Fig. 1.

Periods of time and species of Homo, and some of the artefacts mentioned in the text alongside their dates (right column); the vertical axis is log scale. Homo dates are taken from Wood & Lonergan (2008). The African Middle Stone Age (MSA) dates from at least 285 000 BP, based on the earliest use of stone point technology and hafted tools in East Africa, succeeding the use of Acheulian stone technology characterized by cleavers and handaxes (Tryon and McBrearty, 2002). The transition to the Later Stone Age (LSA) does not coincide precisely with the beginning of the European Upper Palaeolithic (UP). The UP periods (Aurignacian, Gravettian, Solutrean and Magdalenian) are named after tool technology characteristic of key sites but the actual dates show geographical variations. The European Middle Palaeolithic is divided into Mousterian and Châtelperronian, after Neanderthal tool types made before and after the arrival of modern humans.