Paleolithic

The Paleolithic is a massive era in human prehistory. It is often called the Old Stone Age.

This period began with the first use of stone tools 3.3 million years ago. It lasted until the end of the Pleistocene epoch 11,650 years ago. This era covers almost all of human prehistoric technology. The name comes from Greek words. "Palaios" means old and "lithos" means stone. Archaeologist John Lubbock coined this term in 1865. It describes the long time when humans first mastered stone.

During this age, humans lived in small societies called bands. These groups followed a hunter-gatherer economy. They hunted wild animals for meat and gathered plants for food. They also fished and scavenged for resources.

Most tools were made by knapping stone. This means chipping stone to create sharp edges. People also used bone, wood, and leather. Many organic tools did not survive. They decomposed quickly over thousands of years. However, archaeologists still find many stone artifacts. These include projectile points, engraving tools, and sharp knife blades.

Humanity changed significantly throughout the Paleolithic. Early ancestors like Homo habilis used very simple tools. Over time, hominins evolved into anatomically modern humans.

By the Upper Paleolithic, humans showed modern behaviors. They began to create art and engage in spiritual rituals. They made jewelry and painted on cave walls.

They also practiced burials for the dead. These activities show a growing complexity in human thought and culture.

Climate played a huge role in how humans lived. The Paleolithic overlapped with the Pleistocene epoch. This time was defined by many glacial and interglacial periods. A glacial is a long period of cooling. An interglacial is a warmer period between glacials.

During glacials, massive ice sheets covered much of the Earth. These sheets reached as far as the 40th parallel. Glaciers in North America included the Laurentide and Cordilleran sheets. The Fenno-Scandian ice sheet covered much of northern Europe. These ice ages changed the shape of the world.

As the climate changed, humans moved to new lands. Hominins first appeared in eastern Africa.

Eventually, they moved into Europe and Asia. By 800,000 years ago, they lived in the South Caucasus. By 400,000 years ago, they reached northern China. Humans eventually reached Australia and Japan. Some groups lived in Siberia above the Arctic Circle. By the end of the Upper Paleolithic, humans crossed Beringia. This land bridge allowed them to enter the Americas.

Changing environments also affected the animals of the era. The Pleistocene was home to many "megafauna," or giant animals.

These included woolly mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses. As the world warmed at the end of the Paleolithic, these animals faced extinction. Climate change caused mammoth habitats to shrink. This made their populations drop. Humans also hunted these animals. The combination of climate change and hunting likely led to their disappearance. Small populations of mammoths survived on isolated islands until much later.

Today, we study the Paleolithic through archaeology. Scientists look at artifacts to understand ancient life. They study tools like drilling and piercing tools. They also look at how humans lived in different environments. For example, we see evidence of fishing at Blombos Cave in South Africa. We see early art in Indonesia and Europe.

By studying these clues, we see how humans survived for millions of years. We see how they adapted to ice and heat. This period connects the earliest hominins to the modern world.