Cro-Magnon is considered to be the ancestors of modern man, who lived on the planet in the late (or top) Paleolithic (40-12 thousand years ago).The name of this kind of primitive people came from the Cro-Magnon cave, located in the southwestern part of France.It was there in 1868, archaeologist Louis Lartey during excavations stumbled upon the remains of ancient people, which, by their appearance differed from the previously discovered skeletons of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens were like (Homo sapiens).Nakhodka, whose age was about 30 thousand years old, immediately attracted the attention of scientists who have studied the history of that period, in fact about life then Cro-Magnon did not know anything.In subsequent years, their remains, along with tools were also found in other areas (Mladech and Dolni Vestonice in the Czech Republic, Peyvilend in England Peştera cu Oase in Romania, Murzak-Koba in the Crimea, Sungir in Russia Mezhirech in UkraineFish Hoek, Cape Flats in Africa, and so on. d.).
Origin and migration Origin
Cro-Magnon until today not fully understood.Previously, historians and anthropologists held the Marxist theory of the origin of this type of ancient man.If you believe it, the Cro-Magnon is a direct descendant of a Neanderthal.Many modern scholars have questioned this theory.They tend to believe that the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons are descended from a common ancestor, and then each of them began to grow apart.
modern scientists failed to reach consensus on, in which part of the world were first ancestors of modern man, and when that's exactly what happened.The most common theory is that the Cro-Magnons were formed as a separate species about 200,000 years ago, and it happened in the eastern part of Africa.After 70 thousand years they were in search of new lands for life began to migrate to the Middle East.Hence one of the Cro-Magnon populated West Asia and Indian Ocean, and the other moved to the north and reached the lands of Asia Minor and the Northern Black Sea.In Europe, Homo sapiens appeared about 40-45 thousand years ago.
Appearance
How looked the Cro-Magnons?Ancient people, fossils of modern man differs from the individuals body structure and size of the brain.In contrast, the representatives of Homo sapiens were like people today, but there were larger.Archaeological finds have allowed to find out that the Cro-Magnon man, who inhabited ancient Europe, growth reached 180 cm (women were lower) have broad faces and deep-set eyes.The volume of the brain of Homo sapiens was 1400-1900 cubic centimeters, which corresponds to this indicator modern humans.Lifestyle Cro-Magnons, who had to survive in the harsh conditions of antiquity, they contributed to the formation of a well-developed muscle.
Gen.
Ancient people lived in communities whose number reached 100 people.Their main occupations were hunting and gathering plant food.They were the first to make tools from bones and horns.Along with this they have remained widespread use of stone tools.Lighter and improved products have allowed them to produce more food, sew clothes, to invent tools to facilitate their existence.Scientists are convinced that the ancient people of this era has been well developed it.
Residence
Cro-Magnons still continued to live in caves, but they have already started to appear new types of housing.They have learned to build reliable tents made of animal skins, wood and bone.These houses can be moved, so that the Cro-Magnon life ceased to be settled.Wandering from place to place for the purpose of development of new lands, they were transferred to a housing and agriculture.The Cro-Magnons were the first prehistoric humans who managed to tame the dog and use it as an assistant.
human ancestors have been widespread cult of hunting.This is evidenced by numerous finds of animal figures, pierced by arrows, found during excavations of the settlements.The walls of their homes were decorated with images of ancient people animals and hunting scenes.
Food Production
Hunting firmly established in the life of Cro-Magnon man.The realities of the Stone Age is such that in order to feed themselves in order, it was necessary to kill.They hunted the ancient inhabitants of our planet's well-organized in groups of 10-20 people.The objects of their persecution became large animals (mammoths, wolves, woolly rhinoceroses, bears, deer, bison).After destroying the beast, they provide their communities with plenty of skins and meat.The main tools of the killing of animals at the Cro-Magnons were spear throwers and bow.In addition to hunting, they are engaged in catching birds and fish (for the first session used a snare, and for the second - harpoons and hooks).
Besides meat and fish, the descendants of modern man ate wild plants into food.Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon The food was very similar.They ate everything that nature gave them (bark, leaves and fruit of trees, stems, flowers and roots of plants, grasses, mushrooms, nuts, seaweed and so on. D.).
Burial
We Cro-Magnons were interesting funerary customs.Deceased relatives, they put into the grave in bent position.Their hair is decorated with netting, hand - bracelets, and face covered with flat stones.The bodies of the dead sprinkle with red ocher.The ancient people believed in the afterlife, so buried their relatives together with household items, decorations and food in the belief that after death they will need them.
Cultural Revolution
Cro-Magnon people who lived in the late Paleolithic, made several discoveries that allowed them to significantly outperform in the cultural development of their predecessors.These key achievements was the invention of a new method of processing of flint, went down in history under the name "method of knife-like blades."This discovery has revolutionized the manufacture of tools.The method consists in the fact that from the stone nodule (nucleus) fought back and wrung out individual plates, of which subsequently produced a variety of products.Thanks to new technology prehistoric people have learned to get out of one kilogram of silicon to 250 cm working edge (Neanderthals did not exceed 220 cm, and their predecessors barely reached 45 cm).
No less important was the discovery of Cro-Magnon tools of production of animal feed.Spending a lot of time hunting, ancient man noticed that the bones, horns and tusks of animals are characterized by high strength.He began to make of them a qualitatively new products, to facilitate his life.There were bone needles and awls, making it easier to sew clothes from the skins.Animal raw materials began to be used in the construction of new dwellings, as well as produce from it ornaments and figurines.The development of new materials has led to the invention of more sophisticated tools of hunting - spear throwers and bow.These devices have allowed Cro kill animals that are many times superior to them in strength and size.
Lifestyle Cro-Magnon is not only surviving in the wild.Prehistoric people have sought to perfect.They left their offspring a lot of works of art.This wall paintings in the caves, and unique ornament decorated with tools, and made of flint, clay, bones and tusks figurines bison, horses, deer and other animals.The ancient Cro-Magnon man worshiped female beauty.Among the finds, discovered by archaeologists, there are a lot of figures of the fair sex.For the splendor of forms of contemporary historians named "Venus".
