Stones for the Ages - An article on Paleolithic Man
by- Rishi, Grade 6C

The Originations of the ‘Stone Age’

Stone Age was the earliest known period of human culture, and was characterized by the usage of stone tools. The term ‘Stone age’ was coined in the late 19th century by the Danish scholar Christian J Thomson. It is also known as the ‘Three age system’ as it mainly consisted of three ages : Paleolithic Age, Mesolithic Age and the Neolithic Age.

The Paleolithic Age
The Paleolithic Age was the largest age in the three age system. It started 2 million years ago and is known as the old Stone Age. It was a time when people just started to develop, and when there were no written records. It can furthermore be divided into three ages : the Lower Paleolithic Age, the Middle Paleolithic Age and the Upper Paleolithic Age.

The Paleolithic Man
The Paleolithic Man was known as a hunter-gatherer as he hunted animals and gathered fruits, nuts, seeds and leaves. He was a nomad and his average life span was only 20 to 25 years. He lived in caves and rock shelters. He depended on nature for mostly everything. He covered himself in animal skin and leaves.

Stone Tools and their uses
The Stone age was called the ‘Stone Age’ because stone was the most vital source of material, even though man also used wood and bones at that time. Here are some of the stone tool uses:
1. The Paleolithic man used stone tools for hunting
2. To make fire
3. To cut meat and bones
4. To scrape bark and animal skin from trees and animals

Shaping of Stone Tools
Sometimes, stones were meant to be kept sharp to hunt animals. The early man shaped rocks to be sharp by rubbing the stone to another stone. The rock that was supposed to be shaped was usually called a ‘core’. The early man could also pressure flake to maintain shape. In pressure flaking, the core was placed on a firm surface. The hammer stone was used on a piece of stone that was placed on the core to remove flakes that could be shaped into tools.

Sites of the Paleolithic Man
Sites were places where the early man lived, worked and the remains of their existence was found. At some sites, a large number of tools used for all sorts of activities were found. These sites were called habitation cum factory sites. In some other smaller sites, there is evidence to suggest that tools were made. Some sites were closer to springs.