Editing Stone Age (section)

====Upper Paleolithic====
{{main|Upper Paleolithic}}
[[File:Bradshaw rock paintings.jpg|thumb|[[Gwion Gwion rock paintings]] found in the north-west [[Kimberley region of Western Australia]]]]

From 50,000 to 10,000 years ago in Europe, the Upper Paleolithic ends with the end of the Pleistocene and onset of the Holocene era (the end of the [[Last Glacial Period]]). Modern humans spread out further across the Earth during the period known as the Upper Paleolithic.

The Upper Paleolithic is marked by a relatively rapid succession of often complex stone artifact technologies and a large increase in the creation of art and personal ornaments. During period between 35 and 10&nbsp;kya evolved: from 38 to 30 kya [[Châtelperronian]], 40–28 [[Aurignacian]], 28–22 [[Gravettian]], 22–17 [[Solutrean]], and 18–10 [[Magdalenian]]. All of these industries except the Châtelperronian are associated with anatomically modern humans. Authorship of the Châtelperronian is still the subject of much debate.

Most scholars date the arrival of [[Indigenous Australians|humans in Australia]] at 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, with a possible range of up to 125,000 years ago. The earliest [[modern human|anatomically modern human]] remains found in Australia (and outside of Africa) are those of [[Mungo Man]]; they have been dated at 42,000 years old.<ref name = "pmid1259451">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nature01383| pmid = 12594511| title = New ages for human occupation and climatic change at Lake Mungo, Australia| journal = Nature| volume = 421| issue = 6925| pages = 837–840| year = 2003| last1 = Bowler | first1 = J.M. | last2 = Johnston | first2 = H. | last3 = Olley | first3 = J. M. | last4 = Prescott | first4 = J. R. | last5 = Roberts | first5 = R. G. | last6 = Shawcross | first6 = W. | last7 = Spooner | first7 = N. A. | bibcode = 2003Natur.421..837B| s2cid = 4365526}}</ref><ref name = "doisj.quascirev.2005.07.022">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.07.022| title = Single-grain optical dating of grave-infill associated with human burials at Lake Mungo, Australia| journal = Quaternary Science Reviews| volume = 25| issue = 19–20| pages = 2469–2474| year = 2006| last1 = Olley | first1 = J. M. | last2 = Roberts | first2 = R. G. | last3 = Yoshida | first3 = H. | last4 = Bowler | first4 = J. M. | bibcode = 2006QSRv...25.2469O}}</ref>

The Americas were colonised via the [[Bering land bridge]] which was exposed during this period by lower sea levels. These people are called the [[Paleo-Indians]], and the earliest accepted dates are those of the [[Clovis culture]] sites, some 13,500 years ago. Globally, societies were [[hunter-gatherer]]s but evidence of regional identities begins to appear in the wide variety of stone tool types being developed to suit very different environments.