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Stone Age

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Ancient History,
Classical History and Mythology

   Obsidian arrowhead
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   Obsidian arrowhead

   The Stone Age is a period of history that encompasses the first
   widespread use of technology in human evolution and the spread of
   humanity from the savannas of East Africa to the rest of the world. It
   ends with the development of agriculture, the domestication of certain
   animals and the smelting of copper ore to produce metal. It is termed
   prehistoric, since humanity had not yet started writing -- the
   traditional start of history (i.e. recorded history).

Human development during the Stone Age

   The Stone Age covers an immense time span, and during this period major
   climatic and other changes occurred, which affected the evolution of
   humans. Humans themselves evolved into their current morphological form
   during the later period of the Stone Age.

Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic

   The period between the end of the last ice age, 10,000 years ago to
   around 6,000 years ago, is characterised by rising sea levels and a
   need to adapt to a changing environment and find new food sources. The
   development of microlith tools began in response to these changes. They
   were derived from the previous Palaeolithic tools, hence the term
   Epipalaeolithic. However, in Europe the term Mesolithic (Middle Stone
   Age) is used, as the tools (and way of life) was imported from the Near
   East. There, microlith tools permitted more efficient hunting, while
   more complex settlements, such as Lepenski Vir developed based around
   fishing. Domestication of the dog as a hunting companion probably dates
   to this period...

Neolithic

   Japanese Jomon pottery is the oldest in the world.
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   Japanese Jomon pottery is the oldest in the world.

   The Neolithic (New Stone Age) is characterised by the adoption of
   agriculture (the so-called Neolithic Revolution), the development of
   pottery and more complex, larger settlements such as Çatal Hüyük and
   Jericho. The first Neolithic cultures started around 8000 BC in the
   fertile crescent. Agriculture and the culture it led to spread to the
   Mediterranean, the Indus valley, China, and Southeast Asia.

   Due to the increased need to harvest and process plants, ground stone
   and polished stone artefacts became much more widespread, including
   tools for grinding, cutting, chopping and adzing. The first large-scale
   constructions were built, including settlement towers and walls (e.g.,
   Jericho) and ceremonial sites (e.g., Stonehenge). These show that there
   was sufficient resources and co-operation to enable large groups to
   work on these projects. To what extent this was the development of
   elites and social hierarchies is a matter of on-going debate. The
   earliest evidence for established trade exists in the Neolithic with
   newly settled people importing exotic goods over distances of many
   hundreds of miles. Skara Brae located on Orkney island off Scotland is
   one of Europe's best examples of a neolithic village. The community
   contains stone beds, shelves, and even an indoor toilet linked to a
   stream.
   Skara Brae, Scotland. Europe's most complete Neolithic village
   Enlarge
   Skara Brae, Scotland. Europe's most complete Neolithic village

Stone Age material culture

Food and drink

   Food sources of the hunter-gatherer humans of the Stone Age included
   both animals and plants that were part of the natural environment in
   which these humans lived. These humans liked animal organ meats,
   including the liver, kidneys, and brains. They consumed little dairy
   food or carbohydrate-rich plant foods like legumes or cereal grains.

   Current research indicates that two-thirds of the energy was derived
   from animal foods. The fat content of the diet was believed to be
   similar to that of the present day, but the ratio of the types of fats
   consumed differed: the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio was about 3:1 compared
   to 12:1 of today.

   Near the end of the last ice age, 15,000 to 9,000 years ago, a large
   scale extinction of large mammals (the mammalian megafauna) occurred in
   Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. This was the first Holocene
   extinction event. This event possibly forced modification in the
   dietary habits of the humans of that age and with the emergence of
   agricultural practices, plant-based foods also became a regular part of
   the diet.

   A report in the National Geographic News indicated that "the first
   wine-tasting may have occurred when Neolithic humans slurped the juice
   of naturally fermented wild grapes from animal-skin pouches or crude
   wooden bowls."

Shelters and habitats

   Around 2 million years before present, Homo habilis is believed to have
   constructed first man-made structure in East Africa, consisting of
   simple arrangements of stones to hold branches of trees in position. A
   similar stone circular arrangement believed to be around 500,000 years
   old was discovered at Terra Amata, near Nice (France). Several human
   habitats dating back to the Stone Age have been discovered in different
   parts of the earth, including:
     * A tent-like structure inside a cave near the Grotte du Lazaret,
       Nice, France.
     * A structure with roof supported with timber, discovered in Dolni
       Vestonice, Czechoslovakia, dates to around 23,000 BC. The walls
       were made of packed clay blocks and stones.

