Stone Age. Its main stages. What periods is the Stone Age divided into? Stone Age period

Stone Age of Humanity

Man differs from all living beings on Earth in that from the very beginning of his history he actively created an artificial habitat around himself and used various technical means, which are called tools. With their help, he obtained food for himself - hunting, fishing and gathering, built homes for himself, made clothes and household utensils, created religious buildings and works of art.

Stone Age- the oldest and longest period in human history, characterized by the use of stone as the main solid material for the manufacture of tools intended to solve problems of human life support.

To make various tools and other necessary products, people used not only stone, but other hard materials:

• volcanic glass,
• bone,
• tree,
• as well as plastic materials of animal and plant origin (animal hides and skins, plant fibers, and later fabrics).

In the final period of the Stone Age, in the Neolithic, the first artificial material created by man, ceramics, became widespread. The exceptional strength of the stone allows products made from it to be preserved for hundreds of thousands of years. Bone, wood and other organic materials, as a rule, are not preserved for so long, and therefore, for the study of especially remote periods in time, stone products become, due to their mass production and good preservation, the most important source.

Chronological framework of the Stone Age

The chronological framework of the Stone Age is very wide - it begins about 3 million years ago (the time of the separation of man from the animal world) and lasts until the appearance of metal (about 8-9 thousand years ago in the Ancient East and about 6-5 thousand years ago back in Europe). The duration of this period of human existence, which is called prehistory and protohistory, correlates with the duration of “written history” in the same way as a day with a few minutes or the size of Everest and a tennis ball. Such important achievements of mankind as the appearance of the first social institutions and certain economic structures, and, in fact, the formation of man himself as a completely special biosocial being, date back to the Stone Age.

In archaeological science stone Age It is customary to divide it into several main stages:

• ancient Stone Age - Paleolithic (3 million years BC - 10 thousand years BC);
• middle - (10-9 thousand - 7 thousand years BC);
• new - Neolithic (6-5 thousand - 3 thousand years BC).

The archaeological periodization of the Stone Age is associated with changes in the stone industry: each period is characterized by unique methods of primary splitting and subsequent secondary processing of stone, which results in the widespread distribution of very specific sets of products and their distinct specific types.

The Stone Age correlates with the geological periods of the Pleistocene (which also goes by the names: Quaternary, Anthropocene, Glacial and dates from 2.5-2 million years to 10 thousand years BC) and Holocene (from 10 thousand years to AD up to and including our time). The natural conditions of these periods played a significant role in the formation and development of ancient human societies.

Study of the Stone Age

Interest in collecting and studying prehistoric antiquities, especially stone artifacts, has existed for a long time. However, even in the Middle Ages, and even during the Renaissance, their origin was most often attributed to natural phenomena(the so-called thunder arrows, hammers, and axes were known everywhere). Only by the middle of the 19th century, thanks to the accumulation of new information obtained with ever-expanding construction work, and the associated development of geology, the further development of natural sciences, the idea of ​​material evidence of the existence of “antediluvian man” acquired the status of a scientific doctrine. An important contribution to the formation of scientific ideas about the Stone Age as the “childhood of mankind” was made by a variety of ethnographic data, and the results of the study of the cultures of North American Indians, which began in the 18th century, were especially often used. along with widespread colonization North America and developed in the 19th century.

The “system of three centuries” by K.Yu. also had a huge influence on the formation of Stone Age archeology. Thomsen - I.Ya. Vorso. However, only the creation of evolutionary periodizations in history and anthropology (cultural-historical periodization of L.G. Morgan, sociological of I. Bachofen, religious of G. Spencer and E. Taylor, anthropological of Charles Darwin), numerous joint geological and archaeological studies of various Paleolithic monuments of Western Europe (J. Boucher de Pert, E. Larte, J. Lebbock, I. Keller) led to the creation of the first periodizations of the Stone Age - the division of the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras. In the last quarter of the 19th century, thanks to the discovery of Paleolithic cave art, numerous anthropological finds of the Pleistocene age, especially thanks to the discovery of E. Dubois on the island of Java of the remains of an ape-man, evolutionary theories prevailed in understanding the patterns of human development in the Stone Age. However, developing archeology required the use of archaeological terms and criteria when creating a periodization of the Stone Age. The first such classification, evolutionary in its core and operating in special archaeological terms, was proposed by the French archaeologist G. de Mortillier, who distinguished the early (lower) and late (upper) Paleolithic, divided into four stages. This periodization became very widespread, and after its expansion and addition by the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras, also divided into successive stages, it acquired a dominant position in Stone Age archeology for quite a long time.

Mortilier's periodization was based on the idea of ​​the sequence of stages and periods of development material culture and the uniformity of this process for all humanity. The revision of this periodization dates back to the middle of the 20th century.

