The Stone Age c2500000-3200 BC

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Time moves quickly and it’s now time for Tiffi to go back to class. Rip has a lot to discuss today so he begins as soon as he takes the roll call.

‘Divided into three periods: Paleolithic (or Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (or Middle Stone Age), and Neolithic (or New Stone Age), this era is marked by the use of tools by our early human ancestors (who evolved around 300,000 B.C.) and the eventual transformation from a culture of hunting and gathering to farming and food production. During this era, early humans shared the planet with a number of now-extinct hominin relatives, including Neanderthals and Denisovans.

In the Paleolithic period (roughly 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 B.C.), early humans lived in caves or simple huts or tepees and were hunters and gatherers. They used basic stone and bone tools, as well as crude stone axes, for hunting birds and wild animals. They cooked their prey, including woolly mammoths, deer and bison, using controlled fire. They also fished and collected berries, fruit and nuts.

Ancient humans in the Paleolithic period were also the first to leave behind art. They used combinations of minerals, ochres, burnt bone meal and charcoal mixed into water, blood, animal fats and tree saps to etch humans, animals and signs. They also carved small figurines from stones, clay, bones and antlers.

The end of this period marked the end of the last Ice Age, which resulted in the extinction of many large mammals and rising sea levels and climate change that eventually caused man to migrate.

The Shell Mound People, or Kitchen-Middeners, were hunter-gatherers of the late Mesolithic and early Neolithic period. They get their name from the distinctive mounds (middens) of shells and other kitchen debris they left behind.

During the Mesolithic period (about 10,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C.), humans used small stone tools, now also polished and sometimes crafted with points and attached to antlers, bone or wood to serve as spears and arrows. They often lived nomadically in camps near rivers and other bodies of water. Agriculture was introduced during this time, which led to more permanent settlements in villages.

Finally, during the Neolithic period (roughly 8,000 B.C. to 3,000 B.C.), ancient humans switched from hunter/gatherer mode to agriculture and food production. They domesticated animals and cultivated cereal grains. They used polished hand axes, adzes for ploughing and tilling the land and started to settle in the plains. Advancements were made not only in tools but also in farming, home construction and art, including pottery, sewing and weaving.’ (Source)

“And that’s all for today,” says Rip. “Does anyone have any questions?”

One of the students raises her hand and asks a question. Rip gives her the answer and asks if anyone else has a question. No one does so he dismisses them. 

“Our next class will be on the Bronze Age,” Rip says. “You will learn how the cavemen advanced with tool making. They also begin to invent things.”

Let’s continue - The Bronze Age c3200-1200 BC

Start at the beginning – Tiffi goes back to school to learn about the prehistoric ages