document_title: Paleolithic

question_text: what did paleolithic and neolithic not have in common

text: Paleolithic

text: Paleogeography and climate[edit]

text: The Paleolithic Period coincides almost exactly with the Pleistocene epoch of geologic time, which lasted from 2.6 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago.[11] This epoch experienced important geographic and climatic changes that affected human societies.

text: During the preceding Pliocene, continents had continued to drift from possibly as far as 250 km (160 mi) from their present locations to positions only 70 km (43 mi) from their current location. South America became linked to North America through the Isthmus of Panama, bringing a nearly complete end to South America's distinctive marsupial fauna. The formation of the isthmus had major consequences on global temperatures, because warm equatorial ocean currents were cut off, and the cold Arctic and Antarctic waters lowered temperatures in the now-isolated Atlantic Ocean.

text: Most of Central America formed during the Pliocene to connect the continents of North and South America, allowing fauna from these continents to leave their native habitats and colonize new areas.[12] Africa's collision with Asia created the Mediterranean, cutting off the remnants of the Tethys Ocean. During the Pleistocene, the modern continents were essentially at their present positions; the tectonic plates on which they sit have probably moved at most 100 km (62 mi) from each other since the beginning of the period.[13]

text: Climates during the Pliocene became cooler and drier, and seasonal, similar to modern climates. Ice sheets grew on Antarctica. The formation of an Arctic ice cap around 3 million years ago is signaled by an abrupt shift in oxygen isotope ratios and ice-rafted cobbles in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Ocean beds.[14] Mid-latitude glaciation probably began before the end of the epoch. The global cooling that occurred during the Pliocene may have spurred on the disappearance of forests and the spread of grasslands and savannas.[12] The Pleistocene climate was characterized by repeated glacial cycles during which continental glaciers pushed to the 40th parallel in some places. Four major glacial events have been identified, as well as many minor intervening events. A major event is a general glacial excursion, termed a "glacial". Glacials are separated by "interglacials". During a glacial, the glacier experiences minor advances and retreats. The minor excursion is a "stadial"; times between stadials are "interstadials". Each glacial advance tied up huge volumes of water in continental ice sheets 1,500–3,000 m (4,900–9,800 ft) deep, resulting in temporary sea level drops of 100 m (330 ft) or more over the entire surface of the Earth. During interglacial times, such as at present, drowned coastlines were common, mitigated by isostatic or other emergent motion of some regions.

text: The effects of glaciation were global. Antarctica was ice-bound throughout the Pleistocene and the preceding Pliocene. The Andes were covered in the south by the Patagonian ice cap. There were glaciers in New Zealand and Tasmania. The now decaying glaciers of Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, and the Ruwenzori Range in east and central Africa were larger. Glaciers existed in the mountains of Ethiopia and to the west in the Atlas mountains. In the northern hemisphere, many glaciers fused into one. The Cordilleran ice sheet covered the North American northwest; the Laurentide covered the east. The Fenno-Scandian ice sheet covered northern Europe, including Great Britain; the Alpine ice sheet covered the Alps. Scattered domes stretched across Siberia and the Arctic shelf. The northern seas were frozen. During the late Upper Paleolithic (Latest Pleistocene) c. 18,000 BP, the Beringia land bridge between Asia and North America was blocked by ice,[13] which may have prevented early Paleo-Indians such as the Clovis culture from directly crossing Beringia to reach the Americas.

text: According to Mark Lynas (through collected data), the Pleistocene's overall climate could be characterized as a continuous El Niño with trade winds in the south Pacific weakening or heading east, warm air rising near Peru, warm water spreading from the west Pacific and the Indian Ocean to the east Pacific, and other El Niño markers.[15]

text: The Paleolithic is often held to finish at the end of the ice age (the end of the Pleistocene epoch), and Earth's climate became warmer. This may have caused or contributed to the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna, although it is also possible that the late Pleistocene extinctions were (at least in part) caused by other factors such as disease and overhunting by humans.[16][17] New research suggests that the extinction of the woolly mammoth may have been caused by the combined effect of climatic change and human hunting.[17] Scientists suggest that climate change during the end of the Pleistocene caused the mammoths' habitat to shrink in size, resulting in a drop in population. The small populations were then hunted out by Paleolithic humans.[17] The global warming that occurred during the end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene may have made it easier for humans to reach mammoth habitats that were previously frozen and inaccessible.[17] Small populations of wooly mammoths survived on isolated Arctic islands, Saint Paul Island and Wrangel Island, until c. 3700 BCE and c. 1700 BCE respectively. The Wrangel Island population became extinct around the same time the island was settled by prehistoric humans.[18] There is no evidence of prehistoric human presence on Saint Paul island (though early human settlements dating as far back as 6500 BCE were found on the nearby Aleutian Islands).[19]

text:
Currently agreed upon classifications as Paleolithic geoclimatic episodes[20]

Age
(before)
America
Atlantic Europe
Maghreb
Mediterranean Europe
Central Europe

10,000 years
Flandrian interglacial
Flandriense
Mellahiense
Versiliense
Flandrian interglacial

80,000 years
Wisconsin
Devensiense
Regresión
Regresión
Wisconsin Stage

140,000 years
Sangamoniense
Ipswichiense
Ouljiense
Tirreniense II y III
Eemian Stage

200,000 years
Illinois
Wolstoniense
Regresión
Regresión
Wolstonian Stage

450,000 years
Yarmouthiense
Hoxniense
Anfatiense
Tirreniense I
Hoxnian Stage

580,000 years
Kansas
Angliense
Regresión
Regresión
Kansan Stage

750,000 years
Aftoniense
Cromeriense
Maarifiense
Siciliense
Cromerian Complex

1,100,000 years
Nebraska
Beestoniense
Regresión
Regresión
Beestonian stage

1,400,000 years
interglaciar
Ludhamiense
Messaudiense
Calabriense
Donau-Günz

text: Human way of life[edit]

text: Nearly all of our knowledge of Paleolithic human culture and way of life comes from archaeology and ethnographic comparisons to modern hunter-gatherer cultures such as the !Kung San who live similarly to their Paleolithic predecessors.[21] The economy of a typical Paleolithic society was a hunter-gatherer economy.[22] Humans hunted wild animals for meat and gathered food, firewood, and materials for their tools, clothes, or shelters.[22]

text: Human population density was very low, around only one person per square mile.[3] This was most likely due to low body fat, infanticide, women regularly engaging in intense endurance exercise,[23] late weaning of infants, and a nomadic lifestyle.[3] Like contemporary hunter-gatherers, Paleolithic humans enjoyed an abundance of leisure time unparalleled in both Neolithic farming societies and modern industrial societies.[22][24] At the end of the Paleolithic, specifically the Middle and or Upper Paleolithic, humans began to produce works of art such as cave paintings, rock art and jewellery and began to engage in religious behavior such as burial and ritual.[25]

text: Distribution[edit]

text: At the beginning of the Paleolithic, hominins were found primarily in eastern Africa, east of the Great Rift Valley. Most known hominin fossils dating earlier than one million years before present are found in this area, particularly in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

text: By c. 2,000,000 – c. 1,500,000 BP, groups of hominins began leaving Africa and settling southern Europe and Asia. Southern Caucasus was occupied by c. 1,700,000 BP, and northern China was reached by c. 1,660,000 BP. By the end of the Lower Paleolithic, members of the hominin family were living in what is now China, western Indonesia, and, in Europe, around the Mediterranean and as far north as England, southern Germany, and Bulgaria. Their further northward expansion may have been limited by the lack of control of fire: studies of cave settlements in Europe indicate no regular use of fire prior to c. 400,000 – c. 300,000 BP.[26]

text: East Asian fossils from this period are typically placed in the genus Homo erectus. Very little fossil evidence is available at known Lower Paleolithic sites in Europe, but it is believed that hominins who inhabited these sites were likewise Homo erectus. There is no evidence of hominins in America, Australia, or almost anywhere in Oceania during this time period.

text: Fates of these early colonists, and their relationships to modern humans, are still subject to debate. According to current archaeological and genetic models, there were at least two notable expansion events subsequent to peopling of Eurasia c. 2,000,000 – c. 1,500,000 BP. Around 500,000 BP a group of early humans, frequently called Homo heidelbergensis, came to Europe from Africa and eventually evolved into Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals). In the Middle Paleolithic, Neanderthals were present in the region now occupied by Poland.

text: Both Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis became extinct by the end of the Paleolithic. Descended from Homo Sapiens, the anatomically modern Homo sapiens sapiens emerged in eastern Africa c. 200,000 BP, left Africa around 50,000 BP, and expanded throughout the planet. Multiple hominid groups coexisted for some time in certain locations. Homo neanderthalensis were still found in parts of Eurasia c. 30,000 BP years, and engaged in an unknown degree of interbreeding with Homo sapiens sapiens. DNA studies also suggest an unknown degree of interbreeding between Homo sapiens sapiens and Homo sapiens denisova.[27]

text: Hominin fossils not belonging either to Homo neanderthalensis or to Homo sapiens species, found in the Altai Mountains and Indonesia, were radiocarbon dated to c. 30,000 – c. 40,000 BP and c. 17,000 BP respectively.

