Lower Paleolithic

Question 1

What defined the lower paleolithic age?

Answer 1

Lower Paelolithic Age: 1.5mn to 250k B.C.

• the early phase of the Stone Age when primitive stone implements were used.

Question 2

What tools were used during the lower paleolithic age?

Answer 2

spheroids, hand stone/ handaxes (even yad), cutting tools (klei kitsuts)

Question 3

What is Ubediya? Where is it?

Answer 3

archaeological/pre-historic site some 3km south of the Sea of Galilee, in the Jordan rift valley - oldest in Israel

Question 4

What are the stratigraphic characteristics of Ubediyya?

Answer 4

• Stratigraphic characteristics: basalt, malocology, types of animals (rodents, elphants, horses, bears)
• Flint tools (klei tsur) that parallel tools in Africa at the same time

Question 5

What evidence does Jacob’s Ford provide? (2)

Answer 5

Evidence of human habitation from as early as 750k years ago

Evidence for the use of fire

Question 6

What are the stratigraphic characteristics of Jacob’s Ford?

Answer 6

• Many animals - mammoths, elephants, hippos, donkeys, goats….
• Found: Inverted elephant skull surrounded by wooden poles and flint tools

Question 7

How was Jacob’s Ford dated?

Answer 7

Dating based on magnetic reversal (hipuch magneti) and flint tools

Question 8

What is Lake Ram (Breichat Ram)? Where is it?

Answer 8

Crater lake (maar) in the Golan Heights

Question 9

What are the stratigraphic characteristics of Lake Ram?

Answer 9

layer of flint tools and above it basalt (bazalt)

Question 10

How was Lake Ram dated?

Answer 10

Using potassium-argon

Question 11

What special artefact was found in Lake Ram?

Answer 11

Venus of Lake Ram, a pebble (tselmit) allegedly worked by homo erectus

Question 12

What species of homonids developed during this time period (Lower Paelolithic)?

Answer 12

Two types of man (neanderthal & homo sapiens) in the same time period & geography - that left a similar material culture and lived side by side for tens of thousands of years

Question 13

What happened to the neanderthals in Europe? Why did it happen?

Answer 13

In Europe, Neanderthal population disappeared after the arrival of Homo Sapiens from Africa - either through survival of the fittest (competition), or gradually through hybrid breeding with the homo sapiens

Question 14

Why did the Neanderthals & homo sapiens alternate locations?

Answer 14

Being in the Ice Age: Neanderthals (more adapted to cold conditions) tended to spread south in the cold periods and modern humans tended to spread north. Sometimes