Stone Age

The Stone Age is the longest period in human history, spanning from the earliest known stone tools around 3.3 million years ago to the adoption of metal tools around 3300 BCE. It encompasses the entire arc of human evolution, from Homo habilis chipping crude flakes from river cobbles to Neolithic farmers polishing elegant stone axes to clear forest for agriculture.

Archaeologists divide the Stone Age into three broad phases. The Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) covers the period from the first tools to the end of the last Ice Age, roughly 3.3 million to 10,000 years ago. The Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) represents the transitional period as climates warmed and human societies adapted. The Neolithic (New Stone Age) begins with the adoption of agriculture and ends with the introduction of bronze metallurgy.

The term "Stone Age" can be misleading — it suggests a primitive, unchanging world. In reality, stone tool technologies underwent constant refinement and innovation. The progression from crude Oldowan choppers to precisely crafted Acheulean hand-axes to delicate Neolithic arrowheads represents millions of years of cumulative learning and ingenuity. Stone Age peoples also worked bone, antler, wood, and plant fibers — stone simply survives best in the archaeological record.