text: For the duration of the Paleolithic, human populations remained low, especially outside the equatorial region. The entire population of Europe between 16,000 and 11,000 BP likely averaged some 30,000 individuals, and between 40,000 and 16,000 BP, it was even lower at 4,000–6,000 individuals.[28]

text: Technology[edit]

text: Tools[edit]

text: Paleolithic humans made tools of stone, bone, and wood.[22] The early paleolithic hominins, Australopithecus, were the first users of stone tools. Excavations in Gona, Ethiopia have produced thousands of artifacts, and through radioisotopic dating and magnetostratigraphy, the sites can be firmly dated to 2.6 million years ago. Evidence shows these early hominins intentionally selected raw materials with good flaking qualities and chose appropriate sized stones for their needs to produce sharp-edged tools for cutting.[29]

text: The earliest Paleolithic stone tool industry, the Oldowan, began around 2.6 million years ago.[30] It contained tools such as choppers, burins, and stitching awls. It was completely replaced around 250,000 years ago by the more complex Acheulean industry, which was first conceived by Homo ergaster around 1.8–1.65 million years ago.[31] The Acheulean implements completely vanish from the archaeological record around 100,000 years ago and were replaced by more complex Middle Paleolithic tool kits such as the Mousterian and the Aterian industries.[32]

text: Lower Paleolithic humans used a variety of stone tools, including hand axes and choppers. Although they appear to have used hand axes often, there is disagreement about their use. Interpretations range from cutting and chopping tools, to digging implements, to flaking cores, to the use in traps, and as a purely ritual significance, perhaps in courting behavior. William H. Calvin has suggested that some hand axes could have served as "killer Frisbees" meant to be thrown at a herd of animals at a waterhole so as to stun one of them. There are no indications of hafting, and some artifacts are far too large for that. Thus, a thrown hand axe would not usually have penetrated deeply enough to cause very serious injuries. Nevertheless, it could have been an effective weapon for defense against predators. Choppers and scrapers were likely used for skinning and butchering scavenged animals and sharp-ended sticks were often obtained for digging up edible roots. Presumably, early humans used wooden spears as early as 5 million years ago to hunt small animals, much as their relatives, chimpanzees, have been observed to do in Senegal, Africa.[33] Lower Paleolithic humans constructed shelters, such as the possible wood hut at Terra Amata.

text: Fire use[edit]

text: Fire was used by the Lower Paleolithic hominins Homo erectus and Homo ergaster as early as 300,000 to 1.5 million years ago and possibly even earlier by the early Lower Paleolithic (Oldowan) hominin Homo habilis and/or by robust Australopithecines such as Paranthropus.[3] However, the use of fire only became common in the societies of the following Middle Stone Age and Middle Paleolithic.[2] Use of fire reduced mortality rates and provided protection against predators.[34] Early hominins may have begun to cook their food as early as the Lower Paleolithic (c. 1.9 million years ago) or at the latest in the early Middle Paleolithic (c. 250,000 years ago).[35] Some scientists have hypothesized that hominins began cooking food to defrost frozen meat, which would help ensure their survival in cold regions.[35]

text: Rafts[edit]

text: The Lower Paleolithic Homo erectus possibly invented rafts (c. 840,000 – c. 800,000 BP) to travel over large bodies of water, which may have allowed a group of Homo erectus to reach the island of Flores and evolve into the small hominin Homo floresiensis. However, this hypothesis is disputed within the anthropological community.[36][37] The possible use of rafts during the Lower Paleolithic may indicate that Lower Paleolithic hominins such as Homo erectus were more advanced than previously believed, and may have even spoken an early form of modern language.[36] Supplementary evidence from Neanderthal and modern human sites located around the Mediterranean Sea, such as Coa de sa Multa (c. 300,000 BP), has also indicated that both Middle and Upper Paleolithic humans used rafts to travel over large bodies of water (i.e. the Mediterranean Sea) for the purpose of colonizing other bodies of land.[36][38]

text: Advanced tools[edit]

text: By around 200,000 BP, Middle Paleolithic stone tool manufacturing spawned a tool making technique known as the prepared-core technique, that was more elaborate than previous Acheulean techniques.[4] This technique increased efficiency by allowing the creation of more controlled and consistent flakes.[4] It allowed Middle Paleolithic humans to create stone tipped spears, which were the earliest composite tools, by hafting sharp, pointy stone flakes onto wooden shafts. In addition to improving tool making methods, the Middle Paleolithic also saw an improvement of the tools themselves that allowed access to a wider variety and amount of food sources. For example, microliths or small stone tools or points were invented around 70,000–65,000 BP and were essential to the invention of bows and spear throwers in the following Upper Paleolithic period.[34]

text: Harpoons were invented and used for the first time during the late Middle Paleolithic (c. 90,000 BP); the invention of these devices brought fish into the human diets, which provided a hedge against starvation and a more abundant food supply.[38][39] Thanks to their technology and their advanced social structures, Paleolithic groups such as the Neanderthals—who had a Middle Paleolithic level of technology—appear to have hunted large game just as well as Upper Paleolithic modern humans.[40] and the Neanderthals in particular may have likewise hunted with projectile weapons.[41] Nonetheless, Neanderthal use of projectile weapons in hunting occurred very rarely (or perhaps never) and the Neanderthals hunted large game animals mostly by ambushing them and attacking them with mêlée weapons such as thrusting spears rather than attacking them from a distance with projectile weapons.[25][42]

text: Other inventions[edit]

text: During the Upper Paleolithic, further inventions were made, such as the net c. 22,000 or c. 29,000 BP)[34] bolas,[43] the spear thrower (c. 30,000 BP), the bow and arrow (c. 25,000 or c. 30,000 BP)[3] and the oldest example of ceramic art, the Venus of Dolní Věstonice (c. 29,000 – c. 25,000 BCE).[3] Early dogs were domesticated, sometime between 30,000 and 14,000 BP, presumably to aid in hunting.[44] However, the earliest instances of successful domestication of dogs may be much more ancient than this. Evidence from canine DNA collected by Robert K. Wayne suggests that dogs may have been first domesticated in the late Middle Paleolithic around 100,000 BP or perhaps even earlier.[45]

text: Archaeological evidence from the Dordogne region of France demonstrates that members of the European early Upper Paleolithic culture known as the Aurignacian used calendars (c. 30,000 BP). This was a lunar calendar that was used to document the phases of the moon. Genuine solar calendars did not appear until the following Neolithic period.[46] Upper Paleolithic cultures were probably able to time the migration of game animals such as wild horses and deer.[47] This ability allowed humans to become efficient hunters and to exploit a wide variety of game animals.[47] Recent research indicates that the Neanderthals timed their hunts and the migrations of game animals long before the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic.[40]

text: Social organization[edit]

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text: The social organization of the earliest Paleolithic (Lower Paleolithic) societies remains largely unknown to scientists, though Lower Paleolithic hominins such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus are likely to have had more complex social structures than chimpanzee societies.[48] Late Oldowan/Early Acheulean humans such as Homo ergaster/Homo erectus may have been the first people to invent central campsites or home bases and incorporate them into their foraging and hunting strategies like contemporary hunter-gatherers, possibly as early as 1.7 million years ago;[4] however, the earliest solid evidence for the existence of home bases or central campsites (hearths and shelters) among humans only dates back to 500,000 years ago.[4][dead link]

text: Similarly, scientists disagree whether Lower Paleolithic humans were largely monogamous or polygynous.[48] In particular, the Provisional model suggests that bipedalism arose in pre-Paleolithic australopithecine societies as an adaptation to monogamous lifestyles; however, other researchers note that sexual dimorphism is more pronounced in Lower Paleolithic humans such as Homo erectus than in modern humans, who are less polygynous than other primates, which suggests that Lower Paleolithic humans had a largely polygynous lifestyle, because species that have the most pronounced sexual dimorphism tend more likely to be polygynous.[49]

text: Human societies from the Paleolithic to the early Neolithic farming tribes lived without states and organized governments. For most of the Lower Paleolithic, human societies were possibly more hierarchical than their Middle and Upper Paleolithic descendants, and probably were not grouped into bands,[50] though during the end of the Lower Paleolithic, the latest populations of the hominin Homo erectus may have begun living in small-scale (possibly egalitarian) bands similar to both Middle and Upper Paleolithic societies and modern hunter-gatherers.[50]

text: Middle Paleolithic societies, unlike Lower Paleolithic and early Neolithic ones, consisted of bands that ranged from 20–30 or 25–100 members and were usually nomadic.[3][50] These bands were formed by several families. Bands sometimes joined together into larger "macrobands" for activities such as acquiring mates and celebrations or where resources were abundant.[3] By the end of the Paleolithic era (c. 10,000 BP), people began to settle down into permanent locations, and began to rely on agriculture for sustenance in many locations. Much evidence exists that humans took part in long-distance trade between bands for rare commodities (such as ochre, which was often used for religious purposes such as ritual[51][52]) and raw materials, as early as 120,000 years ago in Middle Paleolithic.[25] Inter-band trade may have appeared during the Middle Paleolithic because trade between bands would have helped ensure their survival by allowing them to exchange resources and commodities such as raw materials during times of relative scarcity (i.e. famine, drought).[25] Like in modern hunter-gatherer societies, individuals in Paleolithic societies may have been subordinate to the band as a whole.[21][22] Both Neanderthals and modern humans took care of the elderly members of their societies during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic.[25]

text: Some sources claim that most Middle and Upper Paleolithic societies were possibly fundamentally egalitarian[3][22][38][53] and may have rarely or never engaged in organized violence between groups (i.e. war).[38][54][55][56] Some Upper Paleolithic societies in resource-rich environments (such as societies in Sungir, in what is now Russia) may have had more complex and hierarchical organization (such as tribes with a pronounced hierarchy and a somewhat formal division of labor) and may have engaged in endemic warfare.[38][57] Some argue that there was no formal leadership during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Like contemporary egalitarian hunter-gatherers such as the Mbuti pygmies, societies may have made decisions by communal consensus decision making rather than by appointing permanent rulers such as chiefs and monarchs.[6] Nor was there a formal division of labor during the Paleolithic. Each member of the group was skilled at all tasks essential to survival, regardless of individual abilities. Theories to explain the apparent egalitarianism have arisen, notably the Marxist concept of primitive communism.[58][59] Christopher Boehm (1999) has hypothesized that egalitarianism may have evolved in Paleolithic societies because of a need to distribute resources such as food and meat equally to avoid famine and ensure a stable food supply.[60] Raymond C. Kelly speculates that the relative peacefulness of Middle and Upper Paleolithic societies resulted from a low population density, cooperative relationships between groups such as reciprocal exchange of commodities and collaboration on hunting expeditions, and because the invention of projectile weapons such as throwing spears provided less incentive for war, because they increased the damage done to the attacker and decreased the relative amount of territory attackers could gain.[56] However, other sources claim that most Paleolithic groups may have been larger, more complex, sedentary and warlike than most contemporary hunter-gatherer societies, due to occupying more resource-abundant areas than most modern hunter-gatherers who have been pushed into more marginal habitats by agricultural societies.[61]

