Pre History - the archaeology of the ancient Near East · PreHistoryPodcast

Episode 3: Making the Middle Palaeolithic

·25 min·2 clips

Jane reveals how archaeologists are like nosy neighbors digging through 200,000-year-old rubbish to uncover ancient lives.

This episode explores the Middle Paleolithic period in the Near East, focusing on archaeological methods and key technological shifts. Host Jane continues her chronological series on the region's prehistory. She frames archaeologists as "nosy neighbors" investigating ancient lives through material remains. The Middle Paleolithic in the Near East begins around 215,000 years ago. A primary indicator for identifying this period is the Levallois stone tool manufacturing technique. This technique is named for a Paris suburb where such tools were first found in the 19th century. Evidence primarily comes from stone tools and food remains discarded at sites. The host contrasts this with the preceding Lower Paleolithic, which spanned over a million years. She notes that Middle Paleolithic sites provide a greater volume of material than earlier periods. Most archaeological evidence from this era consists of lost or discarded items. The Levallois technique represents a significant advancement in prehistoric toolmaking. Its presence helps archaeologists date sites even without precise scientific dating methods. The episode emphasizes that analyzing ancient "rubbish" is fundamental to understanding past human activities. This period involves studying the lives of the "REALLY long dead." The increased material record allows for more detailed inferences about Middle Paleolithic life compared to earlier times. The tone is conversational and educational, directly addressing the listener with analogies. The style is narrative, guiding the audience through a chronological story of technological change. Listeners interested in archaeological methodology and early human technology would appreciate this episode. Those seeking dramatic narratives or discussions of specific hominin species might find it too focused on technical analysis.

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