194231 - CHRONOLOGY AND CULTURES OF THE PALAEOLITHIC

insegnamento

ID:

194231

Tipo Insegnamento:

Opzionale

Durata (ore):

30

CFU:

SSD:

PREISTORIA E PROTOSTORIA

Url:

Dettaglio Insegnamento:

QUATERNARIO, PREISTORIA E ARCHEOLOGIA/Quaternario, Preistoria e Protostoria Anno: 1

Anno:

2025

Periodo di attività

Primo Semestre (29/09/2025 - 19/12/2025)

Obiettivi Formativi

The course is aimed at preparing the student to manage the general topics on the cultural, social and economic evolution of the Palaeolithic populations, in relation to the most relevant ecological changes. The geographic contexts are the African and the EuroAsiatic continents, where extensive geographic, climatic and bio-cultural changes occurred during the Middle and Late Pleistocene.

Prerequisiti

The following prerequisites are required for attending the course : - General notions of Palaeoanthropology; - Basic notions of Geography, climatology and ecology; - Methodologies of Prehistoric Archeological Research; - Geochronology.

Metodi didattici

Lectures and seminars.

Verifica Apprendimento

The exam mode does not vary for both attending and non-attending students. Teaching resources useful for the preparation of the exam are available in the dedicated folder and constist of: 1) pdf of lectures, 2) pdf of eventual seminars and in-depth; 3) scientific papers and in-depth notes; 4) books and handbooks chapters. These resources are complemented by books of optional consultation. The teaching resources folder is updated during the course with removal or substitution of obsolete sources, integration with new material also following specific requests issued by the students. The exam audition takes 20-25 minutes and normally focuses on at least two topics.

Testi

- The Cradle of Humanity, Oxford University Press, 2017 - Human Evolution: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2005 - Prehistory: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2018 - The Ice Age: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2014 Vandermeesch B. & Maureille B., 2009, Les Néandertaliens. Biologie et Culture. Comité travaux historiques et scientifiques. Parigi. De Beaune S.A., 2008, L'homme et l'outil. Invention technique durant la préhistoire. Edizioni del Conseil National Recherche Scientifique, Paris. Dijdjian F., Koslowski J., Otte M., 1999. Le Paléolithique supérieur en Europe. Edizioni Colin, Paris.

Contenuti

The course covers the chronological and cultural interval spanning from the oldest appearance of the Modern Human behavior in Africa, represented from different types of evidence, up to the complex record of last hunter-gatherers. Following the geographic dispersion from the African continent of the species of Hominins until Homo sapiens, the most important steps in the evolution of culture will be taken into consideration. The chronology of the Palaeolithic will be the reference scale for discussing the impact of innovations in technology which has supported Palaeolithic people to interact in a more complex way with the ecological context than in earlier times. The dynamics of human peopling will be assessed in relation to modifications in the distribution of lithic, vegetal and alimentary resources. The main topics are listed below: - emergence of the first technologies in Africa and their impact; - the first south European peopling, contests and models; - appearance of bifaces, the Acheulean and the North-european peopling; - from the Lower to the Middle Palaeolithic, technological changes and in the Human-resources interaction ; - the age of the Neandertal Man: economy, technologies, settlements; - appearance of Homo sapiens in Africa and the first spreads; - Anatomically Modern Humans and the Others: the state of art. Hypotheses, models and methodological problems; - The disappearance of the Neandertals from Eurasia. - The lower and middle phases of Upper Palaeolithic: Aurignacian and Gravettian and climatic and ecological interactions; - The late phase of the Late Palaeolithic during the Late-Glacial, the demographic development; - The transition to the Mesolithic.