Stone Age Facts For Kids – Learn All About Stone Age

Stone Age is the most interesting period to learn about in mankind’s history. We get to know how it all started for us at the beginning of human history. And when we start to think about the stone age, hundreds of questions pop out in our minds about the people of that time, how they lived, what they ate, what tools they used, about their clothes, houses, and lifestyle. Similarly for school kids, stone age is a very interesting topic to learn. We have gathered a complete set of Stone Age Facts For Kids, that will help them in learning all about the stone age. These facts about the stone age will give the kids a complete picture of the stone age.

Stone Age Facts For Kids

1. What is Stone Age

  • The earliest time when human beings first used tools carved out of stones is called the Stone Age.
  • The Stone Age is the name given to the earliest period of human culture when stone tools were first used. The Stone Age ended when men began smelting metal.
  • It was thousands of years ago when the primary purpose of human beings was to protect themselves from other beings and feed themselves.

2. What does Stone Age mean

  • Stone Age means the earliest known period of prehistoric human culture symbolized by the use of stone tools.

3. Why is it called the Stone Age?

  • It is called the Stone Age because the people used tools and weapons made of stone.
  • There was no concept of smelting iron to make metal tools.

Stone Age Facts For Kids - Learn All About Stone Age

4. When was the Stone Age – When did the Stone Age start

  • The Stone Age started almost 2.5 million years ago.
  • However, there is some evidence that suggests that the Stone Age might have started more than 2.5 million years ago.
  • It is divided into three different periods:
    • Paleolithic or Old Stone Age
    • Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age
    • Neolithic or New Stone Age

5. How long ago was the Stone Age

  • The Stone Age started almost 2.5 Million years ago and ended completely in 2500 BC.

6. How long did the Stone Age last

  • Start of the Stone Age – 2.5 Million years ago
  • End of the Stone Age – Sometime between 6000 BC and 2500 BC
  • Hence, the Stone Age lasted for about 2.49 million years.

7. When did the Stone Age End

  • The Stone Age ended between 6000 BC and 2500 BC.
  • At the end of the Stone Age, the people started to smelt copper and tin.
  • The introduction of Bronze metallurgy marked the end of the Stone Age.
  • With time, Bronze replaced stone as the primary material for tools and weapons.

8. Stone Age Timeline 

The Stone Age has been divided into three different periods:

Paleolithic Age

  • Also known as the Old Stone Age (2.5 million years ago to 9600 BC)

Mesolithic Age or Middle Stone Age

  • It started in 9600 BC, however, it ended with the introduction of agriculture.
  • Agriculture was introduced at different times in different regions.
  • So, the ending time for Mesolithic Age is different for different regions:
    • Southeast Europe – 7000 BC
    • Central Europe – 5500 BC
    • Northern Europe – 4000 BC
    • Near East – 9000 BC

Neolithic Age or New Stone Age

  • The Neolithic Age started with the introduction of agriculture.
  • It ended between 6000 BC and 2500 BC with the introduction of smelting metals in different regions.

9. Stone Age History

  • The Stone Age began 2.5 million years ago.

Paleolithic Age

  • The Paleolithic Age was the longest period in the history of the Stone Age.
  • During the Paleolithic Age, man gathered food by hunting wild animals and birds, fishing, and collecting fruits and nuts.
  • The Neanderthals (cavemen) existed during this period.
  • The humans made different tools from stones and pebbles. These tools were not very efficient.
  • The oldest recognizable tools are stone choppers made almost 1 million years ago.
  • These tools were made by chipping stones and pebbles.
  • Near the end of the Paleolithic Age, humans started to make shelters, wear sewn clothes, and built sculptures.
  • During this time, they greatly improved their tools-building skills.
  • The Paleolithic Age ended in 9600 BC with the end of the Ice Age.

Mesolithic Age

  • The Mesolithic Age began with the end of the Ice Age in 9600 BC.
  • During this period, humans adopted different techniques of hunting, fishing, and gathering food.
  • This was a result of the adaptations of humans to the changing ecological conditions.
  • The Mesolithic Age ended at different times in different regions.

Neolithic Age

  • With the end of the Mesolithic Age, the Neolithic Age started.
  • During the Neolithic Age, humans formed settled communities, and domesticated plants and animals for the first time in history.
  • They transitioned from food-collecting to food-producing.
  • They established villages dependent on the cultivation of crops (wheat, barley) and raising cattle (sheep, goats).
  • The Neolithic Age was terminated with the introduction of metal tools between 6000 BC and 2500 BC.
  • With the termination of the Neolithic Age, the Stone Age came to an end in 2500 BC.

