The Stone Age is a most ancient period in the history of mankind, it is characterized by use of a stone as material for production of instruments of labor. Refer the most important achievements of mankind to this era: formation of the person as social being and also most social institute.
Instruction
1. In archeology the Stone Age is divided into three main stages: the paleolith (ancient) 3 million years BC - 10 thousand years BC, mezonit (average) 10-7 thousand years BC, the Neolithic (new) 6-3 thousand years BC. Each of these periods is characterized by special methods of splitting and processing of a stone and also wide circulation of certain products from it.
2. By means of instruments of labor of people got to itself food, hunted and caught fish, built the dwelling, created clothes, pieces of house utensils and the work of art. Not only the stone, but also volcanic glass, bones and skins of animals which got on hunting was for this purpose used.
3. In an early paleolith (3 million - 150 thousand years ago) two stages - Olduvaysky and Acheulian allocate. Pebble instruments of labor — chopping and choppers are characteristic of the first. Manual were widespread in the Acheulian period cut which the pithecanthropus began to create about 1.5 million years ago.
4. Ancient people chose those which gave the sharp cutting edge at a skalyvaniye from all variety of rocks. Flint and other siliceous breeds was the most suitable material for production of instruments of labor. Auxiliary tools were necessary for creation of various things from a stone: otzhimnik, chippers, nakovalenka and retouchers, them did of a bone, a tree and a stone.
5. The Middle Paleolithic is called (150-35 thousand years ago) a Mousterian era. The technology of processing of a stone existing then was entered by Neanderthal men, they did disk-shaped nukleusa from which then chopped off massive otshchepa for production skrebet also little-enders.
6. At the time of a late paleolith (35-10 thousand years ago) lamellar technology of processing of a stone which carrier was Homo sapiens became widespread in Europe. People of a late paleolith are called most often kromanyonets. During this era as technical raw materials the bone was widely used, the domostroitelstvo developed, life support systems were improved, various forms of art appeared.
7. It is remarkable that each new period of a paleolith began not with disappearance of former technologies of processing of a stone, and with emergence new and with emergence of their carriers.
8. In Mesolith the standardized silicon tips for arrows began to extend, call them microlitas During this period a basis of economy in Europe there is a hunting with use of onions and arrows.
9. During the Neolithic the mankind invented the very first artificial material — ceramics. Religious beliefs, concepts of marriage and families, social and relations of production, art and culture arise and develop in this period.