AgePaleolithic

The Paleolithic Age, often called the Old Stone Age, is the longest period of human prehistory. It spans roughly 2.6 million years ago to about 10,000 BCE, though end dates vary by region. The defining feature is the development and refinement of stone tool technology and a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

The period is divided into Lower, Middle, and Upper Paleolithic. Lower Paleolithic (≈2.6 million to 300,000 years ago) includes the earliest stone tools such as simple cores and flakes, and the use of fire by some hominins. Species associated include Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and later Homo heidelbergensis.

Middle Paleolithic (≈300,000 to 30,000 years ago) witnesses more sophisticated toolkits often linked to Neanderthals in Europe and their contemporaries in Africa. Prepared-core technology, hafted tools, and broader foraging strategies become apparent, as do indications of social structure and symbolic behavior in some sites.

Upper Paleolithic (≈50,000 to 10,000 years ago) sees rapid technological and cultural change with blade-based tools, greatly expanded hunting gear, and the appearance of art and personal ornament. Cave paintings, carvings, and beads reflect increasing symbolic thought, language development, and long-distance exchange.

Homo sapiens spread from Africa during the later Paleolithic, interacting with other hominins such as Neanderthals and Denisovans in Eurasia. The Paleolithic ends with regional transitions to Mesolithic or Epipaleolithic cultures and, in many areas, the shift to agriculture in the Neolithic.