Lower Paleolithic
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The Paleolithic |
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↑ Pliocene (before Homo) |
↓ Mesolithic |
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Human history and prehistory |
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↑ before Homo (Pliocene epoch) |
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The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3.3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears in the current archaeological record,[1] until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the Oldowan ("mode 1") and Acheulean ("mode 2") lithics industries.
In African archaeology, the time period roughly corresponds to the Early Stone Age, the earliest finds dating back to 3.3 million years ago, with Lomekwian stone tool technology, spanning Mode 1 stone tool technology, which begins roughly 2.6 million years ago and ends between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago, with Mode 2 technology.[1][2][3]
The
Gelasian
The Lower Paleolithic began with the appearance of the first
However, even older tools were later discovered at the single site of
The early members of the genus Homo produced primitive tools, summarized under the Oldowan industry, which remained dominant for nearly a million years, from about 2.5 to 1.7 million years ago. Homo habilis is assumed to have lived primarily on
The move from the mostly
Homo erectus appeared by about 1.8 million years ago, via the transitional variety Homo ergaster.
Calabrian
Homo erectus moved from scavenging to
Homo erectus migrated out of Africa and dispersed throughout Eurasia. Stone tools in Malaysia have been dated to be 1.83 million years old.[7] The Peking Man fossil, discovered in 1929, is roughly 700,000 years old.
In Europe, the
developed during this time.The carrier species from Africa to Europe was undoubtedly
The advent of technology and both verbal and non-verbal communication due to transition to group hunting and gathering resulted in the expansion of the parts of the brain associated with these, as well as greater cognition due to it being interlinked with the two. Later, behavioral adaptations to further social life, uncertain food distribution (resulting in need to find and secure food and remember where it could be found) and ecological changes brought about by Homo led to the further expansion of the brain in the areas of problem-solving, memory etc., ultimately leading to the great behavioral flexibility, highly efficient communication, and ecological dominance of humanity. The biological pre-adaptations of the
Middle Pleistocene
The appearance of
Also, in Europe, a type of human appeared that was intermediate between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens, sometimes summarized under
Transition to the Middle Paleolithic
From about 300,000 years ago, technology, social structures and behaviour appear to grow more complex, with
Lower Paleolithic era by region
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- India
See also
- Control of fire by early humans
- Lomekwi, site of the oldest tools discovered
References
- ^ S2CID 1207285.
- ^ "Early Stone Age Tools". What does it mean to be human?. Smithsonian Institution. 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2014-09-30.
- ISBN 978-0-521-61265-4.
- ^ "Lower Paleolithic". Dictionary com. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- PMID 14529651.
- ISBN 978-1-4299-3029-1.[page needed]
- ^ "Malaysian scientists find stone tools "oldest in Southeast Asia"". Tehran Times. AFP. 1 February 2009.
- .
- S2CID 208303849.
- S2CID 229402432.
- PMID 28596316.
- S2CID 206531024.
- ISBN 978-0-404-16675-5.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20190108145555/http://revenueharyana.gov.in/Portals/0/hr-gaz-ch-5.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 January 2019.
{{cite web}}
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(help)[full citation needed] - ^ Frederick Everard Zeuner (1950). Stone Age and Pleistocene Chronology in Gujarat. Deccan College, Postgraduate and Research Institute.
- hdl:10603/71979. Retrieved 14 October 2017 – via Shodhganga.