Palaeolithic Age

The Old Stone Age

The Palaeolithic Age is the earliest and longest period of human history, lasting from about 2 million years ago to around 10,000 BCE. People used rough tools of stone and lived as hunters and gatherers.

Three Phases

1. Lower Palaeolithic — hand axes and cleavers (e.g. Sohan valley, Belan valley).

2. Middle Palaeolithic — tools made on flakes such as scrapers and points.

3. Upper Palaeolithic — blades and burins; the appearance of modern humans and early art.

Important sites include Attirampakkam (Tamil Nadu), Hunsgi (Karnataka) and the Belan valley (Uttar Pradesh).