Seán Burke

Hi, thank you for having me.

Hi, thank you for having me.

Oh, way off. Exactly. So the start of the Paleolithic, this period that we call the Paleolithic, is around 3.3 million years ago. So that's defined by when our hominin ancestors first start using stone tools. And then it goes all the way until 12,000 years ago. So it's a huge stretch of time. And we split that into three chunks. So we talk about the lower Paleolithic period.

Oh, way off. Exactly. So the start of the Paleolithic, this period that we call the Paleolithic, is around 3.3 million years ago. So that's defined by when our hominin ancestors first start using stone tools. And then it goes all the way until 12,000 years ago. So it's a huge stretch of time. And we split that into three chunks. So we talk about the lower Paleolithic period.

This is 3 million-ish years ago to about 300,000 years ago. Then we have the middle Paleolithic period that goes from 300,000 years ago to about 50,000 years ago. And then the upper Paleolithic period from about 50,000 years ago to 12,000 years ago. So we're talking about chunks of really long periods of time.

This is 3 million-ish years ago to about 300,000 years ago. Then we have the middle Paleolithic period that goes from 300,000 years ago to about 50,000 years ago. And then the upper Paleolithic period from about 50,000 years ago to 12,000 years ago. So we're talking about chunks of really long periods of time.

Almost all of the art that we know about comes from that end period, the upper Paleolithic period. The Upper Paleolithic period, the start of that is defined by Homo sapiens kind of entering Europe. And then Neanderthals are starting to die out in this period between 50,000 to maybe 40,000, 35,000 years ago, where Neanderthals are kind of declining in population.

Almost all of the art that we know about comes from that end period, the upper Paleolithic period. The Upper Paleolithic period, the start of that is defined by Homo sapiens kind of entering Europe. And then Neanderthals are starting to die out in this period between 50,000 to maybe 40,000, 35,000 years ago, where Neanderthals are kind of declining in population.

I mean, there's lots of different theories about this. Everything from climate change to, you know, Homo sapiens being superior to... My personal theory is that it's just we start to get a lot of interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals at this time. So it could just be that, I mean, they're part of us now. Their population becomes part of the broader Homo sapiens.

I mean, there's lots of different theories about this. Everything from climate change to, you know, Homo sapiens being superior to... My personal theory is that it's just we start to get a lot of interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals at this time. So it could just be that, I mean, they're part of us now. Their population becomes part of the broader Homo sapiens.

Who told you that?

Who told you that?

Before we discover cave art, the first kind of evidence of art from this period that we find is from 1864. So it comes from a site called La Madeleine in France, and it was discovered by Latté and Christie. And it's this piece of mammoth ivory that has like a beautiful kind of engraving of a mammoth on it.

Before we discover cave art, the first kind of evidence of art from this period that we find is from 1864. So it comes from a site called La Madeleine in France, and it was discovered by Latté and Christie. And it's this piece of mammoth ivory that has like a beautiful kind of engraving of a mammoth on it.

And this was not only exciting for being the first art from this period, but it was the first solid evidence that humans existed alongside these ancient animals that

And this was not only exciting for being the first art from this period, but it was the first solid evidence that humans existed alongside these ancient animals that

The first site that was kind of identified as Paleolithic was Altamira. So this was discovered in 1879 by Marsilio Sanz de Sautula. He was kind of excavating and recording parts of the cave. It's a stain, isn't it? In Spain, yeah, sorry. Yeah, in Spain. And as he was doing this, his daughter was bored and playing, and she'd come across the bison, the famous bison ceiling of Altamira.

The first site that was kind of identified as Paleolithic was Altamira. So this was discovered in 1879 by Marsilio Sanz de Sautula. He was kind of excavating and recording parts of the cave. It's a stain, isn't it? In Spain, yeah, sorry. Yeah, in Spain. And as he was doing this, his daughter was bored and playing, and she'd come across the bison, the famous bison ceiling of Altamira.

So this is really beautiful polychrome, so they're using multiple colors, depictions of bison that are on the ceiling of Altamira. Sansa Sautola had this amazing discovery at Altamira Cave. And he wrote this up in 1880. And then Filanova y Piera, who was a professor at the University of Madrid, he then presented this discovery at a conference in, I think, 1881.

So this is really beautiful polychrome, so they're using multiple colors, depictions of bison that are on the ceiling of Altamira. Sansa Sautola had this amazing discovery at Altamira Cave. And he wrote this up in 1880. And then Filanova y Piera, who was a professor at the University of Madrid, he then presented this discovery at a conference in, I think, 1881.