The Paleolithic: Human Evolution and Hunter-Gatherers

The Paleolithic ("Old Stone Age") is the longest period of Prehistory, stretching from the appearance of the first chipped-stone tools, roughly 2.6 million years ago, to the end of the last glaciation, about 10,000 years ago. During this time, several species of the genus Homo succeeded one another in a complex, non-linear evolutionary process. Homo habilis, regarded as one of the earliest makers of stone tools, lived in East Africa approximately 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago.