Stone Age
Before bronze came
The Stone Age is the earliest period of human technological development, when tools were made primarily from stone rather than metal.
It spans from the first stone tools over two million years ago until the advent of metalworking.
Figuratively, Stone Age describes anything primitively outdated: Their computer system is practically Stone Age.
Earliest archaeological era
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- MesolithicMiddle stone era
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- ancientVery old indeed
primordial · prehistory · Pleistocene · Holocene · glaciation · epoch · antiquity · early humans
Extinct archaic human species
- Homo sapiensScientific name for humans
- Homo erectusExtinct bipedal human ancestor
- Cro-MagnonEarly modern European human
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
evolution · hominins · Australopithecus · early humans · fossils · skulls · bipedal · extinction
Subsistence through wild resources
- nomadicWithout fixed residence
- tribesAncestral social groups
- clansRelated family groups
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
survival · shelters · caves · fire-making · hearth · furs · rituals · shamanism
Spark-producing sedimentary rock
- knappingFracturing stone for tools
- handaxeKnapped stone implement
- spearheadLead an effort
- arrowheadPiercing end of projectile
scraper · chopper · adze · burin · hammerstone · awl · blade · core
Prehistoric artwork on stone
- LascauxPaleolithic painted cavern
- AltamiraSpanish cave with paintings
- petroglyphsCarvings on natural stone
- rock artImages on natural stone
ochre · pigments · carvings · pictographs · handprints · charcoal drawings · engravings · symbolic art
Prehistoric megalithic circle
- dolmenMegalithic stone tomb
- menhirPrehistoric upright stone monument
- cromlechMegalithic stone monument
- hengePrehistoric circular monument
monolith · Göbekli Tepe · bluestone · cairn · barrow · tumulus · passage grave · burial chamber
Paleolithic
Earliest archaeological era
- NeolithicFinal prehistoric stone-tool era
- MesolithicMiddle stone era
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
ancient · primordial · prehistory · Pleistocene · Holocene · glaciation · epoch · antiquity · early humans
Neanderthal
Extinct archaic human species
- Homo sapiensScientific name for humans
- Homo erectusExtinct bipedal human ancestor
- Cro-MagnonEarly modern European human
ancestors · evolution · hominins · Australopithecus · early humans · fossils · skulls · bipedal · extinction
hunter-gatherers
Subsistence through wild resources
foraging · survival · shelters · caves · fire-making · hearth · furs · rituals · shamanism · totems
flint
Spark-producing sedimentary rock
arrowhead · scraper · chopper · adze · burin · hammerstone · awl · blade · core · antler
cave paintings
Prehistoric artwork on stone
- LascauxPaleolithic painted cavern
- AltamiraSpanish cave with paintings
- petroglyphsCarvings on natural stone
rock art · ochre · pigments · carvings · pictographs · handprints · charcoal drawings · engravings · symbolic art
Stonehenge
Prehistoric megalithic circle
- dolmenMegalithic stone tomb
- menhirPrehistoric upright stone monument
- cromlechMegalithic stone monument
henge · monolith · Göbekli Tepe · bluestone · cairn · barrow · tumulus · passage grave · burial chamber · alignments
- prehistoryNeolithic, caveman, cavemen, paleolithic, cave paintings
- Historical AgesDark Ages, Middle Ages, Neolithic, Paleolithic, Mesolithic
- historical erasMiddle Ages, Renaissance, Victorian era, Medieval, Tudor era
- British PrehistoryStonehenge, henges, hill forts, burial mounds, barrows
- Materials Historyiron smelting, Bessemer process, crucible steel, Damascus steel, blast furnace
- historical wayspioneer life, frontier life, village life, nomadic life, pastoral life
Stone Agemodern times
The contemporary era
state-of-the-art · high-tech · contemporary era · twenty-first century · cutting-edge
age, stone, stony, stones, stoned, milestone, gravestone, stoneware, stonewall