text: Anthropologists have typically assumed that in Paleolithic societies, women were responsible for gathering wild plants and firewood, and men were responsible for hunting and scavenging dead animals.[3][38] However, analogies to existent hunter-gatherer societies such as the Hadza people and the Aboriginal Austrialians suggest that the sexual division of labor in the Paleolithic was relatively flexible. Men may have participated in gathering plants, firewood and insects, and women may have procured small game animals for consumption and assisted men in driving herds of large game animals (such as woolly mammoths and deer) off cliffs.[38][55] Additionally, recent research by anthropologist and archaeologist Steven Kuhn from the University of Arizona is argued to support that this division of labor did not exist prior to the Upper Paleolithic and was invented relatively recently in human pre-history.[62][63] Sexual division of labor may have been developed to allow humans to acquire food and other resources more efficiently.[63] Possibly there was approximate parity between men and women during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, and that period may have been the most gender-equal time in human history.[54][64][65] Archaeological evidence from art and funerary rituals indicates that a number of individual women enjoyed seemingly high status in their communities, and it is likely that both sexes participated in decision making.[65] The earliest known Paleolithic shaman (c. 30,000 BP) was female.[66] Jared Diamond suggests that the status of women declined with the adoption of agriculture because women in farming societies typically have more pregnancies and are expected to do more demanding work than women in hunter-gatherer societies.[67] Like most contemporary hunter-gatherer societies, Paleolithic and the Mesolithic groups probably followed mostly matrilineal and ambilineal descent patterns; patrilineal descent patterns were probably rarer than in the following Neolithic period.[34][52]

text: Sculpture and painting[edit]

text: Early examples of artistic expression, such as the Venus of Tan-Tan and the patterns found on elephant bones from Bilzingsleben in Thuringia, may have been produced by Acheulean tool users such as Homo erectus prior to the start of the Middle Paleolithic period. However, the earliest undisputed evidence of art during the Paleolithic period comes from Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age sites such as Blombos Cave –South Africa– in the form of bracelets,[68] beads,[69] rock art,[51] and ochre used as body paint and perhaps in ritual.[38][51] Undisputed evidence of art only becomes common in the following Upper Paleolithic period.[70]

text: Lower Paleolithic Acheulean tool users, according to Robert G. Bednarik, began to engage in symbolic behavior such as art around 850,000 BP. They decorated themselves with beads and collected exotic stones for aesthetic, rather than utilitarian qualities.[71] According to him, traces of the pigment ochre from late Lower Paleolithic Acheulean archaeological sites suggests that Acheulean societies, like later Upper Paleolithic societies, collected and used ochre to create rock art.[71] Nevertheless, it is also possible that the ochre traces found at Lower Paleolithic sites is naturally occurring.[72]

text: Vincent W. Fallio interprets Lower and Middle Paleolithic marking on rocks at sites such as Bilzingsleben (such as zigzagging lines) as accounts or representations of altered states of consciousness[73] though some other scholars interpret them as either simple doodling or as the result of natural processes.

text: Upper Paleolithic humans produced works of art such as cave paintings, Venus figurines, animal carvings, and rock paintings.[74] Upper Paleolithic art can be divided into two broad categories: figurative art such as cave paintings that clearly depicts animals (or more rarely humans); and nonfigurative, which consists of shapes and symbols.[74] Cave paintings have been interpreted in a number of ways by modern archaeologists. The earliest explanation, by the prehistorian Abbe Breuil, interpreted the paintings as a form of magic designed to ensure a successful hunt.[75] However, this hypothesis fails to explain the existence of animals such as saber-toothed cats and lions, which were not hunted for food, and the existence of half-human, half-animal beings in cave paintings. The anthropologist David Lewis-Williams has suggested that Paleolithic cave paintings were indications of shamanistic practices, because the paintings of half-human, half-animal paintings and the remoteness of the caves are reminiscent of modern hunter-gatherer shamanistic practices.[75] Symbol-like images are more common in Paleolithic cave paintings than are depictions of animals or humans, and unique symbolic patterns might have been trademarks that represent different Upper Paleolithic ethnic groups.[76] Venus figurines have evoked similar controversy. Archaeologists and anthropologists have described the figurines as representations of goddesses, pornographic imagery, apotropaic amulets used for sympathetic magic, and even as self-portraits of women themselves.[38][77]

text: R. Dale Guthrie[78] has studied not only the most artistic and publicized paintings, but also a variety of lower-quality art and figurines, and he identifies a wide range of skill and ages among the artists. He also points out that the main themes in the paintings and other artifacts (powerful beasts, risky hunting scenes and the over-sexual representation of women) are to be expected in the fantasies of adolescent males during the Upper Paleolithic.

text: The "Venus" figurines have been theorized, not universally, as representing a mother goddess; the abundance of such female imagery has inspired the theory that Paleolithic (and later Neolithic) societies centered their religion and societies around women. Adherents of the theory include archaeologist Marija Gimbutas and feminist scholar Merlin Stone, the author of the 1976 book When God Was a Woman.[79][80] Other explanations for the purpose of the figurines have been proposed, such as Catherine McCoid and LeRoy McDermott's hypothesis that they were self-portraits of woman artists[77] and R.Dale Gutrie's hypothesis that served as "stone age pornography".

text: Music[edit]

text: The origins of music during the Paleolithic are unknown. The earliest forms of music probably did not use musical instruments other than the human voice and/or natural objects such as rocks. This early music would not have left an archaeological footprint. Music may have developed from rhythmic sounds produced by daily chores, for example, cracking open nuts with stones. Maintaining a rhythm while working may have helped people to become more efficient at daily activities.[81] An alternative theory originally proposed by Charles Darwin explains that music may have begun as a hominin mating strategy. Bird and other animal species produce music such as calls to attract mates.[82] This hypothesis is generally less accepted than the previous hypothesis, but nonetheless provides a possible alternative. Another explanation is that humans began to make music simply because it pleased them.

text: Upper Paleolithic (and possibly Middle Paleolithic)[83] humans used flute-like bone pipes as musical instruments,[38][84] and music may have played a large role in the religious lives of Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers. As with modern hunter-gatherer societies, music may have been used in ritual or to help induce trances. In particular, it appears that animal skin drums may have been used in religious events by Upper Paleolithic shamans, as shown by the remains of drum-like instruments from some Upper Paleolithic graves of shamans and the ethnographic record of contemporary hunter-gatherer shamanic and ritual practices.[66][74]

text: Religion and beliefs[edit]

text: According to James B. Harrod humankind first developed religious and spiritual beliefs during the Middle Paleolithic or Upper Paleolithic.[85] Controversial scholars of prehistoric religion and anthropology, James Harrod and Vincent W. Fallio, have recently proposed that religion and spirituality (and art) may have first arisen in Pre-Paleolithic chimpanzees[86] or Early Lower Paleolithic (Oldowan) societies.[73][87] According to Fallio, the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans experienced altered states of consciousness and partook in ritual, and ritual was used in their societies to strengthen social bonding and group cohesion.[73]

text: Middle Paleolithic humans' use of burials at sites such as Krapina, Croatia (c. 130,000 BP) and Qafzeh, Israel (c. 100,000 BP) have led some anthropologists and archaeologists, such as Philip Lieberman, to believe that Middle Paleolithic humans may have possessed a belief in an afterlife and a "concern for the dead that transcends daily life".[5] Cut marks on Neanderthal bones from various sites, such as Combe-Grenal and Abri Moula in France, suggest that the Neanderthals—like some contemporary human cultures—may have practiced ritual defleshing for (presumably) religious reasons. According to recent archaeological findings from Homo heidelbergensis sites in Atapuerca, humans may have begun burying their dead much earlier, during the late Lower Paleolithic; but this theory is widely questioned in the scientific community.

text: Likewise, some scientists have proposed that Middle Paleolithic societies such as Neanderthal societies may also have practiced the earliest form of totemism or animal worship, in addition to their (presumably religious) burial of the dead. In particular, Emil Bächler suggested (based on archaeological evidence from Middle Paleolithic caves) that a bear cult was widespread among Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals.[88] A claim that evidence was found for Middle Paleolithic animal worship c. 70,000 BCE originates from the Tsodilo Hills in the African Kalahari desert has been denied by the original investigators of the site.[89] Animal cults in the following Upper Paleolithic period, such as the bear cult, may have had their origins in these hypothetical Middle Paleolithic animal cults.[90] Animal worship during the Upper Paleolithic was intertwined with hunting rites.[90] For instance, archaeological evidence from art and bear remains reveals that the bear cult apparently involved a type of sacrificial bear ceremonialism, in which a bear was sliced with arrows, finished off by a blast in the lungs, and ritualistically worshipped near a clay bear statue covered by a bear fur with the skull and the body of the bear buried separately.[90] Barbara Ehrenreich controversially theorizes that the sacrificial hunting rites of the Upper Paleolithic (and by extension Paleolithic cooperative big-game hunting) gave rise to war or warlike raiding during the following Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic or late Upper Paleolithic period.[55]

