The Stone Age
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
The basic stone age is divided into three parts: Ancient Stone Age (Paleolithic), Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic), and the New Stone Age (Neolithic).
Paleolithic (Ancient Stone) Age
The Ancient Stone Age was the most primitive part of the Stone Age. (Duh.) During the Paleolithic, only the hunting of animals and the gathering of plants was done. This meant that there were less jobs than there would be in the Neolithic. These people were known as the hunter-gatherers, as these were the two main ways they got food.
The tools of this age were very primitive, and there were tools such as the hand ax, the harpoon, and among others. There was also another tool. It was called the Flint Burin, and with this he carved other tools. The Flint Burin was used for creating tools ranging from primitive needles to high-flying spearthrowers.
From what facts we have gathered, Homo Habilis was the first of our ancestors to create tools. The tools found were hand axes. These were probably used for slicing meat into pieces.
One of the drawbacks of the Paleolithic Age was the fact that it was between one and a half million to 40,000 years B.C. The reason why this was a drawback was because this was in the Ice Age. That was why neanderthals, the people of the day, lived mostly in caves. Due to their lack of sunshine, they not only desperately needed tans, but the lack of Vitamin D, which comes from the sun, caused arthritus. That is why when people think of Neanderthals they think of hunched people, when really this ain' true.
Amazingly, they had shoes back then. No, not sneakers, or skechers, but plain shoes. They didn't have socks though. And from what I know, mostly only toolmakers used them. The shoes protected them from the razor sharp shavings that were to be found on the ground.
The main animal they hunted was the wooly mammoth. The wooly mammoth's tusks provided material for tools, its fur was used for keeping warm while journeying ever farther north, and the meat was (nar) eaten. Another animal that they hunted PART of the time was the saber tooth tiger.
Another thing that the Paleolithic Age is known for is artwork. Although most artwork was done in the Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age, the first artists were to be found in these caves. Supposedly these paintings were made for honoring the spirits of the animals which they killed.
Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age
S'anyway, lessee, oh yeah, the Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age. The Mesolithic Age was a heck shorter than the Paleolithic. It started at about 40,000 B.C. and ended in 8,500 B.C. During this period of 32,000 years, many new things were being discovered. These discoveries would lead eventually to what is known as the Neolithic (New Stone) Age.
At about 25,000 B.C., the Ice Age began to thaw out. This opened many doors of oppurtunity. It also closed a bunch. Since the Ice Age was finally over, people could leave their caves and actually explore their surroundings. However, since the Ice Age was over, many land bridges, such as the one from Siberia to North America, and the one from Asia to Australia, were now sunken under many fathoms of water.
Tools were also seeing their own advancement. The hand axes were way better than the ones the Neanderthals had. Whereas before one tool was used for several tasks, now there was a tool for just about any task. Spear points for hunting. Piercing tools for cutting holes in hides (which they would sew together). Thin scrapers for cleaning hides.
The Cro-Magnons were the first of the toolmakers. Although there were Cro-Magnons in the Paleolithic Age, most resided in the Mesolithic. They made fishing spears for (duh) fishing. They even made fishing hooks used in modern flyfishing.
Farming was just beginning too. Although the Neolithic was the peak in the Stone Age for farming, farming was also just starting in the Mesolithic. People were beginning to learn how to domesticate animals. Farming proved very useful, but although it wasn't practiced as much as hunting & gathering during the major part of the Mesolithic, it would only set things up for the future.
Neolithic (New Stone) Age
The Neolithic Age came after the Paleolithic and Mesolithic. It was the final chapter in the story of the Stone Age. It was also a heck shorter than the Mesolithic and Paleolithic Ages. This age lasted from 8,500 B.C. to about 1,600 B.C. There was a lot of things that happened during these 6,900 yr.
The most notable was farming. By the middle of the Neolithic, farming was just about everywhere. It had not completely replaced hunting and gathering, but farming was pretty much way more popular than h&g. There were many reasons why farming was more popular. The most notable reasons are as follows.
A, you weren't putting your life at risk everytime you wanted food. B, it was a lot easier than h&g. C, whenever you wanted food, the food was readily available. You didn't have to go searching for game or going miles just to get to a place which was plentiful with fruits. All you had to do was either go pick some food from the fields or go chop some animal in half and cook it in your adobe house.
The reason why I mention adobe all of a sudden was by now, the basic building materials for houses had been pioneered. Adobe, or dried out mud, was used to build houses. Hopefully you didn't live in a stormy area for more than ten years, as adobe houses weren't that permenent. If you live in California, U.S.A., then visit some of the old missions and you'll see what I mean.
Of course, with the taming of animals, just about everybody had a pet dog or something. Those who maintained the ancient art of h&g
usually liked having dogs around so that the dogs could run and do the actual killing. Many people kept dogs for pets, and in Australia, or so I've heard, people of this time period would sleep with their pet dingos to keep warm on cold desert nights. That's all I can think of for the stone age.
Paleolithic (Ancient Stone) Age
The Ancient Stone Age was the most primitive part of the Stone Age. (Duh.) During the Paleolithic, only the hunting of animals and the gathering of plants was done. This meant that there were less jobs than there would be in the Neolithic. These people were known as the hunter-gatherers, as these were the two main ways they got food.
The tools of this age were very primitive, and there were tools such as the hand ax, the harpoon, and among others. There was also another tool. It was called the Flint Burin, and with this he carved other tools. The Flint Burin was used for creating tools ranging from primitive needles to high-flying spearthrowers.
From what facts we have gathered, Homo Habilis was the first of our ancestors to create tools. The tools found were hand axes. These were probably used for slicing meat into pieces.
One of the drawbacks of the Paleolithic Age was the fact that it was between one and a half million to 40,000 years B.C. The reason why this was a drawback was because this was in the Ice Age. That was why neanderthals, the people of the day, lived mostly in caves. Due to their lack of sunshine, they not only desperately needed tans, but the lack of Vitamin D, which comes from the sun, caused arthritus. That is why when people think of Neanderthals they think of hunched people, when really this ain' true.
Amazingly, they had shoes back then. No, not sneakers, or skechers, but plain shoes. They didn't have socks though. And from what I know, mostly only toolmakers used them. The shoes protected them from the razor sharp shavings that were to be found on the ground.
The main animal they hunted was the wooly mammoth. The wooly mammoth's tusks provided material for tools, its fur was used for keeping warm while journeying ever farther north, and the meat was (nar) eaten. Another animal that they hunted PART of the time was the saber tooth tiger.
Another thing that the Paleolithic Age is known for is artwork. Although most artwork was done in the Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age, the first artists were to be found in these caves. Supposedly these paintings were made for honoring the spirits of the animals which they killed.
Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age
S'anyway, lessee, oh yeah, the Mesolithic (Middle Stone) Age. The Mesolithic Age was a heck shorter than the Paleolithic. It started at about 40,000 B.C. and ended in 8,500 B.C. During this period of 32,000 years, many new things were being discovered. These discoveries would lead eventually to what is known as the Neolithic (New Stone) Age.
At about 25,000 B.C., the Ice Age began to thaw out. This opened many doors of oppurtunity. It also closed a bunch. Since the Ice Age was finally over, people could leave their caves and actually explore their surroundings. However, since the Ice Age was over, many land bridges, such as the one from Siberia to North America, and the one from Asia to Australia, were now sunken under many fathoms of water.
Tools were also seeing their own advancement. The hand axes were way better than the ones the Neanderthals had. Whereas before one tool was used for several tasks, now there was a tool for just about any task. Spear points for hunting. Piercing tools for cutting holes in hides (which they would sew together). Thin scrapers for cleaning hides.
The Cro-Magnons were the first of the toolmakers. Although there were Cro-Magnons in the Paleolithic Age, most resided in the Mesolithic. They made fishing spears for (duh) fishing. They even made fishing hooks used in modern flyfishing.
Farming was just beginning too. Although the Neolithic was the peak in the Stone Age for farming, farming was also just starting in the Mesolithic. People were beginning to learn how to domesticate animals. Farming proved very useful, but although it wasn't practiced as much as hunting & gathering during the major part of the Mesolithic, it would only set things up for the future.
Neolithic (New Stone) Age
The Neolithic Age came after the Paleolithic and Mesolithic. It was the final chapter in the story of the Stone Age. It was also a heck shorter than the Mesolithic and Paleolithic Ages. This age lasted from 8,500 B.C. to about 1,600 B.C. There was a lot of things that happened during these 6,900 yr.
The most notable was farming. By the middle of the Neolithic, farming was just about everywhere. It had not completely replaced hunting and gathering, but farming was pretty much way more popular than h&g. There were many reasons why farming was more popular. The most notable reasons are as follows.
A, you weren't putting your life at risk everytime you wanted food. B, it was a lot easier than h&g. C, whenever you wanted food, the food was readily available. You didn't have to go searching for game or going miles just to get to a place which was plentiful with fruits. All you had to do was either go pick some food from the fields or go chop some animal in half and cook it in your adobe house.
The reason why I mention adobe all of a sudden was by now, the basic building materials for houses had been pioneered. Adobe, or dried out mud, was used to build houses. Hopefully you didn't live in a stormy area for more than ten years, as adobe houses weren't that permenent. If you live in California, U.S.A., then visit some of the old missions and you'll see what I mean.
Of course, with the taming of animals, just about everybody had a pet dog or something. Those who maintained the ancient art of h&g
usually liked having dogs around so that the dogs could run and do the actual killing. Many people kept dogs for pets, and in Australia, or so I've heard, people of this time period would sleep with their pet dingos to keep warm on cold desert nights. That's all I can think of for the stone age.
