Paleolithic it is one of the periods into which Prehistory is divided. It is the first of the periods, being commonly understood between 2.7 million years to 10,000 years back.
The Paleolithic is also known as Chipped Stone Age. This name comes from an ability developed by the first human beings in the production of tools and work instruments.
To use the stones as sharp objects, used for various daily activities, people from this period hit one stone against another (usually flint, quartz and quartzite) in order to chip one of them and thus create a rudimentary blade, used to cut or scrape. With these stones, they could build axes and other instruments. Animal bones and teeth were also used as tools.
The human beings of that period were nomads, not staying too long in one place. They lived by gathering fruits and roots, as well as fishing, hunting and the search for animal carcasses left by other carnivores.
The period is sometimes referred to as being from the cavemen, because people use caves in rocks as places of protection. But they did not inhabit the entrances to caves, because of the food difficulties and danger that such places could pose to the most distant ancestors of modern people. In warmer places, treetops served as dwelling places.
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It was in the Paleolithic that people began to develop the ability to control fire, used for heating, protecting and cooking food. But such abilities only made themselves felt in the late Paleolithic period.
In addition, during this period, the first gangs and the first dwellings were being formed. Clothes created from animal skins were also made from this period.
The artistic production of human beings also began, mainly through the so-called rock paintings. Images of animals, men, women and children, as well as hunting scenes, were the subjects of these paintings.
At the end of the period, sedentarization was accompanied by the beginning of the development of agriculture, which would give rise to the so-called Neolithic period.
By Me. Tales Pinto
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PINTO, Tales dos Santos. "What is Paleolithic?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/historia/o-que-e-paleolitico.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