text: The existence of anthropomorphic images and half-human, half-animal images in the Upper Paleolithic period may further indicate that Upper Paleolithic humans were the first people to believe in a pantheon of gods or supernatural beings,[91] though such images may instead indicate shamanistic practices similar to those of contemporary tribal societies.[75] The earliest known undisputed burial of a shaman (and by extension the earliest undisputed evidence of shamans and shamanic practices) dates back to the early Upper Paleolithic era (c. 30,000 BP) in what is now the Czech Republic.[66] However, during the early Upper Paleolithic it was probably more common for all members of the band to participate equally and fully in religious ceremonies, in contrast to the religious traditions of later periods when religious authorities and part-time ritual specialists such as shamans, priests and medicine men were relatively common and integral to religious life.[22] Additionally, it is also possible that Upper Paleolithic religions, like contemporary and historical animistic and polytheistic religions, believed in the existence of a single creator deity in addition to other supernatural beings such as animistic spirits.[92]

text: Vincent W. Fallio writes that ancestor cults first emerged in complex Upper Paleolithic societies. He argues that the elites of these societies (like the elites of many more contemporary complex hunter-gatherers such as the Tlingit) may have used special rituals and ancestor worship to solidify control over their societies, by convincing their subjects that they possess a link to the spirit world that also gives them control over the earthly realm.[73] Secret societies may have served a similar function in these complex quasi-theocratic societies, by dividing the religious practices of these cultures into the separate spheres of folk religion and elite religion.[73]

text: Religion was possibly apotropaic; specifically, it may have involved sympathetic magic.[38] The Venus figurines, which are abundant in the Upper Paleolithic archaeological record, provide an example of possible Paleolithic sympathetic magic, as they may have been used for ensuring success in hunting and to bring about fertility of the land and women.[3] The Upper Paleolithic Venus figurines have sometimes been explained as depictions of an earth goddess similar to Gaia, or as representations of a goddess who is the ruler or mother of the animals.[90][93] James Harrod has described them as representative of female (and male) shamanistic spiritual transformation processes.[94]

text: Diet and nutrition[edit]

text: Paleolithic hunting and gathering people ate varying proportions of vegetables (including tubers and roots), fruit, seeds (including nuts and wild grass seeds) and insects, meat, fish, and shellfish.[96][97] However, there is little direct evidence of the relative proportions of plant and animal foods.[98] Although the term "paleolithic diet", without references to a specific timeframe or locale, is sometimes used with an implication that most humans shared a certain diet during the entire era, that is not entirely accurate. The Paleolithic was an extended period of time, during which multiple technological advances were made, many of which had impact on human dietary structure. For example, humans probably did not possess the control of fire until the Middle Paleolithic,[99] or tools necessary to engage in extensive fishing.[citation needed] On the other hand, both these technologies are generally agreed to have been widely available to humans by the end of the Paleolithic (consequently, allowing humans in some regions of the planet to rely heavily on fishing and hunting). In addition, the Paleolithic involved a substantial geographical expansion of human populations. During the Lower Paleolithic, ancestors of modern humans are thought to have been constrained to Africa east of the Great Rift Valley. During the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, humans greatly expanded their area of settlement, reaching ecosystems as diverse as New Guinea and Alaska, and adapting their diets to whatever local resources were available.

text: Another view is that until the Upper Paleolithic, humans were frugivores (fruit eaters) who supplemented their meals with carrion, eggs, and small prey such as baby birds and mussels, and only on rare occasions managed to kill and consume big game such as antelopes.[100] This view is supported by studies of higher apes, particularly chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are the closest to humans genetically, sharing more than 96% of their DNA code with humans, and their digestive tract is functionally very similar to that of humans.[101] Chimpanzees are primarily frugivores, but they could and would consume and digest animal flesh, given the opportunity. In general, their actual diet in the wild is about 95% plant-based, with the remaining 5% filled with insects, eggs, and baby animals.[102][103] In some ecosystems, however, chimpanzees are predatory, forming parties to hunt monkeys.[104] Some comparative studies of human and higher primate digestive tracts do suggest that humans have evolved to obtain greater amounts of calories from sources such as animal foods, allowing them to shrink the size of the gastrointestinal tract relative to body mass and to increase the brain mass instead.[105][106]

text: Anthropologists have diverse opinions about the proportions of plant and animal foods consumed. Just as with still existing hunters and gatherers, there were many varied "diets"—in different groups—and also varying through this vast amount of time. Some paleolithic hunter-gatherers consumed a significant amount of meat and possibly obtained most of their food from hunting,[107] while others are shown as a primarily plant-based diet,[62] Most, if not all, are believed to have been opportunistic omnivores.[108] One hypothesis is that carbohydrate tubers (plant underground storage organs) may have been eaten in high amounts by pre-agricultural humans.[109][110][111][112] It is thought that the Paleolithic diet included as much as 1.65–1.9 kg (3.6–4.2 lb) per day of fruit and vegetables.[113] The relative proportions of plant and animal foods in the diets of Paleolithic people often varied between regions, with more meat being necessary in colder regions (which weren't populated by anatomically modern humans until c. 30,000 – c. 50,000 BP).[114] It is generally agreed that many modern hunting and fishing tools, such as fish hooks, nets, bows, and poisons, weren't introduced until the Upper Paleolithic and possibly even Neolithic.[34] The only hunting tools widely available to humans during any significant part of the Paleolithic period were hand-held spears and harpoons. There's evidence of Paleolithic people killing and eating seals and elands as far as c. 100,000 BP. On the other hand, buffalo bones found in African caves from the same period are typically of very young or very old individuals, and there's no evidence that pigs, elephants, or rhinos were hunted by humans at the time.[115]

text: Paleolithic peoples suffered less famine and malnutrition than the Neolithic farming tribes that followed them.[21][116] This was partly because Paleolithic hunter-gatherers accessed a wider variety natural foods, which allowed them a more nutritious diet and a decreased risk of famine.[21][23][67] Many of the famines experienced by Neolithic (and some modern) farmers were caused or amplified by their dependence on a small number of crops.[21][23][67] It is thought that wild foods can have a significantly different nutritional profile than cultivated foods.[117] The greater amount of meat obtained by hunting big game animals in Paleolithic diets than Neolithic diets may have also allowed Paleolithic hunter-gatherers to enjoy a more nutritious diet than Neolithic agriculturalists.[116] It has been argued that the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture resulted in an increasing focus on a limited variety of foods, with meat likely taking a back seat to plants.[118] It is also unlikely that Paleolithic hunter-gatherers were affected by modern diseases of affluence such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease, because they ate mostly lean meats and plants and frequently engaged in intense physical activity,[119][120] and because the average lifespan was shorter than the age of common onset of these conditions.[121][122]

text: Large-seeded legumes were part of the human diet long before the Neolithic Revolution, as evident from archaeobotanical finds from the Mousterian layers of Kebara Cave, in Israel.[123] There is evidence suggesting that Paleolithic societies were gathering wild cereals for food use at least as early as 30,000 years ago.[124] However, seeds—such as grains and beans—were rarely eaten and never in large quantities on a daily basis.[125] Recent archaeological evidence also indicates that winemaking may have originated in the Paleolithic, when early humans drank the juice of naturally fermented wild grapes from animal-skin pouches.[95] Paleolithic humans consumed animal organ meats, including the livers, kidneys, and brains. Upper Paleolithic cultures appear to have had significant knowledge about plants and herbs and may have, albeit very rarely, practiced rudimentary forms of horticulture.[126] In particular, bananas and tubers may have been cultivated as early as 25,000 BP in southeast Asia.[61] Late Upper Paleolithic societies also appear to have occasionally practiced pastoralism and animal husbandry, presumably for dietary reasons. For instance, some European late Upper Paleolithic cultures domesticated and raised reindeer, presumably for their meat or milk, as early as 14,000 BP.[44] Humans also probably consumed hallucinogenic plants during the Paleolithic period.[3] The Aboriginal Australians have been consuming a variety of native animal and plant foods, called bushfood, for an estimated 60,000 years, since the Middle Paleolithic.

text: People during the Middle Paleolithic, such as the Neanderthals and Middle Paleolithic Homo sapiens in Africa, began to catch shellfish for food as revealed by shellfish cooking in Neanderthal sites in Italy about 110,000 years ago and in Middle Paleolithic Homo sapiens sites at Pinnacle Point, Africa around 164,000 BP.[38][127] Although fishing only became common during the Upper Paleolithic,[38][128] fish have been part of human diets long before the dawn of the Upper Paleolithic and have certainly been consumed by humans since at least the Middle Paleolithic.[47] For example, the Middle Paleolithic Homo sapiens in the region now occupied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo hunted large 6 ft (1.8 m)-long catfish with specialized barbed fishing points as early as 90,000 years ago.[38][47] The invention of fishing allowed some Upper Paleolithic and later hunter-gatherer societies to become sedentary or semi-nomadic, which altered their social structures.[84] Example societies are the Lepenski Vir as well as some contemporary hunter-gatherers, such as the Tlingit. In some instances (at least the Tlingit), they developed social stratification, slavery, and complex social structures such as chiefdoms.[34]

text: Anthropologists such as Tim White suggest that cannibalism was common in human societies prior to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, based on the large amount of “butchered human" bones found in Neanderthal and other Lower/Middle Paleolithic sites.[129] Cannibalism in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic may have occurred because of food shortages.[130] However, it may have been for religious reasons, and would coincide with the development of religious practices thought to have occurred during the Upper Paleolithic.[90][131] Nonetheless, it remains possible that Paleolithic societies never practiced cannibalism, and that the damage to recovered human bones was either the result of excarnation or predation by carnivores such as saber-toothed cats, lions, and hyenas.[90]

text: A modern-day diet known as the Paleolithic diet exists, based on restricting consumption to the foods presumed to be available to anatomically modern humans prior to the advent of settled agriculture.[132]


document_title: 2018 Indianapolis 500

question_text: how many rookies in the 2018 indy 500

question_tokens: how many rookies in the 2018 indy 500

root

text: 2018 Indianapolis 500

text: Race background[edit]

text: IR18 car[edit]

text: The 2017 race was the third and final year contested with the Chevrolet and Honda aero kits outfitted to the Dallara DW12 chassis. Beginning in 2018, all DW12 Safety Cell chassis were fitted with a universal bodywork kit. Digital renderings for the common bodywork kit, referred to as the 'IR18' car, were released in early May 2017.[8] The car was officially unveiled in late July,[9] and the universal aero kit became known as the UAK18 bodywork.[10] The bodywork is inspired by CART's 1990s and 2000s livery. For the first time since 1996, the cars in the Indy 500 had a roll hoop without an airbox.

tag: p

text: Rule changes[edit]

text:
The practice session on the Monday after the IndyCar Grand Prix was eliminated. The track and garage area were both be closed Sunday May 13 (Mother's Day). The teams used Monday May 14 to convert the cars from road course to oval configuration. The first day of on-track practice for the Indy 500 was scheduled for Tuesday May 15. In order to make up for some of the lost practice time, the start time for practice days was been moved up to 11:00. Previously, practice opened daily at 12 noon.[11] The track still closes at 18:00 daily.
The minimum car weight was increased by 10 lb (4.536 kg) – to 1,590 lb (721.212 kg) for superspeedways due to safety features added with the new universal aero kits.
Championship points earned during Indy 500 qualifying were revamped. The top nine qualifiers received points. The pole position winner received 9 points, down to 1 point for the ninth qualifier (9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1). Previously, all 33 starters had received points on a higher scale.

tag: ul

text: 2018 IndyCar Series[edit]

text: The 102nd Indianapolis 500 was the sixth race of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season, and 23rd sanctioned as part of the Indy Racing League/IndyCar Series. There were four different winners in the first five races of the season. For the second year in a row, Sébastien Bourdais won the season opener at St. Petersburg. Once again, Bourdais won in surprising fashion, taking the lead after the leaders collided on a late-race restart. It was also Bourdais' first victory since suffering injuries in a crash during qualifying for the 2017 Indy 500. Josef Newgarden won at Phoenix, Alexander Rossi won at Long Beach, and Newgarden won again at Birmingham. To begin the month of May, Will Power won the IndyCar Grand Prix, his third win in the event.

text: Offseason changes included Chip Ganassi Racing, which dropped down to two cars only (Scott Dixon and Ed Jones). Team Penske also dropped down from four full-time cars to three. Hélio Castroneves switched to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and raced at Indianapolis only. Two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya, however, was left out of a ride for the 2018 race.

text: Entry list[edit]

text:
The entry list[12][13] was released on May 1 with 35 cars entered.
Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato switched from Andretti Autosport to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato previously drove for Rahal in 2012.[14]
Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Hélio Castroneves of Team Penske would switch to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for 2018 onward, but would race for Penske at the IndyCar Grand Prix and Indianapolis 500.[15]
Stefan Wilson would join Andretti Autosport for the Indy 500.[16]
Danica Patrick would compete in her first Indianapolis 500 since 2011 and her final professional race as a full-time competitor, driving a GoDaddy-sponsored entry for Ed Carpenter Racing.[17] Patrick drove at the Daytona 500 in February, her final start in NASCAR.
A rumored 36th entry for 1996 winner Buddy Lazier (Lazier Partners Racing) did not materialize.
Pietro Fittipaldi was initially assigned to the #19 Dale Coyne Racing entry. However, on May 4 he crashed during a qualifying session at the WEC 6 Hours of Spa, and fractured both legs. Fittipaldi was withdrawn from the entry, and replaced by Zachary Claman DeMelo.[18][19]

text:
No.
Driver
Team
Engine

1
 Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
Chevrolet

3
 Hélio Castroneves  W
Team Penske
Chevrolet

4
 Matheus Leist  R
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet

5
 James Hinchcliffe
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda

6
 Robert Wickens  R
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda

7
 Jay Howard
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with AFS Racing[20]
Honda

9
 Scott Dixon  W
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda

10
 Ed Jones
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda

12
 Will Power
Team Penske
Chevrolet

13
 Danica Patrick
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet

14
 Tony Kanaan  W
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet

15
 Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda

17
 Conor Daly
Dale Coyne Racing dba Thom Burns Racing
Honda

18
 Sébastien Bourdais
Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan
Honda

19
 Zachary Claman DeMelo  R
Dale Coyne Racing
Honda

20
 Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet

21
 Spencer Pigot
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet

22
 Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske
Chevrolet

23
 Charlie Kimball
Carlin
Chevrolet

24
 Sage Karam
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet

25
 Stefan Wilson
Andretti Autosport
Honda

26
 Zach Veach
Andretti Autosport
Honda

27
 Alexander Rossi  W
Andretti Autosport
Honda

28
 Ryan Hunter-Reay  W
Andretti Autosport
Honda

29
 Carlos Muñoz
Andretti Autosport
Honda

30
 Takuma Sato  W
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda

32
 Kyle Kaiser  R
Juncos Racing
Chevrolet

33
 James Davison
A. J. Foyt Enterprises with Byrd-Hollinger-Belardi
Chevrolet

59
 Max Chilton
Carlin
Chevrolet

60
 Jack Harvey
Meyer Shank Racing with Schmidt Peterson
Honda

63
 Pippa Mann
Dale Coyne Racing
Honda

64
 Oriol Servià
Scuderia Corsa with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda

66
 J. R. Hildebrand
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet

88
 Gabby Chaves
Harding Racing
Chevrolet

98
 Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian
Honda

OFFICIAL REPORT

tag: table

text:
W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner
 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

text: Schedule[edit]

text: Four days of testing were scheduled at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway prior to the official opening of the track. On March 23, manufacturer testing was conducted on the road course for Honda. Testing on the oval was scheduled for March 27–29,[21] but was postponed due to inclement weather in the forecast. A full-field, league-sponsored open test was held on the oval April 30, followed by the Rookie Orientation Program and Refresher tests on May 1. On May 2, track activity continued with a private manufacturers test involving both Honda and Chevrolet.[22]

text:
Race schedules — April/May 2018

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat

29

30
Open Test
1
ROP
2
Manufacturer
Test
3

4

5
Mini-Marathon

6

7

8

9

10
Road to Indy
Practice
11
Grand Prix
Qualifying
12
IndyCar
Grand Prix

13
Mother's
Day
14
Car conversion
day
15
ROP
Practice
16
Practice
17
Practice
18
Practice
Fast Friday
19
Time Trials

20
Time Trials
21
Practice
22

23

24
Indy Lights
Qualifying
25
Carb Day
Freedom 100
26
Legends Day
Parade

27
Indianapolis
500
28
Memorial
Day
29

30

31

Color
Notes

Green
Practice

Dark Blue
Time trials

Silver
Race day

Red
Rained out*

Blank
No track activity

* Includes days where track
activity was significantly limited due to rain

text: Sources: 2018 Indianapolis 500 Event Schedule

text: Testing and rookie orientation[edit]

text: Testing — July 2017[edit]

text: On July 25, 2017 the first official test for the universal bodywork kit was conducted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. Two teams, one each representing Chevrolet and Honda, attended. Team Penske with driver Juan Pablo Montoya tested for Chevy, and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with driver Oriol Servià tested for Honda.[23] The tests were considered successful, and no incidents were reported.

text:
Private testing — Participants

Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

 Oriol Servià
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
219 mph

 Juan Pablo Montoya
Team Penske
Chevrolet
218 mph

text: Testing — October 2017[edit]

text: Following the conclusion of the 2017 IndyCar Series season, each manufacturer was allocated five days of aero kit testing through December 17.[24][25] The league stipulated one test for each manufacturer,[24] leaving four dates to the manufacturer's discretion. Honda elected to use one of their four dates at Indianapolis on October 26.[26] James Hinchcliffe (Schmidt Peterson) and Scott Dixon (Ganassi) each completed more than 130 laps without incident. Cool temperatures delayed the start of the test until the afternoon, and testing concluded at 6 p.m. Speeds were not reported.

text:
Manufacturer testing — Participants

Driver
Team
Engine

 James Hinchcliffe
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda

 Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda

text: Open test — Monday April 30[edit]

text:
Weather: 72 °F (22 °C), sunny and clear
Summary: An open test was scheduled for Monday April 30, 2018.[27] The test was open to full-time IndyCar teams and drivers, and 21 drivers participated. Rookie drivers and drivers requiring refresher tests were not permitted to participate on Monday.[27] Sunny blue skies greeted the teams at the test, which had been originally scheduled for March, but was postponed due to bad weather. Tony Kanaan (226.181 mph) set the fastest lap of the day, as well as the fastest no-tow lap at 223.240 mph. The test was split into two session, with Marco Andretti (223.997 mph) leading the morning session, and Kanaan leading the afternoon session. The 21 drivers completed 1,820 laps without incident.[28] Late in the day, Josef Newgarden conducted an evaluation test with a windscreen, the first such test on a superspeedway.[29]

text:
Top Practice Speeds

Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

1
14
 Tony Kanaan
AJ Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
226.181

2
22
 Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske
Chevrolet
225.910

3
98
 Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport
Honda
225.637

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Rookie Orientation Program / Refresher tests — Tuesday May 1[edit]

text:
Weather: 81 °F (27 °C), Sunny and clear
Summary: The Rookie Orientation Program and veteran Refresher tests are scheduled for Tuesday May 1, 2018.[27] Four drivers were scheduled to participate in rookie orientation: Pietro Fittipaldi (Coyne), Kyle Kaiser (Juncos), Matheus Leist (Foyt), and Robert Wickens (SPM). Three drivers were schedule to take refresher tests: Jay Howard (SPM), Sage Karam (D&R), and Danica Patrick (Carpenter). The rookie test consisted of three phases. Phase 1 was ten laps at 205 mph, Phase 2 was ten laps at 210 mph, and Phase 3 was ten laps at 215 mph. During the three-hour morning session (10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.), Kaiser, Leist, and Wickens passed all three phases of the rookie test.[30] Pietro Fittipaldi, however, did not participate due to commitments at the 6 Hours of Spa, opting instead to partake in rookie orientation later in the month. Three days later, however, Fittipaldi withdrew after suffering injuries in a crash at Spa.[18] The afternoon session, lasting from 2:00 p.m to 5:00 p.m., saw the three participants in the refresher program take to the track. The refresher test consisted of two phases, equivalent to phases 2 and 3 of the rookie test. Howard, Patrick, and Karam all passed their program before the session concluded.[31] Robert Wickens was fastest of the six drivers of the day, setting a speed of 220.111 mph while piloting his teammate James Hinchcliffe's car following gearbox issues with his own. Danica Patrick took to the track for an installation lap right at 2:00 p.m., but had to return to the garage area due to minor overheating issues. About an hour later, the team returned, and Patrick was able to complete her refresher test. It was Patrick's first laps at Indianapolis in an Indy car since 2011. The six drivers completed 355 laps without any incidents, although Jay Howard nearly tagged the wall at the exit of turn two during a practice run.

text:
Top Practice Speeds

Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

1
5
 Robert Wickens
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
220.111

2
4
 Matheus Leist
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
220.073

3
5
 Jay Howard
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
219.684

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Testing — Wednesday May 2[edit]

text:
Weather: 84 °F (29 °C), Sunny and windy
Practice summary: A private manufacturers test for Honda and Chevrolet was scheduled for Wednesday May 2, 2018.[27] Windy conditions hampered running during the day, but teams were able to do some running early on. Tony Kanaan led the time charts, setting a speed of 226.680 mph, ahead of Ed Carpenter and Gabby Chaves.[32] Robert Wickens (223.7 mph) was the fastest Honda entry. The other participants included Charlie Kimball, Danica Patrick, Matheus Leist, Ed Jones, Scott Dixon, James Hinchcliffe, and Max Chilton.[33]

text:
Top Practice Speeds

Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

1
14
 Tony Kanaan
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
226.680

2
20
 Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
224.466

3
88
 Gabby Chaves
Harding Racing
Chevrolet
223.658

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Practice[edit]

text: Tuesday May 15[edit]

text:
Weather: 83 °F (28 °C), Scattered showers, thunderstorms late
Practice summary: The opening day of practice consisted of three sessions: The first from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. reserved for veteran drivers, the second from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. serving as the rookie and refresher period for those unable to partake in the May 1 session, and the final session from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. open to all cars. During the rookie/refresher period, Zachary Claman DeMelo (replacing Fittipaldi) completed his rookie orientation testing, while James Davison successfully completed his refresher test. Oriol Servià and Stefan Wilson began their refresher tests during the period, but completed them during the open session later in the day.[34] The third session of the day was interrupted by a passing thunderstorm just before 4:00 p.m., but the session was resumed after roughly an hour's wait. The fastest time of the day was set by Team Penske's Simon Pagenaud with a speed of 225.787 mph set in the first session. The fastest "no-tow" speed of the day went to Ed Carpenter, turning a lap at 221.512 mph without the aid of drafting.[35]

text:
Top Practice Speeds

Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

1
22
 Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske
Chevrolet
225.787

2
3
 Hélio Castroneves
Team Penske
Chevrolet
224.665

3
20
 Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
224.523

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Wednesday May 16[edit]

text:
Weather: 79 °F (26 °C), Mostly overcast, sunny late
Practice summary: The second day of practice ran smoothly and without interruption from rain. Only one minor incident occurred during the session when Tony Kanaan came to a halt on the backstretch at 4:02 p.m. with a failed throttle sensor. Andretti Autosport driver Marco Andretti set the fastest time of the day, being the first driver to eclipse 227 mph with his speed of 227.053 mph. Despite the issues with his car, Tony Kanaan set the fastest "no-tow" speed of the day with a lap at 223.048 mph.[36] All 35 cars entered took laps during the day, completing 3,349 laps, the busiest single practice day in over a decade.

text:
Top Practice Speeds

Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

1
98
 Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport
Honda
227.053

2
9
 Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
226.329

3
30
 Takuma Sato
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
226.108

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Thursday May 17[edit]

text:
Weather: 83 °F (28 °C), Sunny
Practice summary: Sunny skies greeted teams and drivers for the Thursday session of practice. The first incident of the month occurred with roughly 20 minutes left in the session, when J. R. Hildebrand drifted wide coming out of turn 3 and hit the wall, then slid against it through turn four before finally coming to a halt just before pit entry. Graham Rahal set the fastest speed of the day, turning a lap at 226.047 mph. Will Power ran the fastest "no-tow" lap at 223.971 mph.[37]

text:
Top Practice Speeds

Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

1
15
 Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
226.047

2
14
 Tony Kanaan
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
225.896

3
98
 Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport
Honda
225.584

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Fast Friday — Friday May 18[edit]

text:
Weather: 72 °F (22 °C), Scattered showers.
Practice summary: The threat of rain loomed for the entirety of "Fast Friday," but only brought about a brief stoppage to the session in the afternoon. Increased boost levels in preparation for qualifying saw speeds greatly increase, with Marco Andretti setting the fastest speed of the month with a time at 231.802 mph. Will Power set the fastest "no-tow" lap of the day at 229.780 mph. One major incident occurred during the day when James Davison lost control of his car in turn 2, spun around and impacted the outside wall.[38]

text:
Top Practice Speeds

Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

1
98
 Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport
Honda
231.802

2
6
 Robert Wickens
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
231.732

3
20
 Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
231.066

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Time trials[edit]

text: Bump Day — Saturday, May 19[edit]

text: Weather: 79 °F (26 °C), Scattered showers.

text: Bump Day was held on May 19. The 33 cars that would comprise the starting lineup would be determined, as well as the nine cars eligible for the "Fast 9" shoot-out to be held on Sunday to determine pole position. Two periods of rain caused delays during the course of the day, but all 35 entries were able to make attempts.

text: Hélio Castroneves set the fastest speed of the day with a four-lap average of 228.919 mph, besting Ed Carpenter and Simon Pagenaud. Completing the Fast Nine were Will Power, Sébastien Bourdais, Spencer Pigot, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, and Danica Patrick.

text: At the opposite end of the field, several entries struggled to find the speed necessary to make the starting lineup. The three cars of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Takuma Sato, Graham Rahal, and Oriol Servià in particular) all had difficulties, but all three held on to make the field. Servià made three attempts, and finally made the field safely with about 35 minutes left in the day. Other drivers facing difficulty included Conor Daly and Pippa Mann. Daly would make the field, but despite being the last qualifier of the day, Mann failed to qualify.

text: The most shocking story of day, however, was 2016 pole sitter, and three-time front row starter, James Hinchcliffe, who was bumped from the field. Hinchcliffe's first qualifying attempt came after the first rain delay, with less than ideal chassis setups. Hinchcliffe steadily slipped down the standings, and was bumped from the field in the final half hour. The team quickly got the car into the qualifying line, and Hinchcliffe pulled away for his second attempt with less than fifteen minutes left in the day. On his warm-up lap, he detected a bad vibration, and had to abort the run and return to the pits. A tire pressure sensor inside one of the wheels had come loose, and was ricocheting inside the tire. The crew desperately scrambled to diagnose the problem, change tires, and get back into the qualifying line. However, the gun went off at 5:50 p.m. to close qualifying, with Hinchcliffe still waiting in line.[39]

text: After his crash during practice on Friday, and after his crew worked late into the night to make repairs, James Davison ended the day on the bubble. Davison posted the 33rd-fastest speed Saturday, and held on to make the field.

text:
Pos.
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

Fast Nine Qualifiers

1
3
 Hélio Castroneves
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.919

2
20
 Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
228.692

3
22
 Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.304

4
12
 Will Power
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.194

5
18
 Sébastien Bourdais
Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan
Honda
228.090

6
21
 Spencer Pigot
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
228.052

7
1
 Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.049

8
9
 Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
227.782

9
13
 Danica Patrick
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
227.610

Positions 10–33

10
27
 Alexander Rossi
Andretti Autosport
Honda
227.561

11
14
 Tony Kanaan
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
227.508

12
4
 Matheus Leist  R
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
227.441

13
10
 Ed Jones
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
226.995

14
28
 Ryan Hunter-Reay
Andretti Autosport
Honda
226.952

15
29
 Carlos Muñoz
Andretti Autosport
Honda
226.600

16
66
 J. R. Hildebrand
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
226.499

17
98
 Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian
Honda
226.154

18
7
 Jay Howard
SPM / AFS Racing
Honda
226.098

19
24
 Sage Karam
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
226.065

20
6
 Robert Wickens  R
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
225.955

21
32
 Kyle Kaiser  R
Juncos Racing
Chevrolet
225.934

22
25
 Stefan Wilson
Andretti Autosport
Honda
225.909

23
88
 Gabby Chaves
Harding Racing
Chevrolet
225.808

24
26
 Zach Veach
Andretti Autosport
Honda
225.805

25
23
 Charlie Kimball
Carlin
Chevrolet
225.752

26
19
 Zachary Claman DeMelo  R
Dale Coyne Racing
Honda
225.722

27
60
 Jack Harvey
Meyer Shank Racing with Schmidt Peterson
Honda
225.720

28
59
 Max Chilton
Carlin
Chevrolet
225.666

29
30
 Takuma Sato
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
225.513

30
15
 Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
225.407

31
64
 Oriol Servià
Scuderia Corsa with RLL
Honda
225.007

32
17
 Conor Daly
Dale Coyne Racing dba Thom Burns Racing
Honda
224.874

33
33
 James Davison
Foyt with Byrd / Hollinger / Belardi
Chevrolet
224.798

Failed To Qualify

34
63
 Pippa Mann
Dale Coyne Racing
Honda
223.343

35
5
 James Hinchcliffe
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
Time Withdrawn

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Pole Day — Sunday, May 20[edit]

text: Weather: 83 °F (28 °C), Showers early, mostly sunny in the afternoon.