The further development of Stone Age archeology is also associated with such important scientific movements as geographical determinism (which explains many aspects of the development of society by the influence of natural geographical conditions) diffusionism (which placed, along with the concept of evolution, the concept of cultural diffusion, i.e. spatial movement cultural phenomena). Within the framework of these directions, a galaxy of major scientists of their time worked (L.G. Morgan, G. Ratzel, E. Reclus, R. Virchow, F. Kossina, A. Graebner, etc.), who made a significant contribution to the formulation of the basic postulates of the science of Stone Age. In the 20th century new schools are appearing, reflecting, in addition to those listed above, ethnological, sociological, structuralist trends in the study of this ancient era.

Currently, the study of the natural environment, which has a great influence on the life of human groups, has become an integral part of archaeological research. This is quite natural, especially if we remember that from the very moment of its appearance, primitive (prehistoric) archeology, having originated among representatives of the natural sciences - geologists, paleontologists, anthropologists - was closely connected with the natural sciences.

The main achievement of Stone Age archeology in the 20th century. was the creation of clear ideas that various archaeological complexes (tools, weapons, jewelry, etc.) characterize different groups of people who, being at different stages of development, can coexist simultaneously. This denies the crude scheme of evolutionism, which assumes that all humanity rises through the same steps at the same time. The work of Russian archaeologists played a major role in formulating new postulates about the existence of cultural diversity in the development of mankind.

In the last quarter of the 20th century. In Stone Age archeology, a number of new directions have been formed on an international scientific basis, combining traditional archaeological and complex paleoecological and computer research methods, which involve the creation of complex spatial models of environmental management systems and the social structure of ancient societies.

Paleolithic

Division into eras

The Paleolithic is the longest stage of the Stone Age, it covers the time from the Upper Pliocene to the Holocene, i.e. all Pleistocene (Anthropogen, glacial or Quaternary) geological period. Traditionally, the Paleolithic is divided into –

1. early, or lower, including the following eras:
   • (about 3 million - 800 thousand years ago),
   • ancient, middle and late (800 thousand - 120-100 thousand years ago)
   • (120-100 thousand - 40 thousand years ago),
2. upper, or (40 thousand - 12 thousand years ago).

It should be emphasized, however, that the above chronological framework are quite conditional, since many issues have not been studied fully enough. This is especially true of the boundaries between the Mousterian and the Upper Paleolithic, the Upper Paleolithic and the Mesolithic. In the first case, the difficulties in identifying a chronological boundary are associated with the duration of the process of human settlement modern type, who brought new techniques for processing stone raw materials, and their long coexistence with Neanderthals. Accurately identifying the boundary between the Paleolithic and Mesolithic is even more difficult, since sudden changes in natural conditions, which led to significant changes in material culture, occurred extremely unevenly and had different character in different geographical areas. However, in modern science a conventional boundary was adopted - 10 thousand years BC. e. or 12 thousand years ago, which is accepted by most scientists.

All Paleolithic eras differ significantly from each other both in anthropological characteristics and in the methods of manufacturing the main tools and their forms. Throughout the Paleolithic, the physical type of man was formed. In the Early Paleolithic there were various groups of representatives of the genus Homo ( N. habilis, N. ergaster, N. erectus, N. antesesst, H. Heidelbergensis, N. neardentalensis- according to the traditional scheme: archanthropes, paleoanthropes and Neanderthals), Upper Paleolithic corresponded to the neoanthropus - Homo sapiens; all modern humanity belongs to this species.

Tools

Mousterian tools - burins and scrapers. Found near Amiens, France.

Due to the vast distance in time, many materials that were used by people, especially organic ones, are not preserved. Therefore, as mentioned above, for studying the lifestyle of ancient people, one of the most important sources is stone tools. From all the variety of rocks, man chose those that give a sharp cutting edge when split. Due to its wide distribution in nature and its inherent physical qualities, flint and other siliceous rocks became such materials.

No matter how primitive the ancient stone tools were, it is quite obvious that their production required abstract thinking and the ability to perform a complex chain of sequential actions. Various types of activities are recorded in the shapes of the working blades of tools, in the form of traces on them, and make it possible to judge the labor operations that ancient people performed.

To make the necessary things from stone, auxiliary tools were required:

• bumpers,
• intermediaries,
• push-ups,
• retouchers,
• anvils, which were also made of bone, stone, and wood.

Another equally important source that allows us to obtain a variety of information and reconstruct the life of ancient human groups is the cultural layer of monuments, which is formed as a result of the life activities of people in a certain place. It includes the remains of hearths and residential structures, traces of labor activity in the form of accumulations of split stone and bone. Remains of animal bones provide evidence of human hunting activity.

The Paleolithic is the time of the formation of man and society; during this period, the first social formation took shape - the primitive communal system. The entire era was characterized by an appropriative economy: people obtained their means of subsistence by hunting and gathering.

