How is the Stone Age divided?

Paleolithic Period-Old Stone Age-the period

from 2.5 million B.C. to around 8000 B.C.
During this time man mastered fire, created
stone tools, and developed a spoken
language.
Neolithic Age-New Stone Age-the period
from 8000 B.C. to 3000 B.C. During this
time man used polished stone tools, created
tools made of copper, made pottery, grew
crops, and raised animals.
 How did Paleolithic people
communicate?
Paleolithic people developed a
spoken language.
This language helped them work
together and pass on knowledge.
They did not have a written
language.
 Why do historians believe cave art
was created?
They think that cave art had a
religious meaning.
Some think that paintings of
animals might have been done to
bring good luck during a hunt.
 Tools and Technologies

bone, tooth, horn / antler

lithic (stone)
One of the earliest farming
villages of the Neolithic is
Catal Huyuk. It was located
in Turkey and at the base of
2 volcanoes. The people of
Catal Huyuk used the
obsidian obtained from dried
volcanic lava to make
products.
 Time Periods

Three Great Ages of

Prehistoric Time
3. Iron Age
2. Bronze Age
1. Stone Age
(Jurgensen Thomsen, 1807)
 Time Periods

Three Great Ages of

Prehistoric Time
3. Iron Age
2. Bronze Age
1. Stone Age
(Jurgensen Thomsen, 1807)
 Time Periods

The Stone Age

3. Neolithic
The New Stone Age

2. Mesolithic
The Middle Stone Age

1. Paleolithic
The Old Stone Age
 Lithos = stone
Paleolithic Age Neolithic Age
Greek paleo means Greek neo means
old new
Upper Paleolithic age Neolithic Revolution
was 50 000 10 000 occurred between
years ago 9000 4000 BCE
 Stages of the Stone Age
Stage 1 Paleolithic or Old Stone Age
2 million BCE- 10 000 BCE
Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age
10 000 BCE- 8000 BCE
Neolithic or New Stone Age 8000 BCE-
5000 BCE
 Comparing the
Stone Ages
PALEOLITHIC NEOLITHIC
People lived in small People abandoned semi-
groups of 5-10 families nomadic life and began
Nomadic to semi- farming
nomadic (hunting and Agricultural revolution
gathering) was a progression of the
Close relationships Great Leap Forward
between bands of planting of crops
people domesticating of animals
ie. Cro-Magnon society Better tools & weapons
 Social Structure:
Paleolithic Age
Beginnings of closer social relationships (arranged
marriages with other bands, bartering for raw materials)
Beginning of stratification= emergence of leadership and
beginning of social classes (age, gender, experiences)
men were big game hunters; women captured small
game
women & children were gatherers (approx. 60-70% of
diet came from roots, potatoes, fruits, berries)
Women made clothing from animal hides and nurtured
children
 Religion & Art in Paleolithic
Age
The Paleolithic Age (Cro-Magnon) was the first to
develop fine art as drawings
Over 100 European caves showcase CAVE
PAINTINGS of deer, horses and animals which are
now extinct
Beginnings of cultural explosion in art as more tools,
pendants, jewellery, and sculptures/ figurines of clay,
ivory and stone emerged
More advanced spiritual practices emerged as graves
were found containing beads, ivory jewellery and
spears made of mammoth tusks buried with bodies =
this suggests a ritual burial with a view of an afterlife
 Caves at Lascaux [lass co]

Painting at Lascaux Caves (south central France) found in 15 000 BCE

Painters used irregularities in cave walls to add a 3-D effect to figures
Paintings portray an awe and reverence towards animals which shows that
for the first time people were expressing religious beliefs (rituals related to
hunting magic; sacrifices of animals)
 Weapons & Technology
PALEOLITHIC NEOLITHIC
Better hunting strategies More efficient tools (sickle
due to co-operation and made of flint blades and
more lethal weapons antler; axes, hoe, copper
use) which helped farm
Better tools for skinning and make weapons and
game, preparing food, tools
sewing clothes Domestication of animals
Cro-Magnons stored to do manual work and the
food over winter showing planting of crops freed
more planning people from the pursuit of
food
Invention of the bow and
arrow around 20 000 New time for leisure
activities (art, music,
BCE made hunting more
sports, religion)
easy
 Beyond the NEOLITHIC

Copper, Bronze Age, Iron Age,

Industrial Age
1700s in England
Now: Information Age?