Palaeolithic - Definition and Overview

The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic – lit. old stone from the Greek paleos=old and lithos=stone – period is the oldest part of the stone age, dating from the first use of stone tools by hominids (maybe 2,000,000 years ago) to the end of the Pleistocene epoch. Subdivisions of the Paleolithic include the

• Lower Paleolithic (Oldowan, Clactonian, Abbevillian, Acheulean)
• Middle Paleolithic, the time of the hand axe-industries (Mousterian)
• Upper Paleolithic (Châtelperronian, Aurignacian, Solutrean, Gravettian, Magdalenian)

The Paleolithic is followed by the Mesolithic or Epipaleolithic.

See also

• List of notable Paleolithic sites
• 10th millennium BC