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WHAT IS PREHISTORY?

Historians call the time before there was writing prehistory.
To study prehistory, historians rely on the work of archaeologists and anthropologists.

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THE SCIENTISTS

Archaeologist - a person who studies human history and prehistory the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains.
Anthropologist - a person who studies human beings and their cultures, from prehistoric times to today

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FOSSILS

Fossils are preserved remains of living things
Examples of fossil include:

shells, bones, stone imprints of animals or microbes, exoskeletons, objects preserved in amber, petrified wood, coal, hair, oil, and DNA remnants.

Fossils have a scientific value

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ARTIFACTS

Artifact - an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest

Examples include art, weapons, tools, toys, games, and clothing

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The Stone Age is the period of human history before the Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

The Stone Age

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The Stone Age gets its

name from stones.

But why?

It is the age when

early humans first

started using stones

for their tools and

weapons.

This was a game changer helping them

hunt, build and make their lives easier.

The Stone Age

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Archaeologists study artifacts to determine when and where the Stone Age started.

Not all places on the planet

had development at

the same time so dates

vary. But, people

started using tools

about two million

years ago.

The Stone Age

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Archaeologists divide the Stone Age into three periods, depending on the sophistication of the tools used.

The Stone Age

The three periods are the Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age), the Mesolithic Age (Middle Stone Age) and the Neolithic Age (New Stone Age).

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The Stone Age

The Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age) took place during the last ice age.

It may come as a surprise to learn, the Paleolithic Age lasted so long it accounts for 99% of all human history!

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The Stone Age

In the Paleolithic Age, tools were also made from wood and bone.

Languages developed and people even began to express themselves

with art on

the walls of caves.

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The Stone Age

The Mesolithic Age (Middle Stone Age) was the period of time between the ice age and the introduction of farming.

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The Stone Age

During the Mesolithic Age, weapons were more refined and smaller. This included arrows and spears.

Man’s best friend,

the faithful dog, was

domesticated at this

time from wolves!

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The Stone Age

The Neolithic Age (New Stone Age) was the time between the start of farming and the beginning of the Bronze Age.

By this time, people also had cows and sheep.

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The Stone Age

Farming permitted people to stay in one location instead of constantly moving in search of food.

Communities grew, different roles in the community developed and trade connected people to other parts of the world.

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Earliest human findings are in Africa. From there, early humans migrated into Europe and Asia before they continued on to the rest of the world.

Europe

Asia

Africa

The Stone Age

Australia

North

America

South

America