How long did the Stone Age last and what percentage of human history does it cover?
The Stone Age lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and accounts for 99% of human history. It ended between 4000 BC and 2000 BC with the advent of metalworking.
Questions about Stone Age
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What are the three periods of the Stone Age?
The Stone Age is commonly divided into the Paleolithic, the earliest and most primitive era; the Mesolithic, a transitional period with finer tools; and the Neolithic, the final stage. The Neolithic peoples were the first to adopt settled village life as agriculture spread.
Where were the oldest stone tools found and how old are they?
The oldest stone tools were excavated at Lomekwi 3 in West Turkana, northwestern Kenya, and date to 3.3 million years old. The species that made them remains unknown.
What marks the end of the Stone Age?
The melting and smelting of copper marks the end of the Stone Age. In Western Asia this occurred by about 3000 BC, when bronze, originally copper and arsenic and later copper and tin, became widespread.
Who proposed the three-stage Stone Age system for Africa?
The three-stage system was proposed in 1929 by Astley John Hilary Goodwin, a professional archaeologist, and Clarence van Riet Lowe, a civil engineer and amateur archaeologist. They published it in an article titled "Stone Age Cultures of South Africa" in the Annals of the South African Museum.
What are the most important Stone Age cave paintings?
The Cave of Chauvet in the Ardèche department of France contains the most important cave paintings of the Paleolithic, dating from about 36,000 BC. The Altamira paintings in Spain date to 14,000 to 12,000 BC, and the hall of bulls at Lascaux dates from about 15,000 to 10,000 BC.