Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

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506

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The first flint

implements were

crude. People used

the sharp edge of a

broken rock as a

cutting tool.

Stone Age

More Than Two Million years ago, stone was the most valuable

raw material known to people. They made stone tools and weapons, usually

from flint. These early people were called hominins, and were more

apelike than modern humans. They gradually learned to make specialized

implements, such as knife blades. stone age people moved constantly,

looking for hunting areas and setting up camps in small groups. a few groups

lived in caves during the coldest seasons. They gathered fruits, berries, and

roots, and hunted wild animals. By the start of the Mesolithic age (Middle

stone age; 15,000 years ago) many types of larger animals had died out.

Mesolithic people, who were “modern people” (Homo sapiens) like us, used

new stone-edged tools to fish and hunt deer and wild pigs.

about 10,000 years ago some neolithic (new stone)

age people learned how to

domesticate animals

and grow crops.

They settled

on farms.

c. 2,500,000 bce Paleolithic

age begins.

c. 2,000,000 bce hominins

make the first stone tools.

c. 1,500,000 bce First hand ax.

c. 125,000 bce ice age

retreats; people return to

europe, hunt large animals.

c. 75,000 bce People use fire

and bury their dead.

c. 20,000 bce spear thrower

invented. also harpoon, bow

and arrows, sewing, and cave

painting.

c. 12,500 bce Mesolithic age.

c. 9500 bce neolithic age.

c. 3000 bce Metal tools and

weapons replace stone.

hand ax

The hand ax was the first deliberately

shaped tool made by humans. it was

gripped at the rounded end and used

to cut meat or dig roots. Popular for

over a million years, it was used

longer than any other tool.

This flint hand ax was

found in a desert area

near Thebes, Egypt.

MaMMoTh hunT

From about 50,000 years ago,

“modern people” hunted wild

animals. By cooperating in

groups and using their

superior brainpower, they

could kill creatures much

larger than themselves. They

sometimes slaughtered large

numbers of deer and similar

creatures by driving whole

herds over cliffs. elephant-

like woolly mammoths were

popular game; they are

now extinct.

Man is using a bone

hammer to chip

away at a flint core.

Making flint tools and weapons

3

hitting

the core

with a bone

hammer made flakes,

each one a special tool.

2

later tools were

much better.

The toolmaker

prepared a flint

core by skillful

chipping.

Dwelling places

made from animal

hides and mammoth

bones kept out the

cold wind.

Woman

cooks a hare

on a spit

over the

fire.

Stretching

hide to

make

clothing.

Mammoth has

been lured

into a pit trap

covered in

branches.

Find out more

archaeology

iron age

evolution

Prehistoric peoples

Hunters killed

prey with

sharp stone

weapons.

US_506_Stone_Age.indd 506 09/02/16 5:28 pm