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The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric time
period during which humans widely used stone for
toolmaking.
Stone tools were made from a variety of different
kinds of stone. For example, flint and chert were
shaped (or chipped) for use as cutting tools and
weapons, while basalt and sandstone were used for
ground stone tools, such as quern-stones. Wood,
bone, shell, antler and other materials were widely
used, too. During the most recent part of the
period, sediments (like clay) were used to make
pottery. A series of metal technology innovations
characterize the later Chalcolithic (Copper Age),
Bronze Age and Iron Age.
The period encompasses the first widespread use of
technology in human evolution and the spread of
humanity from the savannas of East Africa to the
rest of the world. It ends with the development of
agriculture, the domestication of certain animals
and the smelting of copper ore to produce metal. It
is termed prehistoric, since humanity had not yet
started writing -- the traditional start of history
(i.e., recorded history). |
