The Stone Age
It is called the stone age as you might have guessed, because the people used tools made of stone. To make it easier to talk about archaeologists have divided the stone age into three main time periods:
Early Stone Age Tools - Paleolithic
The earliest stone toolmaking developed by at least 2.6 million years ago. The Early Stone Age began with basic stone tools made by early humans. These Oldowan toolkits include hammerstones, stone cores, and sharp stone flakes. By about 1.76 million years ago, early humans began to make Acheulean handaxes and other large cutting tools.
Middle Stone Age Tools - Mesolithic
By 200,000 years ago, the pace of innovation in stone technology began to accelerate. Middle Stone Age toolkits included points, which could be fitted on to shafts to make spears; stone awls, which could have been used to perforate hides; and scrapers that were useful in preparing hide, wood, and other materials.
Later Stone Age Tools - Neolithic
During the Later Stone Age, the pace of innovations rose. People experimented with diverse raw materials (bone, ivory, and antler, as well as stone), the level of craftsmanship increased, and different groups sought their own distinct cultural identity and adopted their own ways of making things.