Paleolithic
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| This time period is part of the Pleistocene epoch. |
Pleistocene
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| Holocene |
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (Greek παλαιός paleos=old and λίθος lithos=stone or the 'Old Stone Age') was the first period in the development of human technology of the Stone Age. It began with the introduction of the first stone tools by hominids such as Homo habilis (around 2,000,000 years ago) and lasted until the introduction of agriculture. It ended with the Mesolithic, or in areas with an early neolithisation, the Epipaleolithic.
In general, late Paleolithic people were hunter/scavengers and food gatherers. Important specifics of behaviour to note are that they used etiological myths (causal myths) to explain things.[citation needed] They seem to have organised themselves around (more or less temporary) natural leaders (and followers) rather than establishing a more permanent 'government.'
There was approximate parity between the sexes and their societies were homogeneous.[citation needed] It appears that the men hunted, and women gathered and cared for the young, but beyond that tasks were pretty much shared. They had significant knowledge about plants and herbs. Hence, their diet was rich in 'healthful' foods. We can tell this from coprolites.
Their technological skills are demonstrated by artifacts made from chipped stone and flint, and the use of wood, clay, and animal parts. Their tool kit was extensive: knives, axes, scrapers, hammers, awls, needles,spears, harpoons, clubs, shields, armour, blowguns, and bows and arrows.
They also made kayaks, snow-houses and outrigger canoes and knew poisons such as hydrocyanic acid, curare, snake venom, hemlock, and alkaloids. They also used all the means which we use to preserve food: freezing, drying, sealing (in clay or bees wax).
Religion was epitropaic; specifically, it involved sympathetic magic. In Europe, the first art seems to have appeared toward the end of the Paleolithic period (35,000 B.C.), . Paleolithic peoples painted and sculpted. The level of skill in painting and sculpting animals was remarkably high. It is theorised that one of the functions of art within their societies was to ensure success in hunting and to bring about fertility of crops and women.[citation needed]
The Paleolithic is usually divided into three subdivisions:
- Lower Paleolithic (2,500,000 BCE - 120,000 BCE, approx.): This was the time of the hand axe-industries. Prevalent hominid species of the Lower Paleolithic were H. habilis and Homo erectus.
- Middle Paleolithic (300,000 BCE - 30,000 BCE, approx.): Flake tools were made by the prepared-core technique. This is when the Neanderthals lived.
- Upper Paleolithic (30,000 BCE - 10,000 BCE, approx.): The technological changes of the transition from Middle to Upper Paleolithic have led some to speculate that human language first fully developed at this time. This culture seems to be primarily associated with the Cro-Magnon, or modern man.
