Paleolithic is what? The Paleolithic Age

Paleolith, Mesolithic, Neolithic are three great cultural and historical periods of the Stone Age. He got his name due to the fact that the weapon was made in those days only from stone, and only towards the end of the century bones and wood were used . The Stone Age lasted more than one hundred thousand years. But even now, thanks to numerous historical and archaeological finds, we can learn at least the main moments of life of primitive people at the dawn of human civilization.

What is Paleolithic?

The most ancient history of mankind is the era of the Paleolithic, the longest period of the Stone Age, which began more than 2.5 million years ago. Its main feature is the evolution of people: from the animal to the primitive communal system. It is very important and significant appearance and development of speech. Paleolithic is divided into three stages: early, middle and late.

Early Paleolithic

This is the first and the longest stage. The beginning of the Paleolithic is associated with the appearance of the first monkey-like man, the archanthropus. They did not have a high growth (1.5 - 1.8 m), they had distinctive pronounced superciliary arches and a chamfered chin. As the clothes used animal skins, lived in caves and, according to many scientists, actively practiced cannibalism. The main feature of the early Paleolithic is the beginning of the use of stone homemade tools. They were made by cutting from one stone to another superfluous to form a chipped or cutting edge. Gradually, the technique of making improved, and there were hand chippers and so-called drills - tools, with the help of which they dug up the roots or felled trees. Another significant evolutionary step of the early Paleolithic was the use of fire. Traces of ancient fire-places with the age of 1.5 million years were found on the territory of Africa and Asia. But at this stage the ancient man could only maintain the fire, he had not yet been mined on his own.

Middle Paleolithic

At this time the predominant species is still the erect, and its evolution continues. In Africa, about 200-300 thousand years ago, a new species appeared that was close to a modern person in terms of brain volume - it is a Neanderthal man. They were distinguished by their taller stature and a very strong, muscular physique, which gave them considerable physical strength. The Middle Paleolithic Age is an epoch of survival, since the Neanderthals lived, perhaps, in the most severe climatic conditions - during the glacial period.

It helped to survive the fact that people learned to obtain fire for themselves, by carving. It was discovered, most likely, by chance in the manufacture of another sharp stone tool. At the same time, the first spears and knives, arrowheads and scrapers for processing animal skins appear. A social structure develops, people live in large groups, caring for the elderly. Art is born in the form of rock paintings depicting hunting or very often women, which can be regarded as the prerequisites of matriarchy.

Late Paleolithic

This is the period when a person appeared reminiscent of the modern Cro-Magnon, named after the cave of Kro-Magnon, in which his remains were found. Phenotype Cro-Magnon reminds modern people: high forehead, pronounced chin, less musculature, more developed motor skills, which made it possible to produce improved tools for hunting and everyday life. The main material is still a stone. In the late Paleolithic-Mesolithic (early), the first semblance of boats appeared. This was preceded by the production of the first raft of logs or dry rods. Of the bones made needles, the ancestors of modern, used them to make clothes, wove baskets of willow twigs. Actively developed primitive art: figurines from tusks and bones of a mammoth, rock art. The Paleolithic era at the late stage marked the beginning of the domestication of wild animals, the first to become dogs. Time Cro-Magnons were determined by the solar and lunar calendars. Primitive society is gradually replaced by a matriarchal ancestral community. The production of the first clay figurines is characterized by the Paleolithic. Neolithic is marked by the appearance of the first pottery.

Mesolithic

This era begins after the end of the last ice age. This segment of the scientific historians is controversial. Most strongly it is expressed in the north of modern Europe. During this period the weapon continued to improve, there was a bow and arrows. People domesticated wild animals: buffaloes, horses, cows. The society develops, and the first norms of behavior, rules, appear. Mesolithic is characterized by a further development of speech.

Neolithic

If the Paleolithic is a period of active hunting, fishing and gathering, then one of the main events of the Neolithic is the transition to a productive economy: agriculture and cattle breeding. People became more attached to one place, the first houses, huts and even cities began to appear. Clay was used to make dishes and art.

Neolith, like the Paleolithic, is divided into early, middle and late periods. And each of them proceeded unevenly, at the same time, different cultures entered each stage at different times. Even then, the territory of modern China boasted of high development.

Paleolith, Mesolithic, Neolithic are the landmarks of the evolution of man as a biological species. For thousands of years he had won his place under the sun from nature. One type succeeded another, tools were perfected, the system changed from the herd, characteristic for animals, to the primitive communal, art was born.