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1 Eras

Prehistory, more precisely, is the period from which no known written records (including later copies) have been preserved. When did prehistory begin? People disagree. If human prehistory is defined, as presumably it should be, as the pre-literate history of Homo sapiens sapiens then at least the matter can be resolved in principle. The recent pace of progress in understanding the evolution of Homo sapiens suggests in the range of 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. Some would begin it with the first known tools, c. 2.5 million years ago (Olduway). The first Homo erectus, around 1.5 million years ago is another possibility. Others would begin it around 40,000 BC, with the Cro-Magnons.

The end of prehistory varies according to location in the world. In Egypt, it is generally accepted that prehistory would end around 3500 BC. In New Guinea, it is generally accepted that prehistory would end around 1900. Still earlier periods of time are usually known as geological history.

Since there are no written records of this time, much of the information we know about prehistory today is contributed by archaeologists and anthropologists who study skeletons and artifacts to determine what may have happened.

2 Age system

Prehistory is often subdivided by a three-age system. This system of classifying human prehistory creates three consecutive time periods, named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies.

2.1 Stone Age

The Stone Age is the time period during which humans created tools from stone (for lack of a better technologyTechnology ( Gr. tau;εχνολογια < τεχνη "craftsmanship" + λογος "word, reckoning" + the suffix ια) has more than one definition.). WoodThis article describes the wood that comprises trees and boards. For the Chinese element, see wood (classical element). For the town, see Wood, South Dakota or Wood, Wisconsin. For the type of golf club, see golf club (equipment). Veluwe, The Netherlands, boneFor other uses of the word "bone", see bone (disambiguation). Gray's illustration of a human femur, a typically recognized bone. Bone refers either to a hardened connective tissue or to one of the individual structures, or organs, into which it is formed, and other materialMaterials are inputs to production or manufacturing. They are often raw that is unprocessed, but are sometimes processed before being used in more advanced production processes. In general, in technologically advanced societies, the materials are not finis were also used, but stone (in particular flintchalk cliffs, Cape Arkona, Rugen Flint (or flintstone is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline silica rock with a glassy appearance. Flint is usually dark grey, blue, black, or deep brown in colour. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in chalks and li) was more durable and was increasingly easily shaped for use as cutting tools and weaponA weapon is a tool used to kill, maim, destroy or perhaps simply disable, a person or animal and as a result, also to threaten and defend. Since the dawn of humanity the use of weapons has been codified resulting in both martial arts and strategic doctrins. The date range of this period is ambiguous, disputed, and variable according to the region in question. It includes:

• PaleolithicThe Paleolithic or Palaeolithic lit. old 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 Lo – Old Stone Age. This period is the oldest part of the stone age, dating from the first use of stone tools by hominidSubfamily Ponginae Pongo Orangutans Subfamily Homininae Gorilla Gorillas Pan Chimpanzees Homo Humans Paranthropus † Australopithecus † Sahelanthropus † Ardipithecus † Kenyanthropus † The Hominids Hominidae are a biologics (maybe 2,000,000 years ago) to the end of the Pleistocene epoch.
• Epipalaeolithic – characterised by the use of microliths, not distinguished by all scholars. It is the last period of the Palaeolithic according to some of the classification schemes used in archaeology.
• Mesolithic – Middle Stone Age. It began at the end of the Pleistocene epoch around 10,000 years ago and ended with the introduction of farming, the date of which varied in each geographical region.
• Neolithic – Late Stone Age, usually referring to the beginnings of agriculture. It is traditionally the last part of the stone age. It followed Pleistocene epipalaeolithic and early Holocene Mesolithic cultures with the start of farming and ended when metal tools came into widespread use in the Copper Age
• Chalcolithic or Eneolithic (also "the Copper Age") – mixed stone and metal tools, not a period distinguished by all scholars. It is a phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early metal tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools.