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1. Prehistory: the Paleolithic Period
!
2. PREHISTORY
As there are no written documents from this long period of time, other historical
sources are used to study it, such as human remains and
tools
.
The Stone Age itself is divided into two periods:
❚
The
Paleolithic Period
, which means ‘old stone’, began two and a half million
years ago. It is divided into three periods: Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic.
These were followed by a period of transition called the
Epipaleolithic
.
❚
The
Neolithic Period
, which means ‘new stone’, began around 8000 B.C., when
agriculture and the domestication of animals appeared.
Prehistory
began with the appearance of the first human beings and ended with
the appearance of writing.
Prehistory is divided into various periods according to how
technologically
advanced the tools that have been discovered were. The first period is called the
Stone Age
because the tools that have survived were mainly made from this
material.
❚
Initially, these objects were made of
copper
(around 4000 B.C.).
❚
Then, they were made of
bronze
(around 3000 B.C.).
❚
Finally, they were made of
iron
(around 1500 B.C.).
The beginning and end of each of these periods have been established according to
particular advances that were made. Therefore, they vary from region to region and
are often modified due to new discoveries.
Important
In the Paleolithic Period, stone tools were made by hitting
one stone against another to break pieces off. These are
called
knapped stone
objects.
In the Neolithic Period, the knapped stone objects were
rubbed with a harder stone to smooth the surface. This is
called
polished stone
.
3
smelt
:
melt a mineral to separate the
metal in it
The Stone Age is followed by the
Bronze and Iron Ages
. Human beings learnt to
smelt
3
metals and make them into adornments, tools and weapons.
Hand axe
Scraper
MIDDLE
LOWER
PALEOLITHIC
(KNAPPED STONE)
2 500 000 B.C.
1 200 000 B.C
P
ALEOLITHIC
P
ALEOLITHIC
World
Iberian Peninsula