Geological epochs and glaciations

The Paleolithic corresponds to the end of the geological period of the Pliocene and the entire geological period of the Pleistocene, which began about two million years ago and ended around the turn of the 10th millennium BC. e. Its early stage is called the Eiopleistocene, it ends about 800 thousand years ago. Already the Eiopleistocene, and especially the middle and late Pleistocene, is characterized by a series of sharp cold snaps and the development of cover glaciations, occupying a significant part of the land. For this reason, the Pleistocene is called the Ice Age; its other names, often used in specialized literature, are Quaternary or Anthropocene.

Table. Correlations between the Paleolithic and Pleistocene periods.

The table shows the relationship between the main stages of archaeological periodization and the stages ice age, which distinguishes 5 main glaciations (according to the Alpine scheme, adopted as an international standard) and the intervals between them, usually called interglacials. The terms are often used in the literature glacial(glaciation) and interglacial(interglacial). Within each glaciation (glacial) there are colder periods called stadials and warmer ones called interstadials. The name of the interglacial (interglacial) consists of the names of two glaciations, and its duration is determined by their time boundaries, for example, the Riess-Würm interglacial lasts from 120 to 80 thousand years ago.

Glaciation eras were characterized by significant cooling and the development of ice cover over large areas of land, which led to a sharp drying of the climate and changes in the flora and fauna. On the contrary, during the interglacial era there was a significant warming and humidification of the climate, which also caused corresponding changes environment. Ancient man depended to a huge extent on the natural conditions surrounding him, so their significant changes required fairly rapid adaptation, i.e. flexible change of methods and means of life support.

At the beginning of the Pleistocene, despite the onset of global cooling, a fairly warm climate remained - not only in Africa and the equatorial belt, but even in the southern and central regions of Europe, Siberia and the Far East, broad-leaved forests grew. These forests were home to such heat-loving animals as the hippopotamus, southern elephant, rhinoceros and saber-toothed tiger (mahairod).

Günz was separated from the Mindel, the first very serious glaciation for Europe, by a large interglacial, which was relatively warm. The ice of the Mindel glaciation reached the mountain ranges in southern Germany, and in Russia - to the upper reaches of the Oka and the middle reaches of the Volga. On the territory of Russia this glaciation is called Oka. There were some changes in the composition of the animal world: heat-loving species began to die out, and in areas located closer to the glacier, cold-loving animals appeared - the musk ox and the reindeer.

This was followed by a warm interglacial era - the Mindelris interglacial - which preceded the Ris (Dnieper for Russia) glaciation, which was the maximum. In the territory European Russia The ice of the Dnieper glaciation, having divided into two tongues, reached the area of ​​the Dnieper rapids and approximately the area of ​​the modern Volga-Don Canal. The climate has cooled significantly, cold-loving animals have spread:

• mammoths,
• woolly rhinoceroses,
• wild horses,
• bison,
• tours.

Cave predators:

• cave bear,
• cave lion,
• cave hyena.

Lived in periglacial areas

• reindeer,
• musk ox,
• arctic fox

The Riess-Würm interglacial - a time of very favorable climatic conditions - was replaced by the last great glaciation of Europe - the Würm or Valdai glaciation.

The last - Würm (Valdai) glaciation (80-12 thousand years ago) was shorter than the previous ones, but much more severe. Although the ice covered a much smaller area, covering the Valdai Hills in Eastern Europe, the climate was much drier and colder. A feature of the animal world of the Würm period was the mixing in the same territories of animals characteristic of different landscape zones in our time. Mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, the musk ox existed next to the bison, red deer, horse, and saiga. Common predators were cave and brown bears, lions, wolves, arctic foxes, and wolverines. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the boundaries of landscape zones, compared to modern ones, were greatly shifted to the south.

By the end ice age The development of the culture of ancient people reached a level that allowed them to adapt to new, much more harsh conditions of existence. Recent geological and archaeological studies have shown that the first stages of human development of the lowland territories of the Arctic fox, lemming, and cave bear of the European part of Russia belong specifically to the cold eras of the late Pleistocene. Settlement pattern primitive man on the territory of Northern Eurasia was determined not so much climatic conditions as much as the character of the landscape. Most often, Paleolithic hunters settled in the open spaces of the tundra-steppes in the permafrost zone, and in the southern steppes-forest-steppes - outside it. Even during the maximum cooling period (28-20 thousand years ago), people did not leave their traditional habitats. The fight against the harsh nature of the glacial period had a great impact on cultural development Paleolithic man.

The final cessation of glacial phenomena dates back to the 10th-9th millennia BC. With the retreat of the glacier, the Pleistocene era ends, followed by the Holocene - the modern geological period. Along with the retreat of the glacier to the extreme northern borders of Eurasia, natural conditions characteristic of the modern era began to form.

