Stone age

Stone Age is a period in human prehistory distinguished by the original development of stone tools that covers more than 95% of human technological prehistory. It begins with the earliest known use of stone tools by hominins, ancient ancestors to humans, approximately 3.3 million years ago.

Overview

The Stone Age is the first of the three-age system of archaeology, which divides human technological prehistory into three periods: the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. The Stone Age is further divided into three different periods: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic.

Paleolithic

The Paleolithic is a period in history where humans used tools and weapons made out of stone. It began approximately 2.6 million years ago, at the start of the archaeological record, and ended around 10,000 BCE, near the end of the last ice age.

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic period, also known as the Middle Stone Age, is the period in the history of human development between the end of the Paleolithic period and the beginning of the Neolithic period.

Neolithic

The Neolithic period is the final division of the Stone Age, with a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. It is most known for the beginnings of farming and the domestication of animals.

Stone Age Art

Art of the Stone Age consists of three main categories: petroglyphs (carvings into stone surfaces), megaliths (large stones used to build structures), and cave paintings. Stone Age artists also created sculptures from clay, bone, and antler.

Stone Age Tools

Stone Age peoples and their technologies have been identified based on the types of tools they used. These tools were used for a variety of daily activities such as hunting, food preparation, and crafting.

See Also

• History of the world
• Prehistoric art
• Prehistoric religion
• Prehistoric music
• Prehistoric warfare

External Links

• Britannica: Stone Age
• History.com: Stone Age

Stone age Resources
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