people almost certainly arrived in Australia before 60 kya and were, in any case, completely isolated from any evolutionary events that may have occurred in Europe around 40 kya makes this argument compelling. 

5. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage  Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information. 

O The idea that in modern humans creativity and intellect developed together is supported by ancient rock art ranging from Australia to Africa. 

O Australian rock art strongly suggests that modern humans that migrated out of Africa around 70 kya already possessed artistic creativity.

O Since Australian rock art dated to around 70 kya shows that Australians possessed artistic creativity, Africans of that period probably possessed it, too. 

O The wide range of Australian rock art strongly suggests that intellectual capacity and artistic creativity were connected as early as 70 kya. 

6. What role does paragraph 5 play in relation to paragraph 4？ 

O It accepts the arguments made in paragraph 4 but asserts that the supporting examples given are not the best ones available. 

O It shows that the conclusion reached in paragraph 4 is almost certainly false. 

O It presents additional reasons for accepting the position argued for in paragraph 4.

O It describes a possible alternative to the position developed in paragraph 4. 

Paragraph 6：The consequence of this analysis is that the question of the sudden emergence of creative activity that appears to constitute the Upper Paleolithic revolution falls to the ground. The obvious explanation is that the gap between African developments and the subsequent better-known European events is a matter of the limitations of the archaeological record. This does not altogether cover the question of why there was the sudden flowering of creativity at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe. It may be that earlier creative efforts have either been lost in or have yet to emerge from the mists of time. Recent finds of decorative pierced shells dating from 43 kya or even earlier in caves in parts of western Asia near Europe may be examples of a process extending the evidence back in time. The creative flowering may also be a result of the climatic conditions at the time that governed the movement of modern humans into Europe. Following a period of extreme cold around 39 kya, a period of warming around 35 kya rendered the region more hospitable. As the ancestors of today’s Europeans moved into a largely depopulated region, their presence in the archaeological record appeared revolutionary. 

7. The fact that decorative pierced shells were recently found in caves in parts of western Asia near Europe suggests that   

O there may be evidence of earlier creative activity in Europe that has not yet been discovered

O the creative flowering may have originated in Asia, not in Africa  

O there was really an Upper Paleolithic revolution but it did not happen in Europe  

O the people who used the decorative shells were unrelated to the people who inhabited Europe during the Upper Paleolithic 

8. According to paragraph 6, the apparent sudden flowering of creativity in Europe might be related to a change of climate in which of the following ways？ 

O People became very creative in order to survive climatic extremes. 

O As the climate became warmer, ancient European populations moved around much less. 

O Improving climatic conditions drew substantial human migration into Europe.

O Climatic conditions became more favorable to preserving the archaeological record. 

Paragraph 1：■The transition from the historical period known as the Middle Paleolithic to the Upper Paleolithic around 40 to 35 thousand years ago (kya) represents one of the major developments in the prehistory of humankind. ■The basic features of this transition include more versatile stone implements and the use of antler, bone, and ivory for tools, figurative art, music, and personal decoration. ■So striking were the strides in human achievement during this period that it is sometimes referred to as the Upper Paleolithic revolution.■

9. Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. 

The adoption of these new materials and practices moved early human culture forward at a rapid pace.

Where would the sentence best fit  Click on a square  to add the sentence to the passage. 

10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selected THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. Drag your choices to the spaces where they belong. To review the passage, click on View Text. 

Answer Choices 

O Recent evidence that in Africa the transition from the Middle Paleolithic to the Upper Paleolithic was also marked by enormous progress strengthens the European evidence. 

O The idea that events in Europe around 40 kya mark an advance in basic human capabilities has been discredited by African and Australian evidence that points to a much earlier date.

O Evidence suggests that the striking set of human accomplishments that emerged in Europe around 40 kya was built on earlier development in Africa.

O Europe was the center of the Upper Paleolithic revolution not so much because individual innovations originated there, but because these innovations were creatively fitted together there. 

O The people who settled Australia were, without a doubt, modern humans whose origins were in Africa, but whether they reached Australia before 60 kya has not been definitively established. 

O It is still unclear why the entire package of modern human behaviors seems to show up in the European archaeological record so suddenly, although various answers have been proposed.

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