STONE AGE (GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS)

The Stone Age is the oldest and longest period in human history, characterized by the use of stone as the main material for the manufacture of tools.

To make various tools and other necessary products, people used not only stone, but other hard materials: volcanic glass, bone, wood, animal skins and skins, and plant fibers. In the final period of the Stone Age, in the Neolithic, the first artificial material created by man, ceramics, became widespread. In the Stone Age, the formation of the modern type of man takes place. This period of history includes such important achievements of mankind as the emergence of the first social institutions and certain economic structures.

The chronological framework of the Stone Age is very wide - it begins about 2.6 million years ago and before the start of human use of metal. In the territory Ancient East this happens in the 7th - 6th millennium BC, in Europe - in the 4th - 3rd millennium BC.

In archaeological science, the Stone Age is traditionally divided into three main stages:

1. Paleolithic or ancient Stone Age (2.6 million years BC - 10 thousand years BC);
2. Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age (X/IX thousand - VII thousand years BC);
3. Neolithic or New Stone Age (VI/V millennium - III millennium BC)

The archaeological periodization of the Stone Age is associated with changes in the stone industry: each period is characterized by unique stone processing techniques and, as a consequence, a certain set of different types of stone tools.

The Stone Age corresponds to the geological periods:

1. Pleistocene (which is also called: glacial, Quaternary or anthropogenic) - dates from 2.5-2 million years to 10 thousand years BC.
2. Holocene - which began in 10 thousand years BC. and continues to this day.

The natural conditions of these periods played a significant role in the formation and development of ancient human societies.

PALEOLITHIC (2.6 million years ago - 10 thousand years ago)

The Paleolithic is divided into three main periods:

1. Early Paleolithic (2.6 million - 150/100 thousand years ago), which is divided into the Olduvai (2.6 - 700 thousand years ago) and Acheulean (700 - 150/100 thousand years ago) eras;
2. Middle Paleolithic or Mousterian era (150/100 - 35/30 thousand years ago);
3. Late Paleolithic (35/30 - 10 thousand years ago).

In Crimea, only Middle and Late Paleolithic monuments have been recorded. At the same time, flint tools were repeatedly found on the peninsula, the manufacturing technique of which is similar to the Acheulean ones. However, all these finds are random and do not relate to any Paleolithic site. This circumstance does not make it possible to confidently attribute them to the Acheulean era.

Mousterian era (150/100 – 35/30 thousand years ago)

The beginning of the era fell at the end of the Riess-Würm interglacial, which was characterized by a relatively warm climate close to the modern one. The main part of the period coincided with the Valdai glaciation, which is characterized by a strong drop in temperatures.

It is believed that Crimea was an island during the interglacial period. While during the glaciation the level of the Black Sea dropped significantly, during the period of maximum glacier advance it was a lake.

About 150 - 100 thousand years ago, Neanderthals appeared in Crimea. Their camps were located in grottoes and under rock overhangs. They lived in groups of 20–30 individuals. The main occupation was driven hunting, perhaps they were engaged in gathering. They existed on the peninsula until the Late Paleolithic, and disappeared about 30 thousand years ago.

In terms of concentration of Mousterian monuments, not many places on Earth can compare with Crimea. Let's name some better studied sites: Zaskalnaya I - IX, Ak-Kaya I - V, Krasnaya Balka, Prolom, Kiik-Koba, Wolf Grotto, Chokurcha, Kabazi, Shaitan-Koba, Kholodnaya Balka, Staroselye, Adzhi-Koba, Bakhchisarayskaya, Sarah Kaya. Remains of fires, animal bones, flint tools and products of their production are found at sites. During the Mousterian era, Neanderthals began to build primitive dwellings. They were round in plan, like tents. They were made from bones, stones and animal skins. Such dwellings have not been recorded in Crimea. Before the entrance to the Wolf Grotto site, there may have been a wind barrier. It was a shaft of stones, reinforced with branches stuck vertically into it. At the Kiik-Koba site, the main part of the cultural layer was concentrated on a small rectangular area, 7X8 m in size. Apparently, some kind of structure was built inside the grotto.

The most common types of flint tools of the Mousterian era were points and side scrapers. These guns were represented
and relatively flat fragments of flint, during the processing of which they tried to give them a triangular shape. The scraper had one side processed, which was the working side. The pointed edges were processed on two edges, trying to sharpen the top as much as possible. Pointed points and scrapers were used for cutting animal carcasses and processing hides. In the Mousterian era, primitive flint spearheads appeared. Flint “knives” and “Chokurcha triangles” are typical for Crimea. In addition to flint, they used bone from which they made piercings (small animal bones sharpened at one end) and squeezers (they were used for retouching flint tools).

