Unit

The Stone Age

How did people live in the ancient times? What was their life like? What kind of tools did they
use? What was that which made human civilisation possible? This unit will give you the answers
to all such questions. It will open your eyes to the life of people who lived during the ancient,
pre-civilised era. The topics include developments during the Stone Age, from making of stone
tools to beginning of civilisation.

Expected Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this unit you will be able to: Give a brief explanation of what the Stone Age is.
Identify and give a brief explanation of the three distinctive time periods of the Stone
Age.
Describe the advancements in human life made in each of the time periods of the Stone
Age and name specific tools that were used.
Present an over view of how man developed from hunters and gatherers to farmers.

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1.1 What is The Stone Age?

The Stone Age is a prehistoric cultural stage, or level of human development, characterized by
the creation and use of stone tools. The Stone Age gets its name, basically, from the tools
people made of stone. It began with the first tool making hominids about 2 million years ago
and lasted until around 3000 B.C.E., when people learned to make tools and weapons out of
Metal (Bronze Age). It is the earliest period of human development and the longest phase of
mankinds history.
The Stone Age is usually divided into three separate periods; Paleolithic Period,
Mesolithic Period, and Neolithic Period, based on the degree of sophistication in the fashioning
and use of tools.

1.1.1 Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age)

Throughout the Paleolithic period, man was a food
gatherer, depending for his subsistence on hunting
wild animals and birds, fishing, and collecting wild
fruits, nuts, and berries (see figure 1.1). The
artifactual record of this exceedingly long interval is
very incomplete it can be studied from such
imperishable objects of now-extinct cultures as
were made of flint, stone, bone, and antler.
These alone have withstood the ravages of Figure 1.1 An important development of the
time, and, together with the remains of Old Stone Age was the discovery and control
of fire.
contemporary animals hunted by our prehistoric
forerunners, are all that scholars have to guide them in attempting to reconstruct human
activity throughout this vast interval, approximately 98 % of the time span since the appearance
of the first true hominid. In general, these materials develop gradually from single, all-purpose
tools to an assemblage of varied and highly specialized types of artifacts, each designed to
serve in connection with a specific function.
In the manufacture of stone tools, four fundamental traditions were developed by the
Paleolithic ancestors: (1) pebble-tool traditions (2) bifacial-tool, or hand-ax traditions (3) flaketool traditions and (4) blade-tool traditions. Only rarely are any of these found in "pure" form,
and this fact has led to mistaken notions in many instances concerning the significance of
various assemblages. Indeed, though a certain tradition might be superseded in a given region
by a more advanced method of producing tools, the older technique persisted as long as it was
needed for a given purpose. In general, however, there is an overall trend in the order as given
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above, starting with simple pebble tools that have a single

edge sharpened for cutting or chopping. But no true
pebble-tool horizons had yet, by the late 20th century,
been recognized in Europe. In southern and eastern Asia,
on the other hand, pebble tools of primitive type
continued in use throughout Paleolithic times.
Some of the advancements in this period were the
making of simple stone hand axes, wooden club (see figure
1.2), cleavers, and diggers. Later in the period there is
evidence of mining. Spears, harpoons, and nets have also
Figure 1.2 Stone or Wooden Club: a
tool that was used even before
been found, which indicates that they found new ways to
Stone Axe
acquire food. They became more efficient hunters. Clothing
was sewn with needles and bodies were adorned with jewellery.

1.1.2 Mesolithic Period (Middle Stone Age)

This is the period in human development between the end of the Paleolithic period and the
beginning of the Neolithic period. It began with the end of the last glacial period over 10,000
years ago and evolved into the Neolithic period this change involved the gradual domestication
of plants and animals and the formation of settled communities at various times and places.
While Mesolithic cultures lasted in Europe until almost 3000 B.C.E., Neolithic communities
developed in the Middle East between 9000 and 6000 B.C.E.
Mesolithic cultures represent a wide variety of hunting, fishing, and food gathering
techniques. This variety may be the result of adaptations to changed ecological conditions
associated with the retreat of glaciers, the growth of forests in Europe and deserts in North
Africa, and the disappearance of the large game of the Ice Age. Characteristic of the period
were hunting and fishing settlements along rivers and on lake shores, where fish and molluscs
were abundant. Microliths, the typical stone implements of the Mesolithic period, are smaller
and more delicate than those of the late Paleolithic period. Pottery and the use of the bow
developed, although their presence in Mesolithic cultures may only indicate contact with early
Neolithic peoples.