   Poulnabrone dolmen in County Clare, Ireland
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   Poulnabrone dolmen in County Clare, Ireland
     * Many huts made of mammoth bones were found in Eastern Europe and
       Siberia. The people who made these huts were specialised mammoth
       hunters. Examples have been found along the Dniepr river valley of
       Ukraine, including near Chernihiv, in Moravia (in the Czech
       Republic) and in southern Poland.
     * An animal hide tent dated to around 15,000 to 10,000 BC (in the
       Magdalenian) was discovered at Plateau Parain, France.
     * Megalithic tombs, multi-chambered, and dolmens, single-chambered,
       were graves with a huge stone slab stacked over other similarly
       large stone slabs. They have been discovered all across Europe and
       Asia, and were built in the Neolithic. Several tombs with copper
       and bronze tools have also been discovered, illustrating the
       problems of attempting to define periods based on technology.

Art

   Pre-historic art can only be traced from surviving artefacts.
   Prehistoric music is inferred from found instruments, while parietal
   art can be found on rocks of any kind. The latter are petroglyphs and
   rock paintings. The art may or may not have had a religious function.

Rock paintings

   A rock painting at Bhimbetka, India, a World heritage site
   Enlarge
   A rock painting at Bhimbetka, India, a World heritage site

   Rock paintings were painted on rock and were more naturalistic
   depictions than petroglyphs. In paleolithic times, the representation
   of humans in cave paintings was rare. Mostly, animals were painted: not
   only animals that were used as food but also animals that represented
   strength like the rhinoceros or large cats (as in the Chauvet Cave).
   Signs like dots were sometimes drawn. Rare human representations
   include handprints and half-human/half-animal figures. The Cave of
   Chauvet in the Ardèche département, France, contains the most important
   preserved cave paintings of the paleolithic era, painted around 31,000
   BC. The Altamira cave paintings in Spain were done 14,000 to 12,000 BC
   and show, among others, bisons. The hall of bulls in Lascaux, Dordogne,
   France, is one of the best known cave paintings from about 15,000 to
   10,000 BC.

   The meaning of the paintings remains unknown. The caves were not in an
   inhabited area, so they may have been used for seasonal rituals. The
   animals are accompanied by signs which suggest a possible magic use.
   Arrow-like symbols in Lascaux are sometimes interpreted as calendar or
   almanac use. But the evidence remains inconclusive. The most important
   work of the Mesolithic era were the marching Warriors, a rock painting
   at Cingle de la Mola, Castellón in Spain dated to about 7,000–4,000 BC.
   The technique used was probably spitting or blowing the pigments onto
   the rock. The paintings are quite naturalistic, though stylized. The
   figures are not three-dimensional, even though they overlap.

Stone Age rituals and beliefs

   Modern studies and the in-depth analysis of finds dating from the Stone
   Age indicate certain rituals and beliefs of the people in those
   prehistoric times. It is now believed that activities of the Stone Age
   humans went beyond the immediate requirements of procuring food, body
   coverings, and shelters. Specific rites relating to death and burial
   were practiced, though certainly differing in style and execution
   between cultures. Other rituals included birth, puberty, and marrige.
   Several Stone Age-dated sites in different parts of the world indicate
   traces of dancing, dancing in files, and initiation rites.

Remnants of Stone Age living in modern times

   Anthropologists have used several tribes to study and interpret what
   life during the Stone Age might have been like. Such tribes can be
   found in Papua New Guinea, Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India),
   Philippines, Africa and South America.

The Stone Age in popular culture

   As a slang term, "Stone Age" can be used to describe a modern
   civilization or group of people that live in relatively primitive
   conditions, even though its use is often a misnomer. The phrase "bomb
   them back into the Stone Age" implies a fierce attack that utterly
   destroys its target's infrastructure, forcing its survivors to revert
   to primitive technology in order to survive.

   The image of the caveman is commonly associated with the Stone Age. For
   example, the 2003 documentary series showing the evolution of humans
   through the Stone Age was called Walking with Cavemen, although only
   the last programme showed humans living in caves. While the idea that
   human beings and dinosaurs coexisted is sometimes portrayed in
   cartoons, films, and computer games, such as The Flintstones and One
   Million Years B.C., the notion of primates and dinosaurs co-existing is
   simply a conceit of fiction and only seriously held by Young Earth
   creationism.

   Other depictions of the Stone Age include the best-selling Earth's
   Children series of books by Jean M. Auel, which are set in the
   Palaeolithic and are loosely based on archaeological and
   anthropological findings. The 1981 movie Quest for Fire by Jean-Jacques
   Annaud tells the story of a group of humans searching for their lost
   fire.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Age"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
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