The basis for future tools were the so-called cores - pieces of flint that were given a rounded shape. Long and thin flakes were broken off from the cores, which were blanks for future tools. Next, the edges of the flakes were processed using the squeezing retouching technique. It looked like this: small flakes of flint were broken off from a flake using a bone squeezer, sharpening its edges and giving the tool the desired shape. In addition to squeezers, stone chippers were used for retouching.

Neanderthals were the first to bury their dead in the ground. In Crimea, such a burial was discovered at the Kiik-Koba site. For burial, a recess was used in the stone floor of the grotto. A woman was buried in it. Only the bones of the left leg and both feet were preserved. Based on their position, it was determined that the buried woman was lying on her right side with her legs bent at the knees. This position is typical for all Neanderthal burials. Poorly preserved bones of a 5-7 year old child were found near the grave. In addition to Kiik-Koba, remains of Neanderthals were found at the Zaskalnaya VI site. There, incomplete skeletons of children were discovered, located in cultural layers.

Late Paleolithic (35/30 - 10 thousand years ago)

The Late Paleolithic occurred in the second half of the Würm glaciation. This is a period of very cold, extreme weather conditions. By the beginning of the period, a modern type of man was formed - Homo sapiens (Cro-Magnon). The formation of three large races - Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid - dates back to this time. People inhabit almost all of the inhabited earth, with the exception of the territories occupied by the glacier. Cro-Magnons begin to use artificial dwellings everywhere. Products made from bone are becoming widespread, from which not only tools, but also jewelry are now made.

The Cro-Magnons developed a new, truly human way of organizing society - the clan. The main occupation, like that of the Neanderthals, was driven hunting.

Cro-Magnons appeared in Crimea about 35 thousand years ago, and coexisted with Neanderthals for about 5 thousand years. There is an assumption that they penetrate the peninsula in two waves: from the west, from the Danube basin area; and from the east - from the territory of the Russian Plain.

Crimean Late Paleolithic sites: Suren I, Kachinsky canopy, Adzhi-Koba, Buran-Kaya III, lower layers of Mesolithic sites Shan-Koba, Fatma-Koba, Suren II.

In the Late Paleolithic, a completely new industry of flint tools was formed. I begin to make the cores in a prismatic shape. In addition to flakes, they began to make blades - long blanks with parallel edges.
Tools were made both on flakes and on blades. The most characteristic features of the Late Paleolithic are incisors and scrapers. The short edges of the plate were retouched on the incisors. There were two types of scrapers: end scrapers - where the narrow edge of the plate was retouched; lateral – where the long edges of the plate were retouched. Scrapers and burins were used to process hides, bones and wood. At the Suren I site, many small narrow pointed flint objects (“points”) and plates with sharpened retouched edges were found. They could serve as spear tips. Note that in the lower layers of Paleolithic sites, tools of the Mousterian era (pointed points, side scrapers, etc.) are found. In the upper layers of the sites Suren I and Buran-Kaya III, microliths are found - trapezoidal flint plates with 2-3 retouched edges (these products are characteristic of the Mesolithic).

Few bone tools have been found in Crimea. These are spearheads, awls, pins and pendants. At the Suren I site, mollusk shells with holes were found, which were used as decorations.

MESOLITHIC (10 - 8 thousand years ago / VIII - VI thousand BC)

At the end of the Paleolithic, global climate changes occurred. Warming is causing glaciers to melt. The level of the world's oceans is rising, rivers are becoming full, and many new lakes are appearing. Crimean peninsula takes on shapes close to modern ones. Due to the increase in temperature and humidity, forests take the place of cold steppes. The fauna is changing. Large mammals characteristic of the Ice Age (for example, mammoths) move north and gradually die out. The number of herd animals decreases. In this regard, collective driven hunting is being replaced by individual hunting, in which each member of the tribe could feed themselves. This happens because when hunting a large animal, for example, a mammoth, the efforts of the entire team were required. And this justified itself, since as a result of success the tribe received a significant amount of food. The same method of hunting in new conditions was not productive. There was no point in driving the whole tribe into one deer; it would have been a waste of effort and would have led to the death of the team.

In the Mesolithic, a whole complex of new tools appeared. The individualization of hunting led to the invention of the bow and arrow. Bone hooks and harpoons for catching fish appear. They began to make primitive boats, they were cut out of a tree trunk. Microliths are widespread. They were used to make composite tools. The base of the tool was made of bone or wood, grooves were cut into it, into which microliths (small flint items made from plates, less often from flakes, and serving as inserts for composite tools and arrowheads) were attached using resin. Their sharp edges served as the working surface of the tool.

They continue to use flint tools. These were scrapers and cutters. Microliths of segmented, trapezoidal and triangular shapes were also made from silicon. The shape of the cores changes, they become cone-shaped and prismatic. Tools were mainly made on blades, much less often on flakes.

