Stone Age
The
Stone Age is a broad
prehistoric time period during which
humans widely used
stone for toolmaking.
Stone tools were made from a variety of different kinds of stone. For example,
flint and
chert were shaped (or
chipped) for use as cutting tools and
weapons, while
basalt and
sandstone were used for
ground stone tools, such as
quern-stones.
Wood,
bone,
shell,
antler and other materials were widely used, too. During the most recent part of the period,
sediments (like
clay) were used to make
pottery. A series of metal
technology innovations characterize the later
Copper Age,
Bronze Age and
Iron Age.
The period encompasses the first widespread use of
technology in
human evolution and the spread of
humanity from the
savannas of
East Africa to the rest of the
world. It ends with the development of
agriculture, the
domestication of certain animals and the
smelting of
copper ore to produce metal. It is termed
prehistoric, since humanity had not yet started
writing -- the traditional start of
history (i.e.,
recorded history).
The term "Stone Age" was used by
archaeologists to designate this vast
pre-metallurgic period whose stone
tools survived far more widely than tools made from other (softer) materials. It is the first age in the
three-age system and was subdivided into the
Palaeolithic,
Mesolithic and
Neolithic periods, by
John Lubbock in his now classic 1865 book
Pre-historic Times. These three periods are further subdivided. In reality, the succession of phases differs enormously from one
region (and
culture) to another. Indeed, humanity continued to expand into new areas even during the metal ages so it is therefore better to speak of
a Stone Age, instead of
the Stone Age.
The date range of this period is ambiguous, disputed, and variable according to the region in question. While it is possible to speak of a general 'stone age' period for the whole of humanity, some groups never developed metal-
smelting technology, so remained in a 'stone age' until they encountered technologically developed cultures. However, in general, it is believed that this period began somewhere around 3
million years ago, starting with the first
hominid tool-making in
Africa. Most
australopithecines probably did not use stone tools (although they seem to be invented by
Paranthropus robustus) but the study of their remains still falls within the remit of archaeologists studying the period.
Due to the prevalence of stone
artifacts, which are frequently the only remains which still exist,
lithic analysis is a major and specialized form of archaeological investigation for the period. This involves the measurement of the stone tools to determine their typology, function and the technology involved. This frequently involves an analysis of the
lithic reduction of the raw materials, examining how the artifacts were actually made. This can also be examined through
experimental archaeology, by attempting to create replica tools. This is done by
flintknappers who reduce
flintstone to a
flint tool.
Modern use of the term
One problem with the term is that it implies that human advancement and time periods in prehistory are only measured by the type of tool material most widely used, rather than, for example, type of
social organisation, food sources exploited, or adaptation to harsh
climates. This is a product of the level of knowledge of the distant past during the nineteenth century when the three age system was developed, a time when finds of
artifacts were the main goal of an
archaeological excavation. Modern archaeological techniques stress a wider collection of information that has expanded our knowledge of prehistory and rendered neat divisions such as the term 'Stone Age' increasingly obsolete. We now know that the changes in past societies over the millennia were complex and involved multiple factors such as the adoption of
agriculture,
settlement or
religion and that tool use is just one unrepresentative indicator of a society's practices and beliefs.
Another problem connected with the term Stone Age is that it was created to describe the
archaeological cultures of
Europe, and that it is inconvenient to use it in relation to regions such as some parts of the
Americas and
Oceania, where
farmers or
hunter-gatherers used stone for tools until European
colonisation began. Metal-working was a much less important part of people's lives there and it is more useful to use other terms when dividing prehistory in those areas. The same incongruence applies to the Iron Age worldwide, because in the Americas iron (but not copper, bronze,
silver or
gold) was unknown until
1492, in Oceania until the
17th century.
A Stone Age was usually followed by a
Bronze Age, during which
metalworking technology allowed
bronze (copper and
tin or other metals) tools to become more common. The transition out of the Stone Age occurred between
6000 BC and
2500 BC for much of humanity living in North Africa, Asia and Europe. In some regions, such as
Subsaharan Africa, the Stone Age was followed directly by an
Iron Age. It is generally believed that the
Middle East and
southeastern Asian regions progressed past Stone Age technology around 6000 BC.
