Definition: The Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age, lasted from approximately 3.3 million years ago to 11,000 years ago.
Significance: Marks the dawn of man, characterized by the creation of the first stone tools by early ancestors in Africa.
Transition: The Paleolithic period transitions into the Mesolithic, marked by significant human innovation and technological advancements.
Key Features of the Paleolithic
World and Environment
Geological Changes: Continents reached near-present positions; North America connected to South America via a land bridge.
Climate: The world experienced cooling and drying, leading to massive ice sheets across Antarctica and glacial periods in the Pleistocene.
Biomes: Development of savannas, prairies, and mammoth steppe environments.
Human Evolution and Migration
Hominid Species: Dominant species included Homo erectus, who migrated into Africa and Eurasia.
Emergence of Homo sapiens: Anatomically modern humans appeared in Africa around 200,000 years ago and began migrating globally approximately 50,000 years ago.
Extinction of Other Species: By the end of the Paleolithic, other hominid species like Neanderthals and Denisovans had gone extinct.
Technological Innovations
Stone Tools
Oldowan Industry: The first stone tools from this industry included simple choppers and burins, used for cutting and processing food.
Acheulean Industry: Introduced hand axes, a significant advancement in tool-making.
Mousterian Industry: Featured more sophisticated tools such as spearheads.
Aterian Industry: Advanced tools that included leaf-shaped spearheads, suggesting early weapon innovation.
Fire Mastery: Development of controlled fire improved cooking and sheltering from predators.
Transportation: Early humans started experimenting with rafts, indicating advanced mobility across bodies of water.
Social Structure and Lifestyle
Hunter-Gatherer Societies: Early humans lived in small groups, primarily as nomadic hunter-gatherers.
Community Size: Groups ranged from 20 to 100 members, possibly egalitarian with shared responsibilities.
Gender Roles: Early humans shared work equally, suggesting a level of gender equality uncommon in later periods.
Art and Culture
Artistic Expression: The earliest forms of art emerged in the Paleolithic, including cave paintings and personal adornments.
Music: Development of rudimentary musical instruments like bone pipes and drums, likely used in social and ritual contexts.
Religious Beliefs: Early spiritual symbolism and possible worship of animals emerged, including rituals surrounding death and the afterlife.
Megafauna of the Paleolithic
Iconic Animals: Included woolly mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, and cave bears, which lived alongside early humans.
North American Species: Mastodons and giant ground sloths were notable inhabitants of prehistoric North America.
Oceania's Unique Fauna: Early humans encountered giant marsupials in Australia, such as Procopteron goliah and Thylacoleo.
Conclusion
End of the Paleolithic: Marked by the transition into the Holocene, characterized by climate warming and the extinction of megafauna.
Legacy: The Paleolithic set the foundations for human social structures, technological advancements, and cultural developments, leading into the Mesolithic period.