Paleolithic Period

The Paleolithic Period (c. 3,300,000–10,000 BCE) is the longest chapter in the human story, encompassing over 99% of the time since our earliest ancestors first chipped stone tools in East Africa. During this vast span, the human lineage evolved from small-brained, ape-like hominins into the anatomically and behaviorally modern Homo sapiens who would go on to dominate the planet.

Paleolithic life was defined by mobility, adaptability, and intimate knowledge of the natural world. People lived in small, mobile bands, following game and seasonal plant resources across landscapes that changed dramatically with the advance and retreat of Ice Age glaciers. Despite — or perhaps because of — their nomadic lifestyle, Paleolithic peoples developed increasingly sophisticated technologies: from crude Oldowan choppers to elegant Acheulean hand-axes to the specialized, multi-component tools of the Upper Paleolithic.

The Upper Paleolithic (c. 50,000–10,000 BCE) saw an explosion of cultural complexity: cave paintings that remain among humanity's greatest artistic achievements, carved figurines, musical instruments, elaborate burial practices, and evidence of long-distance trade networks. By the end of the Paleolithic, Homo sapiens had colonized every continent except Antarctica and developed the full range of cognitive and cultural capacities that define our species.