Figure 1.--Here a group of Indian Cub Scouts visiting the archaeological site of Attirampakkam, Tamil Nadu. This is the most southerly Paleolithic site found to date in India. It was a site used over an extyended period. There is evidence that it may have been used seasonally during the dry season congregation near the riverand then leaving for the hills during the rainy season. A reader writes, "Comparing this with a previous picture on your site, I am doubly convinced that these are not cubs but fully-fledged scouts. Apart from being blue rather than khaki, their uniform is remarkably like my scout uniform in England in the 1950s. Only the missing socks and shoes, with sandals instead, bow to a different climate." I'm not sure. I was going more by the age of the children.

The stone age was the longest epic of human history. It is essentially synonamous with pre-history. Archeologists have didided the stone age into the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic. The terms and time frame have changed over time as archeologists have improved our understanding of early people. The Paleolithic was the early stone age. It is by far the eariest period of human existence. There is no precise date for the beginning of the Paleolithic period, but about 2 million years ago is a good rough estimate. It approximately marks the point at which people became human. Paleolithic people were nomadic hunter gatherers. Major advances such as tool work, the use of fire, and lanuage developed in the Paleolithic. The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age is a relatively recent term. Other terms have been used. The term represents the need felt by archeologists to better describe the transituin from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic. During this period ground stone tools appeared they were much more finely fashioned than those used in the Paleolithic. The tools were commonly used for cutting and smoothing. Some may have been used for ornamentation. The people involved were still hunter-gathers. The Neolithic was the late stone age. This was when man began to settle down to form agricultural communities and has been called the Neolithic Revolution because of the dramatic accomplishments in laying the ground work of early agriculture. Many people mixed foraging with agriculture, but the groundwork for agriculture and animal husbandry was made during this period. There is considerable differece concerning the chronology of the stone age. A factor here is that the chronologies varied in different geographic areas.

Paleolithic ( -10,000 BC)

The Paleolithic was the early stone age. It is by far the eariest period of human existence. There is no precise date for the beginning of the Paleolithic period, but about 2 million years ago is a good rough estimate. It approximately marks the point at which people became human. The first humonoid species was Homo habilis, demonstrating the importance of tools in the making of modern man. Habilis lived in Africa. A sucessor species, was also found in Africa about 1.8 million years ago, but spread all over the Old World. Erectus had a larger brain reflected in more sophisticated tools. He may also have discovered the use of fire. Homo sapiens or modern man originated in Africa about 0.4 million years ago. These people also spread throughout the Old World and even reaching the New World. These Paleolithic people were nomadic hunter gatherers. They were nomadic because they would quickly exhaust the available food supply in any area they may settle for any time. They also made seasonal migrations to capitalize on the different resources available at different time. The limitedcfood available in nature and the constant movement meant that human communities were primarily small bands. The demands of this life style, the dangers, and problems finding food meant that most people had fairly short life spans. People fashioned stone tools. At first they simply used items found in nature like rocks, bones, antlers, teeth, and other items. Gradually Paleolithic began to manipulate and modify these tools to make them more effective. The earliest tools were probably weapons (defense and hunting) or food production/prepration tools. Of course we can not know just how thesecpeoplke thought, there are some indications such as cave paintings. They suggest that peopke developed religious beliefs from a very early period. A hint of such beliefs is offered by cave paintings. Early religious beliefs wee animistic. Burials tells us that there was a developing belief in life after death because food, tools, ornamrents, and weapons are often found in graves. Language developed during the Paleolithic which may have begun as grunts and other simple sounds. An early discovery was how useful foire could be. Over time people learned how to actually make fire. Hunting was critcal to early people and they learned to use every part of the prey. They meat was used for food, but people gradually learned to use much more of the carcass. The pelt could be used for for food and shelter. The bones, teeth, horns, and antlers were useful for tools and weapons. Anthropologists debate as to the social roles of men and women.

Mesolithic (10,000-9/7,000 BC)

The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age is a relatively recent term. Other terms have been used. The term represents the need felt by archeologists to better describe the transituin from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic. During this period ground stone tools appeared they were much more finely fashioned than those used in the Paleolithic. The tools were commonly used for cutting and smoothing. Some may have been used for ornamentation. The people involved were still huntergathers. They still simplly collected food. without modifying the food they found or the environment in which they found it. Hunting habits might change from targetting large game to small game which was often more plentiful. It was also available locally, this less nomadic food strategy that probably played a role in the development of agriculture. People began asking inreasing adaptations to localized territories and gradually improved the efficiency with which they utilized the resources available to them. They by now knew where and when resources were available. There are increasingly complex devices including traps, nets, fishhooks built from composite pieces and materials. Small tools were used to make other other more complex tools. There is evidence of small villages where people lived at least part of the year. There were major climatic changes. It was during the Mesolithic that the Ice Age ended (about 8,000 B.C.). The mass extinction of the Pleistocene mega-fauna occurred at this time. Giant mammals like mammoths, mastodons, giant bison, and ground sloths disappeared. This was a factor in shifting hunting strategies to smaller game like antellope and gazelles. Various stratergies were developed to hunt these faster more evasive prey. This included driving the prey toward nets and cliffs.

Neolithic (9/7,000- BC)

The Neolithic was the late stone age. This was when man began to settle down to form agricultural communities. Many people mixed foraging with agriculture.
The Neolithic Revolution is a term introduced by Gordon Childe (1941). He used it to describe the development of agriculture and animal husbandry. It is during this period that the beginnings of civilization appear in the great River Valleys where the first steps toward agriculture were taken. This meant that people began manipulating their environment. People domesticating plants and animals. Some of the most imporant early plants were wheat and barley. The most important animals were sheep and goats. This was a critical step and very complex. It including selecting crops ans seeds, finding the best sites suitable for eac crop, planting and harvesting at the proper time. Similar methods needed to be developed for animal husbandry. And the development of such complex methods and the social structure necessary to persue them meant in effect the rise of civilization. The results was arvests on a level never before experienced. The wealth produced was anothervfasctor in the rise of civilization as it supported a class of people who did not have to labor daily to fulfill their basic needs. This first occurred in the Middle East. The climate and geography were factors. The availability of suitable crops and animals that could be domesticated were also important. One problem in describing the Neolithic period is that the time period varied so widely in different zreas and in fact there are even to this day Neolitic peoples such as the Nstive Americans in the Amazon such as the Yanomano.

Sources

Diamond, Jereny. Guns, Germs, and Steel.

Created: August 18, 2003
Last updated: 3:42 AM 5/27/2008