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The Azilian culture, which was centred in the

Pyrenees region but spread to Switzerland, Belgium,
and Scotland, was one of the earliest representatives
of Mesolithic culture in Europe. The Azilian was
followed by the Tardenoisian culture, which covered
much of Europe most of these settlements are
found on dunes or sandy areas. The Maglemosian,
named for a site in Denmark, is found in the Baltic
region and North England. It occurred in the middle Figure 1.3 Bow & Arrow: an advancement
of the Mesolithic period. Hafted axes, an of the Mesolithic Period
improvement over the Paleolithic hand axe, and
bone tools were found. The Ertebolle culture, also named for a site in Denmark, spans most of
the late Mesolithic.
During this period Small bladed tools and weapons were created, along with the first
bows and arrows (see figure 1.3). On the water, boats made their first appearance. Pottery was
used for food storage and some animals were domesticated. Dogs were used for help in
hunting. Scientists suspect that early pictographs from the Mesolithic period may indicate the
earliest form of writing. In some areas, farming began during this transitional period, and
humans no longer had to follow the herds to survive.

1.1.3 Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)

The term Neolithic is used, especially in
archaeology and
anthropology, to
designate a stage of cultural evolution or
technological development characterized
by the use of stone tools, the existence of
settled villages largely dependent on
domesticated plants and animals, and the
presence of such crafts as pottery and
weaving.
Historians say that the Neolithic
Age began around 8000 B.C. because the
earliest permanent settlements date back
to this time. It ended in about 3000 B.C.
when people learned to make tools out of
metal instead of stone.

Figure 1.4 Most people in the Neolithic Age settled in

fertile areas near sources of water

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Many Neolithic settlements were located in a region east of the Mediterranean Sea,
where the land was fertile (see figure 1.4). They included such towns and villages as Jericho (in
present-day Israel), Catal Hoyuk (Turkey), and Jamo (Iraq). People in settlements like these lived
very different lives from earlier hunter-gatherers. With farms to provide their food, they could
build permanent shelters and form larger communities. They could make better tools and
clothing.
The Neolithic Revolution brought a wealth of technology that changed the nature of
human settlements. Agriculture began in full force with irrigation and farm implements
chisels, hoes, ploughs, yokes, and reaping hooks. Looms allowed humans to make materials and
the first silk appeared in China. Complex communities and the beginnings of modern human
culture are seen during this time.

In the Mesolithic Age,

human started to
sharpen their stone
tools for hunting and
looked for stones that
was harder and could
be sharpened easily.
They started to settle
in one place but still
remained hunter and
gatherer of meat, fish,
berries, nuts and
fruits.

Neolithis Period (about 11000 years ago)

In the Paleolithic Age,

humans used stones
for hunting which was
found in nature and
already had cutting
edge. They used tree
branches, leaves and
stones to make
shelter for living. They
ate plants and meat,
gathered barries. They
may have eaten flesh
of dead animals left
behind by other larger
predators. They used
fire by rubbing stones
together and roasted
meat.

Mesolithic Period (15000 years ago)

Paleolithic Period (2.5 million years ago)

1.2 The Time Line of Stone Age

During the Neolithic
Age, group of hunters
learned about
agriculture. At first they
collected wild crops
and domesticated wild
animals. By 10,000
years ago they started
to produce grains,
fruits and vegetables
from seeds. They made
plow out of entlers,
stone and wood and
started to cultivate the
land with the help of
animals.

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1.3 The Bronze Age

This is the phase in the development of material culture among
the ancient people following Neolithic ages. The term also
denotes the first period in which metal was used. The date at
which the age began varied with regions; in Greece and China,
for instance, the Bronze Age began before 3000 B.C.E., whereas
in Britain it did not start until about 1900 B.C.E.
The beginning of the period is sometimes called
Figure 1.5 The first wheel
the Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone) Age, referring to the initial use
was made of wood
of pure copper (along with its predecessor tool making
material, stone). By the middle of the 4th millennium, a rapidly developing copper metallurgy,
with cast tools and weapons, was a factor leading to urbanization in Mesopotamia.
The early copper phase is commonly thought of as part of the Bronze Age, though
true bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was used only rarely at first. During the 2 nd millennium
the use of true bronze greatly increased. The age was also marked by increased specialization
and the invention of the wheel (see figure 1.5) and the ox-drawn plow.

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Review Questions 1.1

1. What is known as the Stone Age?
2. What are the three periods of the Stone Age? By which names they are referred to and
what are the approximate time periods?
3. For each of the three stages of the Stone Age, briefly explain:
how life was,
what people did to live, and
what developments were made in terms the tools and ways of living during that
period.
4. Where can you usually find Neolithic Age settlements and why?
5. What could be regarded as the beginning of human civilisation and why?
6. What is the Bronze Age and what are some advancements made by human during that
period?

Explore Further
You may visit the following web URLs for further information regarding what you have learned
in this unit.
1. http://humanorigins.si.edu/
2. http://www.ancient.eu/
3. http://www.britannica.com/
4. https://prezi.com/0f2rhmny6ws-/inventions-and-concepts-of-the-bronze-age/

The Stone Age

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The Stone Age