SURVEY OF EUROPEAN HISTORY I
Topic 1: European Prehistory
The prehistoric period refers to that era or epoch of human past without documented
evidence, that is, that aspect of human past before the invention of writing. Prehistoric
Europe is usually taken to refer to human pre-history since the Lower Palaeolithic Period
until the Iron Age period. It covers at least one million years and include the following:
(i) The Lower Palaeolithic (1 million-200,000 B.P)
There is sparse evidence of the Lower Palaeolithic period in Europe. Homo Neanderthal
evolved from Homo Heidelberg in Palaeolithic 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 Bulgaria
where a single human tooth and flint artifacts have been dated to at least 1.4 million years
ago. In Spain, more advanced Acheulian technology (flint hand axes) have been found. The
earliest use of fire is also documented during this period. There is also evidence of the oldest
hunting weapons found in Europe which include javelin.
(ii) The Upper Palaeolithic (40,000-13,000 B.P)
An anatomically modern Homo Sapien entered Europe during this period from Africa
through the Near East. The Neanderthal shared Europe and parts of Asia with Homo Sapiens
until about 25,000 years ago. Bone and stone tools, cave art, drawings and language
developed during this period. Social organization also began with hunting techniques
focusing on a single species. Man lived in river-valleys during this time.
(iii) The Azilian Period (13,000-10,000 B.P)
The end of the Upper Palaeolithic was brought about by a severe climatic change. The
warming environment over a fairly brief period brought immense changes to the people
living in Europe. The Azilian people had to deal with new environment, including newly
forested areas. The melting glaciers and rising sea levels obliterated ancient coastlines and the
main sources of food, i.e, large bodied aquatic mammals disappeared. As a result, a severe
human population decline was evident as people struggled to survive and therefore a new
strategy of living had to devised.
(iv) Mesolithic Period (10,000-6,000 B.P)
The increasing warmth and risings sea levels in Europe led to the people devising new stone
tools to handle new plants and the animal processing required. Large game hunting
concentrated on a range of animals including the red deer and the wild pigs. Small game
trapping was done on badgers and hares. As for aquatic animals, fish, oysters and shell fish
became part of the diet. Accordingly, arrow-heads which were leaf-shaped and flint tools
appeared for the first time with a wide range of trade materials evident during the beginning
of the long-distance trade in Europe which included microliths, textiles, baskets, fish hooks,
nets, canoes, sledges and skis. The early man’s living quarters included fairly wooden
structures and caves. They also had their first cemeteries and a form of social ranking.
(v) Neolithic Europe
Agriculture is believed to have arrived from the Near East through Asia Minor and the
Caucasus. This led to the Near Eastern farmers replacing the European hunter-gatherers.
There was also a spread of agriculture accompanied by the spread of the Indo-European
language. Many Neolithic groups in Europe shared basic characteristics such as living in
small-scale family-based communities; subsisting on domesticated plants and animals
supplemented with the collection of wild plant and hunting; and production of hand-made
Topic 1: European Prehistory
The prehistoric period refers to that era or epoch of human past without documented
evidence, that is, that aspect of human past before the invention of writing. Prehistoric
Europe is usually taken to refer to human pre-history since the Lower Palaeolithic Period
until the Iron Age period. It covers at least one million years and include the following:
(i) The Lower Palaeolithic (1 million-200,000 B.P)
There is sparse evidence of the Lower Palaeolithic period in Europe. Homo Neanderthal
evolved from Homo Heidelberg in Palaeolithic 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 Bulgaria
where a single human tooth and flint artifacts have been dated to at least 1.4 million years
ago. In Spain, more advanced Acheulian technology (flint hand axes) have been found. The
earliest use of fire is also documented during this period. There is also evidence of the oldest
hunting weapons found in Europe which include javelin.
(ii) The Upper Palaeolithic (40,000-13,000 B.P)
An anatomically modern Homo Sapien entered Europe during this period from Africa
through the Near East. The Neanderthal shared Europe and parts of Asia with Homo Sapiens
until about 25,000 years ago. Bone and stone tools, cave art, drawings and language
developed during this period. Social organization also began with hunting techniques
focusing on a single species. Man lived in river-valleys during this time.
(iii) The Azilian Period (13,000-10,000 B.P)
The end of the Upper Palaeolithic was brought about by a severe climatic change. The
warming environment over a fairly brief period brought immense changes to the people
living in Europe. The Azilian people had to deal with new environment, including newly
forested areas. The melting glaciers and rising sea levels obliterated ancient coastlines and the
main sources of food, i.e, large bodied aquatic mammals disappeared. As a result, a severe
human population decline was evident as people struggled to survive and therefore a new
strategy of living had to devised.
(iv) Mesolithic Period (10,000-6,000 B.P)
The increasing warmth and risings sea levels in Europe led to the people devising new stone
tools to handle new plants and the animal processing required. Large game hunting
concentrated on a range of animals including the red deer and the wild pigs. Small game
trapping was done on badgers and hares. As for aquatic animals, fish, oysters and shell fish
became part of the diet. Accordingly, arrow-heads which were leaf-shaped and flint tools
appeared for the first time with a wide range of trade materials evident during the beginning
of the long-distance trade in Europe which included microliths, textiles, baskets, fish hooks,
nets, canoes, sledges and skis. The early man’s living quarters included fairly wooden
structures and caves. They also had their first cemeteries and a form of social ranking.
(v) Neolithic Europe
Agriculture is believed to have arrived from the Near East through Asia Minor and the
Caucasus. This led to the Near Eastern farmers replacing the European hunter-gatherers.
There was also a spread of agriculture accompanied by the spread of the Indo-European
language. Many Neolithic groups in Europe shared basic characteristics such as living in
small-scale family-based communities; subsisting on domesticated plants and animals
supplemented with the collection of wild plant and hunting; and production of hand-made
