Stone age

Stone Age

The Stone Age (/stoʊn eɪdʒ/) is a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make implements with a sharp edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 8700 BCE and 2000 BCE, with the advent of metalworking.

Etymology

The term "Stone Age" was coined in the late 19th century CE by the Danish scholar Christian Jürgensen Thomsen, who came up with a framework for the study of the human past, known as the Three Age System. The system was never designed to measure time, but was designed to organize artifacts and events in a relative chronology.

Periodization

The Stone Age is further subdivided by the types of stone tools in use.

• Paleolithic: The Paleolithic is the earliest period of the Stone Age. The early part of the Paleolithic is called the Lower Paleolithic, which predates Homo sapiens, beginning with Homo habilis and with the earliest stone tools, dated to around 2.5 million years ago.
• Mesolithic: The Mesolithic period is a transitional era between the Paleolithic, characterized by the hunting and gathering lifestyle, and the Neolithic era, characterized by the first beginnings of farming. Mesolithic cultures represent a wide variety of hunting, fishing, and food gathering techniques.
• 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 its stone-built cultures, and the use of polished stone tools and pottery.

Related Terms

• Prehistory: The time before written records. It includes the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age.
• Archaeology: The study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains.
• Anthropology: The scientific study of humans, human behavior and societies in the past and present.

This WikiMD.org article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.