203CHAPTER 9
The Global Expansion of Homo
sapiens and Their Technology
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What Is the Relationship Between Middle Paleolithic
Homo and Modern Homo sapiens?
Some paleoanthropologists propose that Neandertals, like other archaic forms, evolved into ana-
tomically modern versions of Homo sapiens as different features of modern anatomy arising in
other regional populations were carried to them through gene flow. In this framework, human
populations throughout Africa, Europe, and Asia contributed to the making of modern humans.
Other paleoanthropologists propose that anatomically modern humans with superior cultural
capabilities appeared first in Africa about 200,000 years ago, replacing existing archaic forms as
they spread from Africa to the rest of the world.
What Was the Culture of Upper Paleolithic Peoples Like?
Between 70,000 and 40,000 years ago the global archaeological record begins to become richer,
not only with varied and sophisticated tool industries but also with evidence of increased human
creativity, ingenuity, and problem solving. Upper Paleolithic cultures generally include a greater
diversity of tools than previously, as well as a greater frequency of blade tools. Pressure-flaking
techniques and the use of burins to fashion implements of bone and antler became widespread. In
Europe, success of large game hunting increased with the invention of the spear-thrower, or atlatl,
and nets aided in hunting of small game. In Africa the earliest small points appropriate for arrow-
heads appear during this time period. There was as well an explosion of creativity, represented by
impressive works of art discovered in a variety of sites in Africa, Australia, Eurasia, and Australia.
When Did Anatomically Modern Forms
of Homo sapiens Appear?
Although 160,000-year-old fossils from Ethiopia have been de-
scribed as anatomically modern, the answer to this question is
quite complex. Anatomical modernity refers to particular char-
acteristics in the shape of the skull. While all humans today are
members of a single species, and as such are equally “modern,”
some contemporary populations do not meet the definition of
anatomical modernity used by some paleoanthropologists. To
exclude contemporary humans from the species based on the
shape of their skulls is an obvious impossibility. By extension,
the application of this definition of anatomical modernity to the
fossil record is a source of debate. Still, it is generally agreed that
by 30,000 years ago, Upper Paleolithic populations in all parts
of the inhabited world showed greater resemblance to more re-
cent human populations than earlier large-brained Homo.
When and How Did Humans Spread to
Australia and the Americas?
Around the time of the Upper Paleolithic, humans expanded
into new regions, most dramatically Australia and the Amer-
icas. Expansion into Australia and New Guinea required
crossing a deep, wide ocean channel and was thus dependent
upon sophisticated watercraft. Spread to the Americas in-
volved successful adaptation to Arctic conditions and move-
ment over land through northeastern Asia to the Americas,
along with the use of watercraft over even more extended
distances. Anthropologists use archaeological, linguistic, and
biological evidence to reconstruct the spread of humans into
these new regions.