text: Positions 10-33[edit]

text: Sunny skies meant no interruptions to qualifying during Sunday qualifications. The opening session determined positions 10-33 on the starting grid, with drivers taking to the track in reverse order of their ranking from their Bump Day runs. Tony Kanaan went fastest in the group, besting his teammate Matheus Leist, who ended the day as the fastest rookie qualifier. Several favorites struggled to find speed during the day, including 2016 winner Alexander Rossi, who slipped to 32nd after fighting an ill-handling car during his run.[40]

text: Big gainers for the day included James Davison, who improved from 33rd on Saturday to 19th on Sunday. Defending race winner Takuma Sato also went from 29th on Saturday to 16th on Sunday. Sato's teammate Graham Rahal, however, ended the day in the same position as the day before (30th).

text:
Pos.
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

Positions 10-33

10
14
 Tony Kanaan
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
227.664

11
4
 Matheus Leist  R
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
227.571

12
98
 Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian
Honda
227.288

13
19
 Zachary Claman DeMelo  R
Dale Coyne Racing
Honda
226.999

14
28
 Ryan Hunter-Reay
Andretti Autosport
Honda
226.788

15
23
 Charlie Kimball
Carlin
Chevrolet
226.657

16
30
 Takuma Sato
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
226.557

17
32
 Kyle Kaiser  R
Juncos Racing
Chevrolet
226.398

18
6
 Robert Wickens  R
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
226.296

19
33
 James Davison
Foyt with Byrd / Hollinger / Belardi
Chevrolet
226.255

20
59
 Max Chilton
Carlin
Chevrolet
226.212

21
29
 Carlos Muñoz
Andretti Autosport
Honda
226.048

22
88
 Gabby Chaves
Harding Racing
Chevrolet
226.007

23
25
 Stefan Wilson
Andretti Autosport
Honda
225.863

24
24
 Sage Karam
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
225.823

25
26
 Zach Veach
Andretti Autosport
Honda
225.748

26
64
 Oriol Servià
Scuderia Corsa with RLL
Honda
225.699

27
66
 J. R. Hildebrand
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
225.418

28
7
 Jay Howard
SPM / AFS Racing
Honda
225.388

29
10
 Ed Jones
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
225.362

30
15
 Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
225.327

31
60
 Jack Harvey
Meyer Shank Racing with Schmidt Peterson
Honda
225.254

32
27
 Alexander Rossi
Andretti Autosport
Honda
224.935

33
17
 Conor Daly
Dale Coyne Racing dba Tom Burns Racing
Honda
224.429

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Fast Nine[edit]

text: "Fast Nine" qualifications began at 5:00 p.m., with drivers who qualified in the top nine the previous day taking to the track in reverse order in their bid to win pole position. For the third time in his career, Ed Carpenter secured pole position for the race, posting a four-lap average at 229.618 mph. Team Penske teammates Simon Pagenaud and Will Power completed the front row. Danica Patrick placed 7th in her return qualification at the course.[41]

text:
Pos.
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

Fast Nine Shootout

1
20
 Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
229.618

2
22
 Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.761

3
12
 Will Power
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.607

4
1
 Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
Chevrolet
228.405

5
18
 Sébastien Bourdais
Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan
Honda
228.142

6
21
 Spencer Pigot
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
228.107

7
13
 Danica Patrick
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
228.090

8
3
 Hélio Castroneves
Team Penske
Chevrolet
227.859

9
9
 Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
227.262

text: Post-qualifying practice[edit]

text: Post-qualifying practice — Monday May 21[edit]

text:
Weather: 80 °F (27 °C), Showers early, mostly sunny in afternoon
Practice summary: Post-qualifying practice ran from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., the session ending earlier than previous day to allow testing for Indy Lights later in the day. Practice was briefly delayed by a passing shower, but was not a factor for the rest of the day. The session saw one major incident when rookie Robert Wickens drifted wide and brushed the outside wall in turn 2. The brush bent the right side suspension of Wickens' car, causing it to veer sharply to the right halfway down the backstretch and hit the outside wall, causing significant damage to the No. 6 car. Wickens emerged uninjured. Sage Karam set the fastest speed of the day at 226.461 mph, besting Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay.[42]

text:
Top Practice Speeds

Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

1
24
 Sage Karam
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
226.461

2
14
 Tony Kanaan
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
225.123

3
28
 Ryan Hunter-Reay
Andretti Autosport
Honda
224.820

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Carb Day — Friday May 25[edit]

text:
Weather: 88 °F (31 °C), Mostly sunny
Practice summary: The final, hour-long practice session before the race saw no major incidents as drivers attempted to make any necessary last minute adjustments to their cars. The session also saw the hottest weather of all practice sessions. Tony Kanaan led the speed charts in the session, posting a lap at 227.791 mph. Danica Patrick's car suffered electrical issues, and had to be wheeled back to the garage for repairs. However, the team hustled to get the car back out on the track, and she completed 15 laps, posting the 8th-best speed of the day.[43]

text:
Top Practice Speeds

Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Speed

1
14
 Tony Kanaan
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
227.791

2
9
 Scott Dixon
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
225.684

3
98
 Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport
Honda
225.220

OFFICIAL REPORT

text: Pit Stop Challenge[edit]

text: The Pit Stop Challenge was held on Friday May 25. Despite not qualifying for the race, James Hinchcliffe of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports was part of the event, and advanced all the way to the finals. Hinchcliffe battled Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing in a best-of-three finals, with Dixon's team taking the victory.

text:
First Round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

1
Team Penske
(Josef Newgarden)
12.334

12
Team Penske
(Will Power)
11.888

24
Dreyer & Reinbold
(Sage Karam)
13.295

1
Team Penske
(Josef Newgarden)
12.290

12
Team Penske
(Will Power)
14.100

5
Schmidt Peterson
(James Hinchcliffe)
13.545

6
Schmidt Peterson
(Robert Wickens)
13.117

5
Schmidt Peterson
(James Hinchcliffe)
12.242

5
Schmidt Peterson
(James Hinchcliffe)
1

9
Chip Ganassi
(Scott Dixon)
2

27
Andretti Autosport
(Alexander Rossi)
13.780

15
Rahal Letterman Lanigan
(Graham Rahal)
14.195

27
Andretti Autosport
(Alexander Rossi)
13.670

9
Chip Ganassi
(Scott Dixon)
12.658

10
Chip Ganassi
(Ed Jones)
17.535

9
Chip Ganassi
(Scott Dixon)
11.948

text: Starting Grid[edit]

text: (R) = Indianapolis 500 rookie; (W) = Former Indianapolis 500 winner

text:
Row
Inside
Middle
Outside

1
20
 Ed Carpenter
22
 Simon Pagenaud
12
 Will Power

2
1
 Josef Newgarden
18
 Sébastien Bourdais
21
 Spencer Pigot

3
13
 Danica Patrick
3
 Hélio Castroneves (W)
9
 Scott Dixon (W)

4
14
 Tony Kanaan (W)
4
 Matheus Leist (R)
98
 Marco Andretti

5
19
 Zachary Claman DeMelo (R)
28
 Ryan Hunter-Reay (W)
23
 Charlie Kimball

6
30
 Takuma Sato (W)
32
 Kyle Kaiser (R)
6
 Robert Wickens (R)

7
33
 James Davison
59
 Max Chilton
29
 Carlos Muñoz

8
88
 Gabby Chaves
25
 Stefan Wilson
24
 Sage Karam

9
26
 Zach Veach
64
 Oriol Servià
66
 J. R. Hildebrand

10
7
 Jay Howard
10
 Ed Jones
15
 Graham Rahal

11
60
 Jack Harvey
27
 Alexander Rossi (W)
17
 Conor Daly

text: Failed to qualify

text:
No.
Driver
Team
Reason

5
 James Hinchcliffe
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Withdrew first attempt. Second qualification attempt aborted due to left rear wheel vibration.

63
 Pippa Mann
Dale Coyne Racing
Bumped from field. Too slow on third attempt.

text: Race[edit]

text: First half[edit]

text: With temperatures flirting with the race day record of 92 °F (33 °C), drivers and teams were forced to figure out how the new aero kits would react to extreme heat. The race began with Ed Carpenter pulling ahead of the field, with Will Power jumping up into second place ahead of Simon Pagenaud. Further back, Tony Kanaan managed an excellent start, jumping up to sixth position from his tenth place starting spot. One lap later, Pagenaud moved back into second place. From there, the field began to spread out; the new aero kit and high heat removed much of the slingshot drafting that defined the last several 500s, thus allowing Carpenter to pull out a roughly two second advantage by the time the first pit stops came. The opening round of stops came around lap 30, with Carpenter maintaining his lead, but Kanaan and Josef Newgarden jumped up to second and third respectively after slightly earlier stops gave the duo an advantage of fresher tires for a few laps. Pagenaud, Hélio Castroneves, and Power rounded up the top six after the first stops were done.

text: The first caution period of the race came at lap 47 when Takuma Sato came up on backmarker James Davison. Davison, who had been running significantly slower than the rest of the field for several laps, tried to remain high through turn 3 to keep out of the way, but with such speed differential, Sato was unable to avoid Davison's car and collided with Davison's left-rear wheel. Davison's car spun around and continued sliding until it impacted the turn 4 wall, while Sato was able to guide his car to rest in the grass on the inside of turn 4. During the caution, most of the field pitted with Carpenter, Kanaan, and Power emerging first from pit lane. The lead moved to Zachary Claman DeMelo, who elected not to pit during the caution.

text: Racing resumed at lap 56, with Carpenter and Kanaan passing DeMelo almost as soon as the green flag waved. The green flag period was short lived, though, as, on lap 58, Ed Jones lost control of his car in turn 2, spun around, and impacted the outside wall. Jones emerged from the car under his own power, but was later transported to hospital after complaining of head and neck pain. As the caution flew again, the running order was Carpenter, Kanaan, Newgarden, Pagenaud, DeMelo, Power.

