Paleolithic
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
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The Paleolithic (or Palaeolithic)[1] is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools. It covers the greatest portion of humanity's time (roughly 99% of human history[2]) from 2.5[3] or 2.6[4][2] million years ago, with the introduction of stone tools by hominids such as Homo habilis, to the introduction of agriculture and the end of the Pleistocene around 10,000 BC.[2][5][6] The Paleolithic era ended with the Mesolithic, in Western Europe, and in areas not effected by the Ice age with the Epipaleolithic (such as Africa).[7]
During the Paleolithic humans were grouped together in small scale societies such as bands and made their living by gathering plants and hunting wild animals.[8]
At the time, humans used stone, wood and bone tools as well as leather and vegetable fibers. But the last two were not preserved till our time.
Contents |
[change] Chronology of Paleolithic and the following periods
Traditionally, the Paleolithic is divided into three (somewhat overlapping) periods: the Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic, and the Upper Paleolithic. The three ages mark technological and cultural advances in different human communities.
- Paleolithic
After the Paleolithic follow Mesolithic and Neolithic, which marks the end of Stone Age. Then follow Bronze Age and Iron Age.
[change] Overview of the main features of these periods
| Age | Period | Tools | Economy | Dwelling Sites | Society | Religion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone age | Paleolithic | Handmade tools and objects found in nature – cudgel, club, sharpened stone, chopper, handaxe, scraper, spear, Bow and arrow, harpoon, needle, scratch awl | Hunting and gathering | Mobile lifestyle – caves, huts, tooth or skin hovels, mostly by rivers and lakes | A band of edible-plant gatherers and hunters (25-100 people) | Evidence for belief in the afterlife first appears in the Middle Paleolithic or Upper Palaeolithic, marked by the appearance of burial rituals and ancestor worship. Priests and sanctuary servants appear in the prehistory. |
| Mesolithic (known as the Epipalaeolithic in areas with no noticeable trend towards the development of agricultural lifestyles) | Handmade tools and objects found in nature – bow and arrow, fish – basket, boats | Tribes and Bands | ||||
| Neolithic | Handmade tools and objects found in nature – chisel, hoe, plough, yoke, reaping-hook, grain pourer, barley, loom, earthenware (pottery) and weapons | agriculture Gathering, hunting, fishing and domestication | Farmsteads during the Neolithic and the Bronze age Formation of cities during the Bronze age | Tribes and the formation of cheifdoms in some Neolithic societies at the end of the Neolithic period' States and cheifdoms during the Bronze age. | ||
| Bronze Age | Copper and bronze tools, potter's wheel | Agriculture – cattle – breeding, agriculture, craft, trade | ||||
| Iron Age | Iron tools | |||||
[change] Footnotes
- ↑ from Greek: παλαιός, palaios, "old"; and λίθος, lithos, "stone" lit. "old age of the stone". It was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick (2007). Handbook of Paleoanthropology. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1963. ISBN 978-3-540-32474-4 (Print) 978-3-540-33761-4 (Online).
- ↑ "Stone Age," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007 © 1997-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Contributed by Kathy Schick, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. and Nicholas Toth, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
- ↑ Grolier Incorporated (1989). The Encyclopedia Americana. University of Michigan: Grolier Incorporated, 542. ISBN ISBN 0717201201.
- ↑ "Stone Age," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007 © 1997-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Contributed by Kathy Schick, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. and Nicholas Toth, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
- ↑ Grolier Incorporated (1989). The Encyclopedia Americana. University of Michigan: Grolier Incorporated, 542. ISBN ISBN 0717201201.
- ↑ Mesolithic Period. (2008). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
- ↑ McClellan (2006). Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction. Baltimore, Maryland: JHU Press. ISBN 0801883601. Page 6-12
- ↑ Grolier Incorporated (1989). The Encyclopedia Americana. University of Michigan: Grolier Incorporated, 542. ISBN ISBN 0717201201.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Miller, Barbra; Bernard Wood, Andrew Balansky, Julio Mercader, Melissa Panger (2006). Anthropology. Boston Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon, 768. ISBN 0205320244.
[change] References
Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
- Christopher Boehm (1999) "Hierarchy in the Forest: The Evolution of Egalitarian Behavior" page 198 Harvard university press
- Leften Stavros Stavrianos (1991). A Global History from Prehistory to the Present. New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0133570053
- Bahn, Paul (1996) "The atlas of world archeology" Copyright 2000 The Brown Reference Group PLC
[change] Other websites
- Early Voices: The Leap to Language by Nicolas Wade
- "Human Evolution," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007 © 1997-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Contributed by Richard B. Potts, B.A., Ph.D.
- "Stone Age," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007 © 1997-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Contributed by Kathy Schick, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. and Nicholas Toth, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
- Middle and Upper Paleolithic Hunter-Gatherers The Emergence of Modern Humans, The Mesolithic
- Map of Earth during the late Upper Paleolithic By Christopher scotese
