We explain what the Paleolithic is, what were the main events of this period and what its temporal division is like.
What is the Paleolithic?
The Paleolithic period, simply referred to as Paleolithic, is the longest and oldest in human existence (99% of the time of the species about him planet) and ranges from the appearance of the first species of the genus Homo, of which we are theHomo sapiens the last and only survivor, about 2.85 million years ago in Africa, until about 12,000 years ago, when the kingdom of theHomosapiens and the Neolithic (or Modern Age of the stone) begins.
The name of this period comes from the Greek wordspaltoiós ("Old") andlithos ("Stone"), and was created by the English archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. Along with the Mesolithic and the Neolithic, constitutes the so-called Stone age of the humanity, called that way because the Humans Primitives made use of different types of stone to make their utensils, unlike later ages in which the predominant material was metal (Age of metals).
The Palaeolithic human being was nomadic, made his tools from stone, bone and some plant fibers, and belonged to various human species that are now extinct, such as theH.habilis, H.ergaster, H.erectus, H.antecessor, H.heidelbergensis,
H.neardentihaliensis and finally,H. sapiens.
Numerous archaeological finds have been made from this period, such as skeletal remains more or less intact, lithic tools and samples of art or religion, such as the Venus of Willendorf (22,000-24,000 years ago).
Many are attributed to the various existing human species, but the latter actually begin with theH.sapiens, capable of more complex abstract and cultural thought forms.
Paleolithic temporal division
The Paleolithic is normally divided into three sub-periods:
- Lower Palaeolithic. It begins 2.85 million years ago and ends 127,000 years ago.
- Middle Palaeolithic. It continues to the lower one until 40,000-30,000 years before the present.
- Superior paleolithic. The Palaeolithic period ends, until 12,000 years ago.
This periodicity, however, is subject to review and is considered valid only for Europe and the closest areas of Africa and Asia. The rest of the world is developing its own time measurements for the period.