"The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic... is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools..."
The oldest and longest period of prehistory, spanning from the emergence of the first humans, around 2.5 million years ago, until the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 BCE. This period is characterized by the use of stone tools, hunting and gathering, and the emergence of early forms of art and symbolic communication.
Early humans: The study of the earliest humans who lived during the Paleolithic Period, including their physical characteristics, behavior, and methods of survival.
Archaeology: The scientific study of artifacts, structures, and other physical remains left behind by ancient humans during the Paleolithic Period.
Stone tool technology: The development and use of stone tools by early humans, including the different types of tools they made, how they were made, and their uses.
Human migration: The movement of humans from their origins in Africa to other parts of the world during the Paleolithic Period, including the factors that drove migration and the routes taken.
Environmental factors: The impact of environmental factors, such as climate change, on early human development and migration during the Paleolithic Period.
Art and symbolism: The creation and use of artistic and symbolic expressions by early humans, including cave art, sculpture, and language.
Diet and nutrition: The diet and nutrition of early humans during the Paleolithic Period, including the types of foods they ate and how they obtained them.
Social structures: The social structures of early human societies, including kinship relationships, gender roles, and the development of early forms of community.
Religion and spirituality: The religious and spiritual beliefs and practices of early human societies, including burial practices and other rituals.
Paleolithic cultures: The different cultures that emerged during the Paleolithic Period, including their unique characteristics and contributions to human history.
Lower Paleolithic Period (2.5 million: BCE) - characterized by the use of simple stone tools, including choppers and hand-axes. Hominids during this period include Homo habilis and Homo erectus.
Middle Paleolithic Period (200,000: BCE) - marked by the development of more advanced stone tools, including the Levallois technique for flint knapping. Hominids during this period include Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens.
Upper Paleolithic Period (40,000: BCE) - known for the emergence of modern humans, advanced stone tools, increased hunting and gathering, and the emergence of art and religious practices.
Epipaleolithic Period (10,000: BCE) - a transitional period between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, marked by the development of agriculture.
Mesolithic Period (8,000: BCE) - a period of cultural and environmental change, characterized by the development of new tools and weapons, and the domestication of animals.
Neolithic Period (5,000: BCE) - a period marked by the development of agriculture, the domestication of animals, and the emergence of permanent settlements.
Chalcolithic Period (3,000: BCE) - a period of transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, marked by the use of copper and early metallurgy.
Bronze Age (2,300: BCE) - a period marked by the use of bronze for tools and weapons, the emergence of writing, and the development of complex societies and states.
"It extends from the earliest known use of stone tools by hominins, c. 3.3 million years ago, to the end of the Pleistocene, c. 11,650 cal BP."
"...subsisted by gathering plants, fishing, and hunting or scavenging wild animals."
"The Paleolithic Age is characterized by the use of knapped stone tools, although at the time humans also used wood and bone tools."
"Archaeologists classify artifacts of the last 50,000 years into many different categories, such as projectile points, engraving tools, sharp knife blades, and drilling and piercing tools."
"Humankind gradually evolved from early members of the genus Homo... into anatomically modern humans as well as behaviorally modern humans by the Upper Paleolithic."
"During the end of the Paleolithic Age, specifically the Middle or Upper Paleolithic Age, humans began to produce the earliest works of art and to engage in religious or spiritual behavior such as burial and ritual."
"Conditions during the Paleolithic Age went through a set of glacial and interglacial periods in which the climate periodically fluctuated between warm and cool temperatures."
"Archaeological and genetic data suggest that the source populations of Paleolithic humans survived in sparsely-wooded areas and dispersed through areas of high primary productivity while avoiding dense forest-cover."
"By c. 50,000 – c. 40,000 BP, the first humans set foot in Australia."
"By c. 45,000 BP, humans lived at 61°N latitude in Europe."
"By c. 30,000 BP, Japan was reached."
"By c. 27,000 BP humans were present in Siberia, above the Arctic Circle."
"By the end of the Upper Paleolithic Age humans had crossed Beringia and expanded throughout the Americas."