The Palaeolithic: the Old Stone Age
The Stone Age began when humans started making tools and weapons out of stone and other natural materials. It has two periods: the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic. The word Palaeolithic means old stone, because people carved (chipped) stones to make sharp tools.
How did Palaeolithic people live?
They moved from place to place, following the animals and looking for food. When the food ran out, they moved on.
They got food by hunting, fishing and collecting fruit, nuts and roots. They did not farm.
They lived in caves or in simple huts made of branches and animal skins.
They carved tools and weapons from stone, bone and wood, like hand axes and arrowheads.
Palaeolithic people learnt to use fire. It changed their lives: they could cook food, keep warm in winter and protect themselves from wild animals at night.
🇪🇸 The Palaeolithic in Spain
Archaeologists found fossils of some of the earliest settlers in Europe. They called this human Homo antecessor. It lived about 800,000 years ago!
The earliest artists! Palaeolithic people painted bison, horses and hands on the walls of caves. The paintings at Altamira were made between 36,000 and 13,000 years ago.
The breath, heat and light of thousands of visitors were damaging the paintings. Today almost nobody can go inside, to protect them. Visitors see an exact copy in the museum next to the cave.