Tag: early man: the stone age

The Paleolithic lasted from 2.6 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago. The word Palaeolithic derives from the Greek: palaios (old) and lithikos (relating to or composed of stone), means 'old age of the stone'. It is also more generally associated with the cultures and lifestyles of the hunter-gatherers who produced stone tools.

The Paleolithic Era is significant because people established the process of hunting-gathering, which has supported humans for the majority of their existence on earth. The Paleolithic Era also involved the development of simple tools, including the hand ax, and tool-making industries

The period before the discovery of the art of writing is called the Prehistoric age. This is so because we do not find evidence of the linguistic development or the use of scripts. In this age, man was a nomad and indulged in hunting and food-gathering. Archaeologists have discovered few tools created and used by these people. Probably they used tools made of stone, wood and bones. Among these, only tools made of stone have survived today, providing us the sources for study. Pre historic man used stone tools to cut wooden logs.

The period before the discovery of the art of writing is called the Prehistoric age. This is so because we do not find evidence of the linguistic development or the use of scripts. In this age, man was a nomad and indulged in hunting and food-gathering. The relics of the hunting and food-gathering humans are available in Bimbetka, Hunasagi and Kurnool in India. There are many other sites in which such relics have been found. Most of these sites have been discovered along the banks of rivers and lakes. Furthermore, since stone tools were essential for the survival of people of that age, they chose areas abundant with stone which could fulfil their needs. Areas where people used stones to create various tools have been thought to be the first industrial sites of human beings.

The Chalcolithic age was a transition period from the Stone Age (Neolithic) to Metal Age. The first metal to be used was copper. It was used with the stone for making pins and simple implements.The transition is thought to have taken place gradually in the late 7th millennium BCE. It is also called Stone-Copper age.

Man has moved from a nomadic stage to a settled social life. A stable and secure community life is necessary for the development of the individual as well as society. In the nomadic stage, man did not have this stability and security. They were continuously on move in search of food and shelter from wild animals and other predators.

Prehistoric period is the period for which no written records are available by which to write its history. Prehistory is the period that begins with the appearance of the human being like species, about five million years ago, and finishes with the invention of writing, about 6,000 years ago. It is a long period divided into three stages: the Palaeolithic Age, the NeolithicAge and the Metal Age.