text: Racing once again resumed at lap 64, with Kanaan getting the jump on Carpenter and taking the lead into turn 1. The next lap, the lead switched back, as Carpenter made his way back around Kanaan into turn one to resume first place. Once again, the green flag stint proved to be short; on lap 68, Danica Patrick lost control of her car in turn 2 in similar fashion to Jones, spinning around and impacting the outside wall before sliding back across the track and impacting the inside wall. Patrick's final 500 resulted in a lowly 30th place finish. Few drivers elected to pit during the caution, with Newgarden, DeMelo, and Robert Wickens the only major takers.

text: The next restart came on lap 73, with Kanaan once again passing Carpenter for the lead heading into turn 1, while Power moved into third place after passing Pagenaud. This running order remained unchanged until pit stops came again around lap 90. During the sequence, Power jumped both Kanaan and Carpenter and moved into the lead when cars running out-of-sequence on pit strategy all pitted by lap 106. On lap 99, Kanaan's chances of picking up a second Indy victory were dashed when he picked up a puncture, forcing him back to the pit lane and placing him one lap down.

text: Second Half[edit]

text: Shortly after halfway, rookie Kyle Kaiser dropped out of the race with mechanical issues, the only rookie to retire from the race. Up front, Power held a commanding 4.7 second lead of Carpenter, but the gap would close back down to just over a second when Stefan Wilson managed to un-lap himself on lap 121. By lap 127, pit stops once again came, with Power maintaining his place ahead of Carpenter. On lap 138, the fourth caution period of the day came, when Sébastien Bourdais lost control of his car coming off of turn 3 while running close behind Alexander Rossi. Bourdais attempted to save his car in the north short-chute, but spun around completely and impacted the turn 4 wall. With the field bunched back up again and drivers off-sequence pitting during the yellow, the running order ran Power, Carpenter, Pagenaud, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Castroneves.

text: The restart came at lap 145, with Power quickly pulling away. Green flag conditions lasted for less than a lap, as coming off of turn 4, Castroneves spun, slid across the track and impacted the inside wall before sliding to a halt on the pit lane. The caution simplified pit stop strategy for most, as it ensured that only one more stop would be necessary during the race.

text: Racing once again resumed on lap 154 with Power once again opening up his lead. Further back, Rossi, who had started the race from the back row, made his way into the lead group with a daring outside pass through turn 1 and 2 to move him into third ahead of Pagenaud and Hunter-Reay. Caution flew just as quickly as the previous run, though, this time for Sage Karam losing control of his car at the exit of turn 4 and making contact with the outside wall, which ripped the right-rear tire off of Karam's car. During the caution, the front-runners stayed out, while a few drivers, including Oriol Servià, Stefan Wilson, Jack Harvey, and Scott Dixon pitted, hoping to get more caution in the remaining laps to move their way to the top of the field.

text: Racing resumed again at lap 162, with Power once again opening his lead over Carpenter. The running order for front runners remained largely the same until pit stops between lap 170 and 175. Power retained his advantage over Carpenter, but now six off-sequence cars were ahead of him, with Servià leading the way over Wilson, Harvey and Dixon. By lap 185, Power had managed to move back up into fourth, but on lap 188, the caution that the off-sequence drivers needed finally appeared when Tony Kanaan lost control of his car coming off of turn 2 and impacted the outside wall.

text: Finish[edit]

text: The track went green on lap 194. Race leader Servià was immediately being passed by both Wilson and Harvey; both drivers were critical on fuel, and were gambling on a late caution to conserve enough fuel for victory.[44] Power moved into third on the next lap and began setting his sights on the other two ahead. Power was suddenly promoted to first with only four laps left when both Wilson and Harvey dived into pit lane for fuel. The next lap, Servià pitted from second, leaving Power with an over 2 second advantage over Carpenter. With a large lead, Power was able to cruise to victory, securing his first victory at the race and becoming the first Australian to take victory in the 500. It was also Roger Penske's 17th Indy 500 victory as a car owner.[45]. For his victory, Power took away $2.52 million.[46] Rookie of the year honors went to Robert Wickens, who led two laps en route to a ninth place finish.[47]

text: Box score[edit]

text:
Pos
No.
Driver
Team
Engine
Laps
Time/Retired
Pit Stops
Grid
Laps Led
Pts.1

1
12
 Will Power
Team Penske
Chevrolet
200
2:59:42.6365
5
3
59
108

2
20
 Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
200
+3.1589
5
1
65
92

3
9
 Scott Dixon (W)
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
200
+4.5928
5
9
0
71

4
27
 Alexander Rossi (W)
Andretti Autosport
Honda
200
+5.2237
5
32
1
65

5
28
 Ryan Hunter-Reay (W)
Andretti Autosport
Honda
200
+6.7187
5
14
1
61

6
22
 Simon Pagenaud
Team Penske
Chevrolet
200
+7.2357
5
2
1
65

7
29
 Carlos Muñoz
Andretti Autosport
Honda
200
+7.8377
6
21
4
53

8
1
 Josef Newgarden
Team Penske
Chevrolet
200
+8.6917
6
4
3
55

9
6
 Robert Wickens (R)
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Honda
200
+9.3112
7
18
2
45

10
15
 Graham Rahal
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
200
+11.3368
6
30
12
41

11
66
 J. R. Hildebrand
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
200
+12.7354
6
27
0
38

12
98
 Marco Andretti
Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian
Honda
200
+14.0745
5
12
0
36

13
4
 Matheus Leist (R)
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
200
+14.7798
5
11
0
34

14
88
 Gabby Chaves
Harding Racing
Chevrolet
200
+15.1173
8
22
0
32

15
25
 Stefan Wilson
Andretti Autosport
Honda
200
+33.6747
7
23
3
31

16
60
 Jack Harvey
Meyer Shank Racing with Schmidt Peterson
Honda
200
+34.7970
6
31
0
28

17
64
 Oriol Servià
Scuderia Corsa with RLL
Honda
200
+38.2325
6
26
16
27

18
23
 Charlie Kimball
Carlin
Chevrolet
200
+41.5146
8
15
0
24

19
19
 Zachary Claman DeMelo (R)
Dale Coyne Racing
Honda
199
+1 Lap
6
13
7
23

20
21
 Spencer Pigot
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
199
+1 Lap
8
6
3
25

21
17
 Conor Daly
Dale Coyne Racing dba Thom Burns Racing
Honda
199
+1 Lap
9
33
0
18

22
59
 Max Chilton
Carlin
Chevrolet
198
+2 Laps
10
20
0
16

23
26
 Zach Veach
Andretti Autosport
Honda
198
+2 Laps
10
25
0
14

24
7
 Jay Howard
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports/AFS Racing
Honda
193
+7 Laps
10
28
0
12

25
14
 Tony Kanaan (W)
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
Chevrolet
187
Crash
7
10
19
11

26
24
 Sage Karam
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Chevrolet
154
Crash
4
24
0
10

27
3
 Hélio Castroneves (W)
Team Penske
Chevrolet
145
Crash
4
8
0
12

28
18
 Sébastien Bourdais
Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan
Honda
137
Crash
4
5
4
16

29
32
 Kyle Kaiser (R)
Juncos Racing
Chevrolet
110
Mechanical
6
17
0
10

30
13
 Danica Patrick
Ed Carpenter Racing
Chevrolet
67
Crash
2
7
0
13

31
10
 Ed Jones
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
57
Crash
2
29
0
10

32
30
 Takuma Sato (W)
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Honda
46
Contact
1
16
0
10

33
33
 James Davison
A. J. Foyt Enterprises with Byrd/Hollinger/Belardi
Chevrolet
45
Contact
1
19
0
10

OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

text: 1 Points include qualification points from Time Trials, 1 point for leading a lap, and 2 points for most laps led.

text: Championship standings after the race[edit]

text:
Drivers' Championship standings

Pos
Driver
Points

 6
1
 Will Power
243

2
 Alexander Rossi
241

 2
3
 Josef Newgarden
233

4
 Scott Dixon
218

 4
5
 Ryan Hunter-Reay
186

Manufacturer standings

Pos
Manufacturer
Points

1
 Honda
480

2
 Chevrolet
449

text: Note: Only the top five positions are included.

text: Broadcasting[edit]

text: Television[edit]

text: For the 54th and last straight year, the race was televised in the United States by ABC. NBC Sports announced in March 2018 that it had acquired the broadcast television rights to the IndyCar Series beginning in 2019 under a three-year deal (complementing the current cable rightsholder NBCSN), with a package of races on NBC (including the 500) replacing the existing package of races on ABC. It ended a relationship between the race and ABC dating back to 1965.[48]

text: In the United States, the 2018 Indianapolis 500 was the least-watched edition of the race since the inception of live flag-to-flag coverage, with a 3.4 overnight rating (in comparison to the 3.6 rating it received in 2017).[49]

text:
ABC Television

Booth Announcers
Pit/garage reporters

Host: Nicole Briscoe
Announcer: Allen Bestwick
Color: Scott Goodyear
Color: Eddie Cheever

Jerry Punch
Jon Beekhuis
Rick DeBruhl

Marty Smith (pre-race)

text: Radio[edit]

text: The race was carried by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. Mark Jaynes served as the chief announcer for the third year. New to the broadcast was driver analyst Anders Krohn, and pit reporter Ryan Myrehn.

text: 1070 The Fan broadcast nightly beginning May 7 with Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, followed by Donald Davidson's The Talk of Gasoline Alley.

text:
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network

Booth Announcers
Turn Reporters
Pit/garage reporters

Chief Announcer: Mark Jaynes
Driver expert: Anders Krohn
Historian: Donald Davidson

Turn 1: not used
Turn 2: Nick Yeoman
Turn 3: Jake Query
Turn 4: Chris Denari

Rob Howden
Dave Furst
Ryan Myrehn
Michael Young

Dave Wilson (Garages/Hospital)