Paleolithic Societies

Paleolithic is defined as "of or pertaining to the Stone Age's early phase, marked by rough or chipped stone tools." The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic or Palolithic, commonly known as the Old Stone Age People (from Greek palaios - old, lithos - stone), is an era in prehistory marked by the creation of stone tools. It spans approximately 99% of the human technical past. It covers the time period from around 3.3 million years ago, when hominids first used stone tools, until roughly 11,650 years ago, when the Pleistocene ended.

Paleolithic Societies

A hunter-gatherer economy characterised a typical Paleolithic culture. Humans hunted wild animals for sustenance, gathered firewood, and gathered materials for tools, clothing, and homes. Although the introduction of these technologies, clothing and shelter can not be pinpointed, they were critical to humanity's advancement. Dwellings got more sophisticated, ornate, and house-like as the Paleolithic age proceeded. Humans began to create works of art such as cave paintings, rock art, and jewellery around the end of the Paleolithic epoch, as well as religious, practises like burial and rituals. 

In Europe, the Paleolithic Age preceded the Mesolithic Age, albeit the change occurred thousands of years apart geographically. Hominids lived in tiny groups called bands throughout the Paleolithic era, collecting plants, fishing, and hunting or scavenging wild animals for food. The Paleolithic Period is known for its use of knapped stone tools, but people also used wood and bone tools throughout this time. Other organic commodities, such as leather and vegetable fibres, were modified for use as tools, but due to fast disintegration, these have not survived long.

Paleolithic Period

• The Paleolithic Period, also known as the Old Stone Age people, was an ancient cultural period or phase of human evolution defined by the use of primitive chipped stone tools (From the Stone Age people.) 

• The Paleolithic Period began 2.58 million years ago, around the beginning of the Pleistocene Epoch, with the earliest evidence of tool manufacture and usage by Homo sapiens (about 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago). 

• Researchers digging a dry riverbed near Kenya's Lake Turkana in 2015 uncovered ancient stone tools buried in rocks dating back to the Pliocene Epoch, 3.3 million years ago (some 5.3 million to 2.58 million years ago). 

• Those artefacts are over a million years older than the oldest known Homo fossils, raising the idea that toolmaking began with Australopithecus or its contemporaries, and that the dating of the start of this cultural stage should be reconsidered. 

• Paleolithic Periods are commonly said to be split into three parts: 

• Lower Paleolithic

• Middle Paleolithic

• Upper Paleolithic

• Anthropologists, on the other hand, are wary of putting tight time limits on each subdivision and the phases within it, because various sectors' technology evolved at different periods in different areas. 

• Furthermore, because new technologies take time to disseminate, there is some overlap between stages and subdivisions, resulting in the situation where certain groups of people have access to greater levels of technology sooner than their contemporaries. 

• The Oldowan Stage (about 2.6 million to 1 million years ago), which saw the development of pebble tools, and the Acheulean Stage (1.7–1.5 million years ago to about 250000–200000 years ago), which saw the development of more sophisticated hand axes and cleaving tools, are the two stages of the Lower Paleolithic. 

• With the finding of the tools found at Lake Turkana, some anthropologists have proposed adding a third stage, the Lomekwian Stage, to account for 700,000 years of pre-Oldowan hammering and other rock-chipping tools. 

• From around 250,000 to 30,000 years ago, the Middle Paleolithic, which was marked by flake tools and extensive use of fire, lasted.

Dwellings and Shelter of Early Man

Early men chose locations that could be protected from predators and competition while also being protected from bad weather. Many such places may be located near rivers, lakes, and streams, possibly with neighbouring low hilltops that could serve as refuges. Many of these campsites have been destroyed due to water's ability to erode and modify terrain dramatically. 

As a result, our knowledge of Paleolithic houses is restricted. Humans started building temporary wood houses as early as 380,000 BCE. Other types of dwellings existed, too; these were frequently campsites in caves or the open air with no formal structure. Cave shelters are the oldest, followed by homes made of wood, straw, and rock. There are a few examples of dwellings made of bones.

Paleolithic Culture, Language and Art

The Paleolithic era's most important innovation was probably language. The fact that people travelled huge expanses of territory, built communities, developed tools, traded, and imposed social structures and civilizations can be used to infer the early use of language. 

These things would almost certainly not have been possible without the help of language. The craniums of ancient Homo sapiens have big brains with indentations, indicating the development of brain regions linked with speaking. The exact process through which humans acquired the ability to communicate is a hotly debated topic.

The historical record, on the other hand, demonstrates that language enabled increasingly complex social structures, as well as the increased ability for debate, morality, spirituality, and meaning-making. Cave painting and portable art, for example, exhibit inventiveness and group dynamics. They exhibit a desire in exchanging information, expressing sentiments, and passing down cultural knowledge to future generations. 

Though artwork from over 35,000 years ago is rare, cave paintings and statuettes from subsequent eras are abundant. In addition to cave art, Paleolithic portable figurines have been discovered. Many of them have finely carved face features, while others, like the 25,000-year-old figure discovered in Dolni Vestonice in the modern-day Czech Republic, emphasise sexual organs and buttocks. This item demonstrates a desire to produce attractive figures, but some speculate that it is also linked to a fascination with human reproduction.

Paleolithic Lifestyle

Hunter-gatherers dominated the Paleolithic era. They were nomadic tribes who subsisted on hunting, fishing and foraging for natural fruits. Bison, mammoths, bears, and deer were among the creatures they hunted. Food was provided by meat, and clothing was made from animal skin. They lived in 20-30 person clans in caves, outdoors, or tree branches and animal hide houses.

Conclusion

Thus, in this article we have covered basic important aspects of the Paleolithic Period. It is simply defined by the invention of stone tools because of which it is called the stone age. As the Paleolithic era progressed, dwellings became increasingly complex, decorative, and house-like. Cave paintings, rock art, and jewellery were among the first works of art created by humans. 

Around the commencement of the Pleistocene Epoch, the Paleolithic Period began 2.58 million years ago. The usage of rudimentary chipped stone tools defined it. Ancient stone tools hidden in rocks near Kenya's Lake Turkana were discovered by researchers in 2015. Early humans picked areas that were safe from predators and severe weather.