The Stone Age

AROUND 2.5 MILLION YEARS AGO TO 3,000 BCE

Divided into three periods – Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), and Neolithic (New Stone Age) – the Stone Age is marked by the use of tools by our early human ancestors and the eventual transformation from a culture of hunting and gathering to farming and food production.

The end of the Paleolithic period (about 2.5 million years ago to 10,000 BCE) marked the end of the last Ice Age, which resulted in the extinction of many large mammals, rising sea levels and climate change.

During the Mesolithic period (10,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE), humans used small stone tools, which were also modified as spears and arrows. They often lived nomadically in groups near rivers and other bodies of water. Agriculture was introduced during this time, which led to more permanent settlements in villages.

During the Neolithic period (8,000 BCE to 3,000 BCE), ancient humans moved from being hunter-gatherers to focusing on agriculture and food production. They domesticated animals and cultivated cereal grains, and made tools to work on the land and plains.

BELOW The beautifully preserved pictographs on the walls of the Khao Chan Ngam Cave, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, are believed to be more than 4,000 years old