Europe and the rest of
Asia became post-Stone Age
societies by about
4000 BC. The
proto-Inca cultures of
South America continued at a Stone Age level until around
2000 BC, when gold, copper and silver made their entrance, the rest following later. Australia remained in the Stone Age until the 17th century.
We also now know that the transition from a Stone Age to a Bronze Age was not a neat switch but a long, gradual process involving the working of gold and copper at what are technically
Neolithic sites. This "transition" period is known as the Copper age or
Chalcolithic. It was a short and more a regional development, because alloying
tin with copper began quite soon, except in regions lacking tin.
Ötzi the Iceman for instance, a
mummy from about
3300 BC carried with him a copper axe and a flint knife. Stone tool manufacture also continued long into the succeeding metal-using ages, possibly even until the
Early Middle Ages. In Europe and North America,
millstones were in use well into the 20th century, and still are in many parts of the world.
The Stone Age covers an immense time span, and during this period major climatic and other changes occurred, which affected the evolution of humans. Humans themselves evolved into their current
morphological form during the later period of the Stone Age.
See also: Human evolutionPalaeolithic
The
Old Stone Age period runs from about 2 million years ago to the end of the
Pleistocene, 10,000 years ago. For areas with an early
neolithisation, the Palaeolithic includes the
Epipalaeolithic, and ends around 8,000 years ago.
Lower Palaeolithic
Near the end of the
Pliocene epoch in Africa, an early ancestor of modern humans, called
Homo habilis, developed the earliest known stone tools. These were relatively simple tools known as
choppers.
Homo habilis is presumed to have mastered the
Oldowan era tool case which utilized stone
flakes and
cores. This
industry of stone tools is named after the site of
Oldupai Gorge in
Tanzania. These humans likely subsisted on scavenged meat and wild plants, rather than hunted
prey. Around 1.5 million years ago, a more evolved human species,
Homo erectus, appeared.
H. erectus learned to control fire and created more complex chopper tools, as well as expanding
out of Africa to reach Asia, as shown by sites such as
Zhoukoudian in
China. By 1 million years ago, the earliest evidence of humans in Europe is known, as well use of the more advanced
handaxe tool.
Middle Palaeolithic
 |
Reconstruction of a Neanderthal man |
This period began about 200,000 years ago and is most well-known as being the era during which the
Neanderthals lived (c. 120,000–35,000 years ago). The stone artefact technology of the Neanderthals is generally known as the
Mousterian. The Neanderthals eventually disappeared from the archaeological record, replaced by modern humans who first appeared in southern Africa around 100,000 years ago. Although often identified in the public's mind as primitive, there is evidence that Neanderthals nursed their elderly and practised
ritual burial indicating an organised society. The earliest evidence of settlement in
Australia dates
to around 40,000 years ago when modern humans likely crossed from Asia by hopping from island to island. Middle Palaeolithic peoples demonstrate the earliest evidence for
art and other expressions of abstract thought such as
ochre body decoration.
Upper Palaeolithic
From 35,000 to 10,000 years ago (the end of the
last ice age) modern humans spread out further across the
Earth during the period known as the Upper Palaeolithic. After the arrival of the first modern humans (
Cro-Magnons) in Europe a relatively rapid succession of often complex stone artefact technologies took place during this period, including the
Châtelperronian,
Aurignacian,
Solutrean,
Gravettian and
Magdalenian.
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-gatherers but evidence of regional identities begins to appear in the wide variety of stone tool types being developed to suit different environments.
Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic
Main articles: Epipalaeolithic, MesolithicThe period between the end of the last ice age, 10,000 years ago to around 6,000 years ago, is characterised by rising sea levels and a need to adapt to a changing environment and find new food sources. The development of
microlith tools began in response to these changes. They were derived from the previous Palaeolithic tools, hence the term Epipalaeolithic. However, in Europe the term
Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) is used, as the tools (and way of life) was imported from the
Near East. There, microlith tools permitted more efficient hunting, while more complex settlements, such as
Lepenski Vir developed based around fishing. Domestication of the
dog as a hunting companion probably dates to this period.
