Life in the Stone Age

The Stone Age is the earliest period of human history and gets its name from the stone tools people made and used. It lasted for an incredibly long time — from around 2.5 million years ago to about 2500 BCE. During the earliest part (the Palaeolithic), people were hunter-gatherers. They didn’t grow food or stay in one place — instead they moved around in small groups, hunting animals and collecting wild plants, nuts and berries. They lived in caves or temporary shelters. Over time, people began to settle, farm the land, and raise animals (the Neolithic period). They made pottery, wove cloth, and built impressive stone monuments. The most famous of these is Stonehenge in Wiltshire, which was carefully constructed from enormous stones and may have been used for ceremonies or as a calendar.