Palaeolithic Europe

Paleolithic Europe, the Lower or Old Stone Age in Europe encompasses the era from the arrival of the first humans, of which the earliest known indices are around 1,8 million years old until the beginning of the Middle Stone Age, the Mesolithic, (also Epipaleolithic) around 50,000 years ago. This period covers over 90% of human technological history on the European continent.

Analysis of the combined archaeological record allows to conclude that Homo neanderthalensis has evolved from Homo heidelbergensis in Paleolithic Europe between 600,000 and 500,000 years ago before being replaced by modern humans migrating out of Africa approximately 50,000 years ago. The oldest evidence of human occupation in Eastern Europe comes from the Kozarnika cave in Bulgaria where a single human tooth and flint artifacts have been dated to at least 1.4 million years ago. In Western Europe at Atapuerca in Spain, human remains have been found that are from 1.2 million years ago.

The earliest inhabitants of Europe from 1.8 million years ago used Oldowan pebble tool technology. The earliest evidence for the use of the more advanced Acheulean technology are 900,000-year-old flint hand axes found in Iberia. Notable human fossils from this most ancient period of European prehistory are Kozarnika in Bulgaria 1.4 mya, Atapuerca in Spain 1.2 mya, Mauer 1 from Germany 500k, Eartham Pit, Boxgrove England 478k, Swanscombe Man from England 400k, and Tautavel Man from France 400k.

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