Bone was used to make dart tips, awls, needles, hooks, harpoons and pendant jewelry. Knives or daggers were made from the shoulder blades of large animals. They had a smoothed surface and pointed edges.

In the Mesolithic, people domesticated the dog, which became the first domestic animal in history.

At least 30 Mesolithic sites have been discovered in Crimea. Of these, Shan-Koba, Fatma-Koba and Murzak-Koba are considered classic Mesolithic. These sites appeared in the Late Paleolithic. They are located in grottoes. They were protected from the wind by barriers made of branches reinforced with stones. The hearths were dug into the ground and lined with stones. At the sites, cultural strata were discovered, represented by flint tools, waste from their production, bones of animals, birds and fish, and shells of edible snails.

Mesolithic burials have been discovered at the Fatma-Koba and Murzak-Koba sites. A man was buried in Fatma Kobe. The burial was made in a small hole on the right side, the hands were placed under the head, the legs were strongly drawn up. A pair burial was discovered in Murzak-Kobe. A man and a woman were buried in an extended position on their back. Right hand men came under left hand women. The woman was missing the last two phalanges of both little fingers. This is associated with the initiation rite. It is noteworthy that the burial did not take place in a grave. The dead were simply covered with stones.

In terms of social structure, Mesolithic society was tribal. There was a very stable social organization in which each member of society was aware of his relationship to one or another genus. Marriages took place only between members of different clans. Economic specialization arose within the clan. Women were involved in gathering, men were involved in hunting and fishing. Apparently, there was an initiation rite - a rite of transfer of a member of society from one gender and age group to another (transfer of children to a group of adults). The initiate was subjected to severe trials: complete or partial isolation, starvation, scourging, wounding, etc.

NEOLITHIC (VI – V millennium BC)

During the Neolithic era there was a transition from appropriating types of economy (hunting and gathering) to reproducing ones - agriculture and cattle breeding. People learned to grow crops and raise some types of animals. In science, this unconditional breakthrough in human history is called the “Neolithic Revolution.”

Another achievement of the Neolithic is the appearance and widespread distribution of ceramics - vessels made of baked clay. The first ceramic vessels were made using the rope method. Several ropes were rolled out of clay and connected to each other, giving the shape of a vessel. The seams between the strips were smoothed with a bunch of grass. Next, the vessel was burned in a fire. The dishes turned out to be thick-walled, not completely symmetrical, with an uneven surface and poorly fired. The bottom was round or pointed. Sometimes the vessels were decorated. They did this with paint, a sharp stick, a wooden stamp, and a rope, which they wrapped around the pot and fired it in the oven. The ornamentation on the vessels reflected the symbolism of a particular tribe or group of tribes.

In the Neolithic, new stone processing techniques were invented: grinding, sharpening and drilling. Grinding and sharpening of tools was done on a flat stone with the addition of wet sand. Drilling took place using a tubular bone, which had to be rotated at a certain speed (for example, a bow string). As a result of the invention of drilling, stone axes appeared. They were wedge-shaped, with a hole in the middle into which a wooden handle was inserted.

Neolithic sites are open throughout the Crimea. People settled in grottoes and under rock overhangs (Tash-Air, Zamil-Koba II, Alimovsky overhang) and on yailas (At-Bash, Beshtekne, Balin-Kosh, Dzhyayliau-Bash). Open-type sites have been discovered in the steppe (Frontovoye, Lugovoe, Martynovka). Flint tools are found on them, especially many microliths in the form of segments and trapezoids. Ceramics are also found, although finds of Neolithic ceramics are rare in Crimea. An exception is the Tash-Air site, where more than 300 fragments were found. The pots had thick walls and a rounded or pointed bottom. Top part vessels were sometimes decorated with notches, grooves, pits or stamp impressions. A hoe made of deer antler and the bone base of a sickle were found at the Tash-Air site. A horn hoe was also found at the Zamil-Koba II site. The remains of dwellings have not been found in Crimea.

On the territory of the peninsula, the only Neolithic burial ground has been discovered near the village. Dolinka. In a shallow, vast pit, 50 people were buried in four tiers. They all lay in an extended position on their backs. Sometimes the bones of previously buried people were moved to the side to make room for a new burial. The dead were sprinkled with red ocher, this is associated with the burial ritual. Flint tools, many drilled animal teeth and bone beads were found in the burial. Similar burial structures have been discovered in the Dnieper and Azov regions.

The Neolithic population of Crimea can be divided into two groups: 1) descendants of the local Mesolithic population who inhabited the mountains; 2) the population that came from the Dnieper and Azov regions and settled the steppe.

In general, the “Neolithic revolution” in Crimea never ended. There are much more bones of wild animals at sites than domestic ones. Agricultural tools are extremely rare. This indicates that the people living on the peninsula at that time still, as in previous eras, prioritized hunting and gathering. Agriculture and gathering were in their infancy.

