Stone Age

We explain what the Stone Age was, its characteristics, stages, how it began and how it ended. Also, the Age of Metals.

Stone Age
The Stone Age is considered the beginning of human culture.

What was the Stone Age?

The Stone Age or Lithic Stage is the first temporal division of prehistory and the period of time from the time when human beings began to use stone instruments until they began to use copper and then bronze, which began the Age of Metals.

It is usually marked its beginning 2,500,000 years ago and its end in 4000 BC. c although this varies according to different regions. In any case, the Stone Age was a very long period.

The term “Stone Age” was coined by the Danish scholar Christian J. Thomsen at the beginning of the 19th century. It was part of the conceptual framework that he proposed to study human prehistory, known as the “three age system”: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age each one linked to the widespread use of a certain material and placed in a successive order from least to greatest technological complexity.

This system was widely accepted by the scientific community, which continues to use it today, and sometimes an intermediate stage was added between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age, known as the Copper Age or Chalcolithic.

However, it was also subjected to criticism, as it was argued that it was focused on the study of technology, and not other aspects of social life, and that it was conceived from a Eurocentric perspective, which would make it of little use when it came to to study other regions, although it is also widely used in areas such as the Middle East.

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The Stone Age It was subdivided in the mid-19th century by the British scholar John Lubbock into two periods: Paleolithic and Neolithic. Later, an intermediate period was incorporated that was called Mesolithic (mainly for Europe) and Epipaleolithic (mainly for the Near East).

Although the Stone Age is associated with the genre Homoand especially to Homo sapiensthere is evidence of the use of stone tools 3,400,000 years ago by some older hominids.

Key points

  • The Stone Age was an extensive period of prehistory characterized by the use of stone tools and the initial development of human culture.
  • It is usually subdivided into three periods: Paleolithic, Mesolithic (or Epipaleolithic) and Neolithic, the latter characterized by the introduction of agriculture and livestock.
  • It represented advances in the manufacture of tools, rock art, the mastery of fire and the transition from groups of hunter-gatherers to agricultural and sedentary societies.
  • Its beginning is usually dated 2,500,000 years ago and its end around 4000 BC. C., although this varies according to the regions.

Characteristics of the Stone Age

Stone Age
Tools were made of stone, wood, bone and other materials.

Despite what their name suggests, the tools and other artifacts that humans used during the Stone Age were not made exclusively of stone, but also bone, fibers, leather, wood, and clay.

However, in the archaeological record, stone tools are the best preserved that is why they are the most abundant. In general, they were used for hunting, fishing, food preparation, clothing manufacturing, construction of shelters and homes or war.

The tools underwent important changes throughout the period, such as the use of carved stones in the Paleolithic and the use of polished stones in the Neolithic. Furthermore, the Stone Age meant a significant leap in the history of humanity, since during it it is usually recognized that the beginning of culture took place (as evidenced not only by the tools but also by the cave paintings and the first statuettes, known as venus).

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Another important change was that Nomadism was abandoned in favor of a sedentary life from the Neolithic when the first animals were domesticated and agriculture began. On the other hand, ceramics and cereal baking were developed, which laid the foundations for the later development of metallurgy, which depended on the use of kilns.

Stone Age Periods

The Stone Age is divided into three periods:

Paleolithic

The Paleolithic was the first part of the Stone Age, which extended from the creation of the first lithic tools until the end of the last ice age. That is, approximately from 2,500,000 years to 9700 years BC. C., although the precise dating of the Paleolithic varies according to the regions.

It was the longest period of the three and was characterized by the appearance of various lithic industries, which constituted a true technological revolution, as they allowed human beings to hunt and modify various materials for their protection, such as animal leather for clothing or shelters. Cave art and the first ornaments also appeared in this period.

Mesolithic

The Mesolithic was the intermediate stage that began at the end of the last ice age, in a time frame between 12,000 and 8000 BC. C. according to the regions. It culminated in the emergence of agriculture, sometime between 8500 and 4000 BC. c or even later, depending on the region of the planet being considered. There were regions that did not have this period.

The Mesolithic, which in areas such as the Near East is often called Epipaleolithic, was the last stage of human life supported by hunting and gathering, as the planet became increasingly warmer. Therefore, it was a time of adaptation to the significant changes that took place in climate, sea level and geography.

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Neolithic

The Neolithic was the last period of the Stone Age. It began with the appearance of agriculture, in a time frame that ranges between 8500 and 4000 BC. c. It culminated in some regions with the appearance of copper metallurgy as a fundamental technological element, and in others with the introduction of bronze metallurgy (alloy of copper and tin), which began the Age of Metals.

During this stage, a process of social and economic transformation took place known as the Neolithic revolution, in which humans adopted and spread agriculture, domesticated animals and abandoned nomadic life to cultivate the soil. This change gave rise to the first sedentary populations, which later led to the construction of the first cities.

Metal Age

stone age age of metals
The use of metal made many stone tools obsolete.

The Metal Age was the stage after the Stone Age. It covered both the so-called Copper Age or Chalcolithic as well as the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

As its name indicates, Its characteristic feature was the emergence of metallurgy, that is, the extraction and working of metal (and especially cast metal), which made many traditional stone tools obsolete.

In addition to this technological change, the Metal Age introduced other great cultural transformations in some regions of the world, such as the invention of writing and mathematics or the emergence of the first States and the first cities.

References

  • Aurenche, O. & Kozlowski, S. K. (2003). The origin of the Neolithic in the Near East. The lost paradise. Ariel.
  • Braidwood, R.J. et al. (2023). Stone Age. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
  • Fernández Martínez, VM (2007). Prehistory. The long road of humanity. Alliance.
  • Violatti, C. (2014). Stone Age. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/