Chisel Your Tools for This Quiz on the Stone Age

Many Stone Age animals coexisted with early humans. However, as the planet warmed after the ice age and humans became more adept at hunting, many species of animals, such as dire wolves, giant ground sloths, and saber-toothed cats, became extinct. Pterosaurs, however, existed during the Mesozoic Era and became extinct 66 million years ago.

A campsite in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania has provided evidence of the earliest human-made stone tools. The stone chopping tools found there are nearly 2 million years old. Although basic in form, the large stones show evidence of having been deliberately shaped by humans. The chopping tools were used for essential jobs such as cutting branches from trees and smashing animal bones to extract marrow.

The Stone Age was a long period in history, lasting around 2.5 million years, during which humans developed the use of stone tools. The period is usually split into three distinct eras: the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age, the Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age, and the Neolithic or New Stone Age. The Stone Age came to an end around 3300 BCE, when humans began working with metal and the Bronze Age began.

The Stone Age is notable for the development of stone tools. By the end of the Stone Age, early people had begun to craft polished flint axes. This technological advance from earlier, rougher stone tools allowed humans to clear forests to make space for fields.

In 2012, the earliest known musical instruments were discovered in a cave in southern Germany. The 42,000-year-old flutes were made from mammoth ivory and bird bones, and archaeologists believe they were played during religious rituals.

Ötzi the Iceman is considered Europe’s most famous mummy. His 5,000-year-old remains were found in the ice in the Alps between Italy and Austria. His incredibly well-preserved remains have told researchers a great deal about Neolithic life in the region. Ötzi was 5 feet, 2 inches tall, left-handed, covered in tattoos, and around 46 years old when he was felled by an arrow to the shoulder.

Fragments of bowls more than 20,000 years old discovered in a cave in southern China have dispelled the idea that hunter-gatherers did not use pottery. The find is the oldest known use of pottery in the world and reveals that its development did not, as previously thought, coincide with the introduction of farming. The shards of pottery were from crudely made bowls and were likely used for cooking.

A variety of fruits that we eat today have been available to humans for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence suggests Neanderthals ate dates around 40,000 years ago, and figs, plums, pears, and olives have also been identified at Paleolithic sites. Grapefruit, however, was first encountered by humans in Barbados in the 1600s.

Archaeologists working in Jordan recently found evidence that the hunter-gatherer Natufians — who lived around 14,000 years ago — baked bread. This overturned previous theories that ancient people only learned how to make bread after they began farming cereals around 10,000 years ago.

Some of the earliest forms of cave art were uncovered at “Cueva de las Manos” in Argentine Patagonia. The cave walls are covered in stenciled handprints, creating a beautiful echo of our ancient ancestors. The handprints date to around 5000 BCE and were created by blowing pigments through pipes made from animal bone. The pigments included red iron oxide, yellow natrojarosite, and black manganese oxide.

The development of weapons such as spears meant that hunter-gatherers could begin to hunt larger prey. Early humans, Homo heidelbergensis, were the first to develop wooden spears. Later, early Homo sapiens made more specialized hunting equipment, such as fishhooks and bows and arrows. This allowed them to improve their diet and make better use of the animals they caught to make clothing and shelter.

The Stone Age is the longest period of human history, stretching from about 2.6 million years ago to around 5,000 years ago. The last ice age occurred during the Stone Age, ending approximately 9,600 years ago. During this period, much of the planet was blanketed in ice, and early humans were confined to warmer, wooded regions.

Megafauna are huge animals — such as mammoths, cave bears, and giant sloths — that roamed the Earth during the ice age. Humans coexisted with megafauna for thousands of years. Scientists debate whether the extinction of megafauna was a result of overhunting by humans or due to climate change. Not all megafauna are extinct, however; today, elephants, hippos, and rhino still live in parts of Africa.

Before the first early modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved around 200,000 years ago, a number of archaic humans coexisted. Among the most famous groups were the Neanderthals, who lived in Europe and Eurasia during the last ice age (around 400,000 years ago to 40,000 years ago). Though they have been dismissed as archetypal cavemen, Neanderthals developed tools and had a distinct culture.

The Bering Strait is a shallow passage that fell by several hundred feet during the Last Glacial Maximum. The drop in sea level created a land bridge that connected the United States to Russia, allowing animals, plants, and people from Asia to migrate into Alaska and beyond. However, when temperatures began to rise, the ice melted and water levels rose.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric stone circle, built in stages between 3000 and 1520 BCE. It stands on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. The complex structure includes huge carved sarsen stones and bluestones sourced from more than 100 miles away in South Wales. The circle is aligned with the sun and may have been used as a primitive calendar. The site was a sacred space and contained many burials.

Early in the Stone Age, ancient humans lived in small nomadic groups and relied on hunting and gathering. Rather than scavenging meat left over from other predators, hunter-gatherers used tools to hunt and butcher wild animals. They also developed knowledge of local plants to forage for fruits, nuts, and berries.

Archaeologists working at Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa recently uncovered evidence that early humans began to control fire more than 1 million years ago. Traces of campfires alongside charred animal bones indicate that our ancestor, Homo erectus, learned to kindle fires. Researchers suggest that cooking meant early humans could consume more calories, leading to the development of larger brains.

The Stone Age got its name because it was the era when early humans began to make tools from stone. Historians describe the next era as the Bronze Age because humans began to make items from metals such as bronze during this period. The Bronze Age began at different points in different regions, starting around 3000 BCE in Greece and China, and 1900 BCE in Britain.