Neolithic
 |
Japanese Jomon pottery is the oldest in the world. |
The Neolithic (New Stone Age) is characterised by the adoption of
agriculture (the so-called
Neolithic Revolution), the development of
pottery and more complex, larger settlements such as
Çatal Hüyük and
Jericho. The first Neolithic cultures started around
8000 BC in the
fertile crescent. Agriculture and the culture it led to spread to the
Mediterranean, the
Indus valley, China, and
Southeast Asia.
Due to the increased need to harvest and process plants, ground stone and polished stone artefacts became much more widespread, including tools for grinding, cutting, chopping and adzing. The first large-scale constructions were built, including settlement towers and walls (e.g., Jericho) and ceremonial sites (e.g.,
Stonehenge). These show that there was sufficient resources and co-operation to enable large groups to work on these projects. To what extent this was the development of elites and social hierarchies is a matter of on-going debate. The earliest evidence for established
trade exists in the Neolithic with newly settled people importing exotic goods over distances of many hundreds of miles.
Skara Brae located on
Orkney island off
Scotland is one of Europe's best examples of a neolithic village. The community contains stone beds, shelves, and even an indoor toilet linked to a stream.
Food and drink
Food sources of the
hunter-gatherer humans of the Stone Age included both animals and plants that were part of the
natural environment in which these humans lived. These humans liked animal
organ meats, including the
liver,
kidneys, and
brains. They consumed little
dairy food or
carbohydrate-rich plant foods like
legumes or
cereal grains.
Current research indicates that two-thirds of the energy was derived from animal foods.
["Diet and Eating Habits in the Stone-Age," annecollins.com (accessed June 11, 2005).] The fat content of the diet was believed to be similar to that of the present day, but the ratio of the types of fats consumed differed: the
Omega-6 to
Omega-3 ratio was about 3:1 compared to 12:1 of today.
Near the end of the
last ice age, 15,000 to 9,000 years ago, a large scale
extinction of large
mammals (the
mammalian megafauna) occurred in Asia, Europe,
North America and Australia. This was the first
Holocene extinction event. This event possibly forced modification in the dietary habits of the humans of that age and with the emergence of
agricultural practices, plant-based foods also became a regular part of the diet.
A report in the National Geographic News indicated that "the first
wine-tasting may have occurred when Neolithic humans slurped the juice of naturally
fermented wild grapes from animal-skin pouches or crude wooden
bowls."
[William Cocke, "First Wine? Archaeologist Traces Drink to Stone Age," National Geographic News, July 21, 2004 (accessed June 11, 2005).]Shelters and habitats
Around 2 million years before present,
Homo habilis is believed to have constructed first man-made structure in
East Africa, consisting of simple arrangements of stones to hold branches of trees in position. A similar stone circular arrangement believed to be around 500,000 years old was discovered at
Terra Amata, near
Nice (
France). Several human habitats dating back to the Stone Age have been discovered in different parts of the earth, including:
*A tent-like structure inside a cave near the
Grotte du Lazaret , Nice, France.
*A structure with roof supported with timber, discovered in
Dolni Vestonice,
Czechoslovakia, dates to around 23,000 BC. The walls were made of packed clay blocks and stones.
*Many huts made of
mammoth bones were found in Eastern Europe and Siberia. The people who made these huts were specialised mammoth hunters. Examples have been found along the
Dniepr river valley of
Ukraine, including near
Chernihiv, in
Moravia (in the
Czech Republic) and in southern
Poland.
*An animal hide tent dated to around 15,000 to 10,000 BC (in the
Magdalenian) was discovered at Plateau Parain, France.
*
Megalithic tombs, multi-chambered, and
dolmens, single-chambered, were
graves with a huge stone slab stacked over other similarly large stone slabs. They have been discovered all across Europe, and were built in the Neolithic. Several tombs with copper and bronze tools have also been discovered, illustrating the problems of attempting to define periods based on technology.
Art
Pre-historic art can only be traced from surviving artefacts.
Prehistoric music is inferred from found instruments, while
parietal art can be found on rocks of any kind. The latter are petroglyphs and rock paintings. The art may or may not have had a
religious function.
Petroglyphs
Petroglyphs appeared in the New Stone Age, commonly known as Neolithic period. A Petroglyph is an abstract or symbolic image recorded on stone, usually by prehistoric peoples, by means of
carving, pecking or otherwise incised on natural rock surfaces. They were a dominant form or pre-writing symbols used in communication. Petroglyphs have been discovered in different parts of the world, including
Asia (
Bhimbetka, India),
North America (
Death Valley National Park),
South America (
Cumbe Mayo,
Peru), and Europe (
Finnmark, Norway).
Rock paintings
Rock paintings were
painted on rock and were more naturalistic depictions than petroglyphs. In paleolithic times, the representation of humans in cave paintings was rare. Mostly, animals were painted: not only animals that were used as food but also animals that represented strength like the
rhinoceros or large
cats (as in the
Chauvet Cave). Signs like dots were sometimes drawn. Rare human representations include handprints and half-human/half-animal figures. The Cave of Chauvet in the
Ardèche département, France, contains the most important preserved cave paintings of the paleolithic era, painted around 31,000 BC. The
Altamira cave paintings in
Spain were done 14,000 to 12,000 BC and show, among others,
bisons. The hall of bulls in
Lascaux,
Dordogne, France, is one of the best known cave paintings from about 15,000 to 10,000 BC.
The meaning of the paintings remains unknown. The caves were not in an inhabited area, so they may have been used for seasonal rituals. The animals are accompanied by signs which suggest a possible magic use. Arrow-like symbols in Lascaux are sometimes interpreted as
calendar or
almanac use. But the evidence remains inconclusive.
[M. Hoover, "Art of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras," from Art History Survey 1, San Antonio College (July 2001; accessed June 11, 2005).] The most important work of the Mesolithic era were the marching Warriors, a rock painting at Cingle de la Mola,
Castellón in Spain dated to about 7,000–4,000 BC. The technique used was probably spitting or blowing the pigments onto the rock. The paintings are quite naturalistic, though stylized. The figures are not three-dimensional, even though they overlap.
["Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic Art" (lecture 2, Rice University, Houston, TX, September 2, 1998; accessed June 11, 2005).]Modern studies and the in-depth analysis of finds dating from the Stone Age indicate certain rituals and beliefs of the people in those prehistoric times. It is now believed that activities of the Stone Age humans went beyond the immediate requirements of procuring food, body coverings, and shelters. Specific rites relating to death and burial were practiced, though certainly differing in style and execution between cultures. Several Stone Age-dated sites of the in different parts of the world indicate traces of
dancing, dancing in files, and initiation rites.
[Burial and mysticism in prehistory (accessed June 11, 2005).]Anthropologists have used several tribes to study and interpret what life during the Stone Age might have been like. Such tribes can be found in
Papua New Guinea,
Andaman and Nicobar Islands (
India),
Africa and
South America.
As a
slang term,
"Stone Age" can be used to describe a modern civilization or group of people that live in relatively primitive conditions, even though its use is often a misnomer. The phrase
"bomb them back into the Stone Age" implies a fierce attack that utterly destroys its target's
infrastructure, forcing its survivors to revert to primitive technology in order to survive.
The image of the
caveman is commonly associated with the Stone Age. For example, the
2003 documentary series showing the evolution of humans through the Stone Age was called
Walking with Cavemen, although only the last programme showed humans living in caves. While the idea that human beings and
dinosaurs coexisted is sometimes portrayed in cartoons, films, and computer games, such as
The Flintstones and
One Million Years B.C., the notion of primates and dinosaurs co-existing is simply a
conceit of fiction and only seriously held by
Young Earth creationism.
Other depictions of the Stone Age include the best-selling
Earth's Children series of books by
Jean M. Auel, which are set in the Palaeolithic and are loosely based on archaeological and
anthropological findings. The
1981 movie Quest for Fire by
Jean-Jacques Annaud tells the story of a group of humans searching their lost fire.
*
Human evolution *
Megalith*
Lithic reduction*
Prehistoric music*
Prehistoric warfare*
*
*
The Stone Age*
Stone Age Handaxes*
Stone Age Habitats*
A Historical Lie: The Stone Age