Modern science has come to the conclusion that all the diversity of current space objects was formed about 20 billion years ago. The Sun, one of the many stars in our Galaxy, arose 10 billion years ago. Our Earth is an ordinary planet solar system- has an age of 4.6 billion years. It is now generally accepted that man began to separate from the animal world about 3 million years ago.

The periodization of human history at the stage of the primitive communal system is quite complex. Several variants are known. The archaeological diagram is most often used. In accordance with it, the history of mankind is divided into three large stages depending on the material from which the tools used by man were made (Stone Age: 3 million years ago - the end of the 3rd millennium BC; Bronze Age: the end of the 3rd millennium BC). 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium BC; Iron Age - from 1st millennium BC).

Among different peoples in different regions of the Earth, the appearance of certain tools and forms of social life did not occur simultaneously. There was a process of formation of man (anthropogenesis, from the Greek "anthropos" - man, "genesis" - origin) and human society (sociogenesis, from the Latin "societas" - society and the Greek "genesis" - origin).

The most ancient ancestors of modern man resembled apes, who, unlike animals, were able to produce tools. IN scientific literature This type of ape-man was called homo habilis - a skilled man. The further evolution of habilis led to the appearance 1.5-1.6 million years ago of the so-called Pithecanthropus (from the Greek “pithekos” - monkey, “anthropos” - man), or archanthropes (from the Greek “achaios” - ancient). Archanthropes were already people. 200-300 thousand years ago, archanthropes were replaced by a more developed type of person - paleoanthropes, or Neanderthals (according to the place of their first discovery in the Neanderthal area in Germany).

During the Early Stone Age - Paleolithic (approximately 700 thousand years ago), people entered the territory of Eastern Europe. Settlement came from the south. Archaeologists find traces of the presence of ancient people in the Crimea (Kiik-Koba caves), in Abkhazia (near Sukhumi - Yashtukh), in Armenia (Satani-Dar hill near Yerevan), as well as in Central Asia (southern Kazakhstan, Tashkent region). In the region of Zhitomir and on the Dniester, traces of people being here 300-500 thousand years ago were found.

Great Glacier. About 100 thousand years ago, a significant part of the territory of Europe was occupied by a huge glacier up to two kilometers thick (since then the snowy peaks of the Alps and Scandinavian mountains were formed). The emergence of the glacier affected the development of mankind. The harsh climate forced man to use natural fire, and then to extract it. This helped a person survive in extreme cold weather. People learned to make piercing and cutting objects from stone and bone (stone knives, spearheads, scrapers, needles, etc.). Obviously, the emergence of articulate speech and the clan organization of society dates back to this time. The first, still extremely vague, religious ideas began to emerge, as evidenced by the appearance of artificial burials.

The difficulties of the struggle for existence, fear of the forces of nature and the inability to explain them were the reasons for the emergence of the pagan religion. Paganism was the deification of the forces of nature, animals, plants, good and evil spirits. This huge complex of primitive beliefs, customs, and rituals preceded the spread of world religions (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc.).

During the Late Paleolithic period (10-35 thousand years ago), the melting of the glacier ended, and a climate similar to the modern one was established. Using fire to cook food further development tools, as well as the first attempts to regulate relations between the sexes, significantly changed the physical type of a person. It was at this time that the transformation of a skilled man (homo habilis) into a reasonable man (homo sapiens) dates back to this time. Based on the place where it was first found, it is called Cro-Magnon (Cro-Magnon area in France). At the same time, obviously, as a result of adaptation to the environment in the conditions of the existence of sharp differences in climate between different regions of the globe, the existing races (Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid) were formed.

The processing of stone and especially bone and antler was further developed. Scientists sometimes call the Late Paleolithic the “Bone Age.” Finds of this time include daggers, spearheads, harpoons, eyed needles, awls, etc. Traces of the first long-term settlements were discovered. Not only caves, but also huts and dugouts built by man served as housing. Remains of jewelry have been found that make it possible to reproduce the clothing of that time.

During the Late Paleolithic period, the primitive herd was replaced by more high shape organization of society - tribal community. A clan community is an association of people of the same clan who have collective property and run a household based on the age and gender division of labor in the absence of exploitation.

Before the advent of pair marriage, kinship was established through the maternal line. The woman at this time played a leading role in the household, which determined the first stage of the clan system - matriarchy, which lasted until the time of the spread of metal.

Many works of art created in the Late Paleolithic era have reached us. Picturesque colorful rock carvings of animals (mammoths, bison, bears, deer, horses, etc.) that people of that time hunted, as well as figurines depicting a female deity, were discovered in caves and sites in France, Italy, Southern Urals(famous Kapova cave).

