Palaeolithic and Mesolithic
Significant Palaeolithic and/or Mesolithic sites
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Aggtelek and Slovak Karst | Jasov Cave | |
| Al-Faw | "(...) nearly 12,000 archaeological features testifying to the successive human occupation of the region since the Palaeolithic period" - "The earliest human traces are the stone tools with heavy patina found on the plateau, dating back to the Palaeolithic and early Neolithic periods." (AB Ev) | |
| Altamira Cave | ||
| Central Sikhote-Alin | In terms of archaeological monuments on the nominated property, there are monuments deriving from the late Palaeolithic times (the northern enclave of the known Ustinov culture) | |
| Chiribiquete National Park | The rock art is associated with the earliest periods of human settlement in South America, perhaps around 20,000 BCE (AB ev) | |
| Chongoni Rock Art | ||
| Cilento and Vallo di Diano | Capo Grosso | |
| Coa Valley and Siega Verde | ||
| Decorated cave of Pont d'Arc | Upper Palaeolithic (ca. 30,000 to 32,000 BP) | |
| Gobustan Rock Art | Images span from the Paleolithic to the modern period. (AB ev) | |
| Golden Mountains of Altai | "The region has a rich cultural heritage. The first humans appeared in the region almost a million years ago as evidenced by Palaeolithic settlements located in the region of Gorno-Altaisk." (nomination doc) | |
| Lenggong Valley | In-situ Palaeolithic workshops (AB ev) | |
| Melka Kunture and Balchit | "The Melka Kunture cluster of Palaeolithic archaeological and palaeontological sites testifies to hominin occupation of the area from around two million years ago (...)." (AB Ev) | |
| Mount Carmel Caves | Palaeolithic | |
| Mount Taishan | "Mt Taishan is one of the birthplaces of the Chinese civilisation, evidence of human activity dating back 400,000 years to the Palaeolithic Period" (AB evaluation) | |
| Niah Caves | "The archaeological evidence indicates that there were two distinct societies using the West Mouth of the Niah Great Cave during different periods of time. The first society, termed the "Mesolithic", occupied the site from circa 11,500 to 8,000 BP." (AB Ev) | |
| Orkhon Valley | ||
| Peking Man Site | The Upper Cave at Zhoukoudian ("Peking Man") contains Paleolithic remains | |
| Provins | Palaeolithic remains | |
| Qadisha Valley | "Many of the caves in the Qadisha occupied by the Christian anchorites had been used in earlier as shelters and for burials, back as far as the Palaeolithic period." (AB evaluation) | |
| Rock Art in the Hail Region | "Observation of Middle Palaeolithic stone tools both on Umm Sinman and in its immediate vicinity, suggests that, already in the Pleistocene, climatic variations attracted human occupation of the Jubbah oasis during dry periods (...). Near the Shuwaymis sites, streams and lakes occurred during Pleistocene periods and some of this surface water also persisted well into the Holocene. Here too, Middle Palaeolithic occupation evidence has been reported." (AB Ev) | |
| Rock Drawings in Valcamonica | ||
| Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka | ||
| Sangiran Early Man Site | palaeolithic stone and bone tools such as flakes, choppers and cleavers | |
| Southern Öland | ||
| Tadrart Acacus | The site also includes the Murzuch desert, which bears traces of the different phases of the Palaeolithic. | |
| Tassili n'Ajjer | there are palaeolithic sites at Erg (formerly lake) Tihodaine (UNEP-WCMC) | |
| The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa | "The stratigraphy of the Middle Stone Age layers at the three component parts together shows that the dated levels reflect a reliable and sequential record of human behaviour through many tens of thousands of years, reaching back as far as 162,000 BP." - "The Diepkloof Rock Shelter component part (...) has the most complete and continuous Middle Stone Age sequences in southern Africa, from pre-Still Bay to post-Howiesons Poort periods (from before 130,000 BP to about 50,000 BP)." - "Sibhudu was occupied during the Middle Stone Age from about 120,000 to 38,000 years ago and presents a complex but clear stratigraphy of more than fifty exceptionally well-preserved Middle Stone Age layers"." (AB Ev) | |
| Tropical Rainforest Sumatra | Tiangko Panjang Cave - Records of life have been discovered in Tiangko Panjang cave within KSNP area., dating up to 10,000 years ago (AB ev) | |
| Vézère Valley | ||
| Wadi Rum | The numerous archaeological sites from the Palaeolithic era, of which the most important is al-Kaaka in Wadi Umm Sahm (AB ev) |
Suggestions?
Do you know of another WHS we could connect to Palaeolithic and Mesolithic?
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- Be explained, with reference to a source