Pre History - the archaeology of the ancient Near East

This week we say goodbye to the Middle Palaeolithic. Modern humans have migrated out of Africa and into the Near East, and this time they mean to stay. Have a listen to what we know about the change for the Middle Palaeolithic Near East of the Neanderthals to the Upper Palaeolithic Near East of us modern humans.

If you have any comments or questions you can reach me at [email protected] or on the website at prehistorypodcast.com.

This week we look at the last stage of the Middle Palaeolithic. After looking at Neanderthals last week, here we get into what we know by contrast about humans in the Middle Palaeolithic, and what we have learned so far about a new, up-and-coming area of archaeological research into humans in the Middle Palaeolithic - the Arabian Peninsula.

If you have any comments or questions you can reach me at [email protected] or on the website at prehistorypodcast.com.

In this episode we continue in the Middle Palaeolithic, looking at our cousins the Neanderthals. This episode examines what we know about Neanderthals, and what mistakes which we made about them in the past that have led to the popular view of Neanderthals being so very wrong.

If you have any comments or questions you can reach me at [email protected] or on the website at prehistorypodcast.com.

In this episode we move into the Middle Palaeolithic, looking at how life changed in the Near East after about 215 thousand years ago. Changes in the way that people moved around, particularly a change to the use of caves for camps or base-camps means that we are starting to get more information about the structure of daily life in the past, at least compared with what we know from the Lower Palaeolithic. Have a listen to this first look at what we know about life in the Middle Palaeolithic, and come listen next week when we take a more detailed look at some of the people who called the Near East home during this period.

If you have any comments or questions you can reach me at [email protected] or on the website at prehistorypodcast.com

Archaeological evidence for people in the ancient Near East begins with the Lower Palaeolithic. When Homo erectus wandered out of Africa and spread out across other continents they left traces of their lives across our region. Here we discuss what we know about the first people to call the Near East home - how they lived, what they ate, and how they changed through time. 

If you have any comments or questions you can reach me at [email protected] or on the website at prehistorypodcast.com

Before we begin with the first people in the ancient Near East, here is a prologue of everything which people got up to beforehand. This is a brief coverage of everything that we know about human evolution from our last common ancestor with chimpanzees and gorillas up to the appearance of humans.

If anyone wants to learn more about our human story before the start of our history, welcome to PreHistory, a podcast on the archaeology of the ancient Near East (Middle East). This is an introduction to the podcast and a very brief idea of what I will be covering in forthcoming episodes. Stay tuned for the first episode of PreHistory this coming weekend. If you have any questions or comments you can find me at [email protected] or on the website at prehistorypodcast.com