In the Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age (8-10 thousand years ago), new advances were made in stone processing. The tips and blades of knives, spears, and harpoons were then made as a kind of inserts from thin flint plates. A stone ax was used to process wood. One of the most important achievements was the invention of the bow, a long-range weapon that made it possible to more successfully hunt animals and birds. People learned to make snares and hunting traps.

Fishing was added to hunting and gathering. People have been observed trying to swim on logs. The domestication of animals began: the dog was tamed, followed by the pig. Eurasia was finally populated: man reached the shores of the Baltic and Pacific Oceans. At the same time, as many researchers believe, people came from Siberia through the Chukotka Peninsula to America.

Neolithic revolution. Neolithic - the last period of the Stone Age (5-7 thousand years ago) is characterized by the appearance of grinding and drilling of stone tools (axes, adzes, hoes). Handles were attached to objects. Since this time, pottery has been known. People began to build boats, learned to weave nets for fishing, and weave.

Significant changes in technology and forms of production at this time are sometimes called the "Neolithic Revolution". Its most important result was the transition from gathering, from an appropriating economy to a producing one. Man was no longer afraid to break away from his habitual places; he could move more freely in search of better conditions life, exploring new lands.

Depending on the natural and climatic conditions in Eastern Europe and Siberia, various types of economic activity. Cattle-breeding tribes lived in the steppe zone from the middle Dnieper to Altai. Farmers settled in the territories of modern Ukraine, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, and southern Siberia.

Hunting and fishing was typical for the northern forest regions of the European part and Siberia. Historical development individual regions proceeded unevenly. Cattle-breeding and agricultural tribes developed more quickly. Agriculture gradually penetrated into the steppe regions.

Among the sites of farmers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, one can distinguish Neolithic settlements in Turkmenistan (near Ashgabat), Armenia (near Yerevan), etc. In Central Asia in the 4th millennium BC. e. The first artificial irrigation systems were created. On the East European Plain, the oldest agricultural culture was Tripolye, named after the village of Tripolye near Kyiv. Settlements of Trypillians were discovered by archaeologists in the territory from the Dnieper to the Carpathians. They were large settlements of farmers and cattle breeders, whose dwellings were located in a circle. During excavations of these villages, grains of wheat, barley, and millet were discovered. Wooden sickles with flint inserts, stone grain grinders and other items were found. The Trypillian culture dates back to the Copper-Stone Age - the Eneolithic (3rd-1st millennium BC).

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Archeology distinguishes three main “ages” (periods, epochs) in the ancient history of Europe: stone, bronze, iron. The Stone Age is the longest of them. At this time, people made the main tools and weapons from wood, stone, horn and bone. It was only at the very end of the Stone Age that the ancient inhabitants of Europe first became acquainted with copper, but used it mainly for making jewelry. Tools and weapons made of wood were probably the most numerous among early humans in Europe, but wood is not usually preserved, nor are other organic materials, including horn and bone. Therefore, the main source for studying the Stone Age is stone tools and the remains of their production.
The long period of the Stone Age is usually divided into three parts: the ancient Stone Age, or Paleolithic; the Middle Stone Age, go Mesolithic, and the New Stone Age, or Neolithic. These divisions arose in the last century, but remain important to this day. The Paleolithic is the longest period; its beginning dates back to the emergence of human society. Paleolithic stone tools were made mainly by the beating technique, without the use of grinding and drilling. The Paleolithic coincides with the Pleistocene - the early part of the Quaternary, or glacial, period of Earth's history. The basis of the human economy in the Paleolithic was hunting and gathering.

The Paleolithic, in turn, is divided into three parts: lower (or early), middle and late (younger, or upper).

The Mesolithic (sometimes called the Epipaleolithic, although these terms are not entirely equivalent) is a much shorter period. He continued in many respects the traditions of the Paleolithic, but already in post-glacial times, when the population of Europe adapted to new natural conditions, changing the economy, material production and lifestyle. The appropriating nature of the economy in the Mesolithic is preserved, but new branches are developing - fishing, including sea fishing, hunting for marine mammals, and collecting sea mollusks.

A characteristic feature of the Mesolithic is the reduction in the size of tools and the appearance of microliths.

However, the main milestone in the history of the Stone Age of Europe occurs at the beginning of the Neolithic. At this time, the long period of appropriating economy, hunting, gathering, and fishing was replaced by agriculture and cattle breeding - the producing economy. The significance of this event is so great that the term “Neolithic revolution” is used to describe it.
Between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age, the Copper-Stone Age (Eneolithic) is distinguished, but this period can not be traced throughout Europe, but mainly in the south of the continent, where at that time agricultural and pastoral societies emerged and flourished, with large settlements, developed social relations, religion and even proto-literacy. Copper metallurgy is experiencing its first boom, the first large-sized copper tools appear - eye axes, adze axes, battle axes, as well as jewelry made of copper, gold and silver.