10. Difference between Old Stone Age and New Stone Age

OLD STONE AGE

  • The Old Stone Age is also called the Paleolithic Age.
  • It is the first and the longest period in the history of the Stone Age.
  • It started almost 2.5 million years ago and ended in 9600 BC.
  • During the Old Stone Age, humans were food-gatherers. They gathered food by hunting wild animals and birds, fishing, and collecting fruits and nuts.

NEW STONE AGE

  • The New Stone Age is also called the Neolithic Age.
  • It is the last period of the Stone Age.
  • It started at different times with the end of the Mesolithic Age in different regions.
  • It ended completely between 6000 BC and 2500 BC.

11. Stone Age People

There are 4 different types of human species that emerged at different times during the Stone Age:

Tool-makers (Homo habilis)

  • Homo habilis means “Skilled man”.
  • Homo habilis was the first humans to make stone tools.
  • They had nimble hands and moderately large brains.
  • They lived from 2.4 to 1.6 million years ago in East Africa.

Fire-makers (Homo erectus)

  • Homo erectus means “Upright man”.
  • Homo erectus were the first humans to have the same body size as us.
  • were the first humans who learned how to make fire.
  • They made a fire to create light, keep themselves warm, cook meat, and frighten animals away.
  • They had large brains.
  • They lived 2 million years ago in Africa, and they were the first humans to move into Europe and Asia.

Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis)

  • Homo neanderthalensis were similar to us, but they were shorter and stronger.
  • They made warm clothes from animal skins and fur to stay warm in the cold weather.
  • They lived in caves with their family groups.
  • They used to look after their sick family members and bury their dead relatives.
  • They lived in Europe and Asia during the Ice Age from 300,000 to 24,000 years ago.

Modern Humans (Homo sapiens)

  • Homo sapiens means “Wise man”.
  • The first Homo sapiens originated around 200,000 years ago in Africa.
  • There were some other species of humans alive at that time.
  • However, all the other species went extinct around 24,000 years ago and only Homo sapiens were left.
  • They had large brains and slender bodies.
  • They made art and painted rocks and walls with pictures.
  • They started to grow crops and raise cattle for food around 10,000 years ago.

Learn more about Stone Age People

Stone age people

12. Where did Stone Age People Live 

  • During the Stone Age, people had a nomadic lifestyle and kept moving from one place to another in search of food.
  • They stayed in caves where they cooked meat and drew art on the walls.
  • In plain areas, they made temporary camps from wooden structures and animal skins.
  • There are some houses in Howick, Northumberland, and Yorkshire which are from the Mesolithic Age.

13. Stone Age Children 

  • The children in the Stone Age had a very healthy life.
  • They ate fresh meat and fruits.
  • They learned hunting started food collection at a young age.
  • They worked hard from their childhood, that’s why they developed strong and healthy bodies.

14. How did they live in the Stone Age?

  • Life during the Stone Age was very simple
  • The humans had only two things to do:
    • Gather food
    • Protect themselves from wild animals
  • They built stone tools for both these purposes.
  • They always kept moving while looking for food.
  • While on the move, they lived in caves and built temporary camps in the plains to stay.
  • So, the people in Stone Age had dangerous and active lives.

15. Stone Age Houses – Facts about Stone Age Houses

During the Stone Age, the people lived in four types of shelters:

Caves

  • They stayed near the mouth of the cave because it was warmer and there was more light.
  • They drew on the cave walls which are still present today.

Hut / Tepee

  • This shelter was built with a wooden frame in the shape of a tepee.
  • The wooden frame would be covered by animal skins and tree barks.
  • This shelter was very light and portable

Animal Bone Structure

  • This shelter was built by assembling animal bones.
  • Often, Mammoth bones and tusks were used to construct the walls and frame.
  • The bones were then covered by animal skins.

Permanent Dwellings

  • Towards the end of the Stone Age, people started to build more permanent dwellings.
  • This shelter was built with wattle and daub in a rectangular shape.
  • It had a thatched roof.
  • These shelters were usually built in larger settlements.

16. Stone Age Culture

There were different cultures for different groups of people during the different periods of the Stone Age.

Paleolithic Age

  • During the Early Paleolithic Age, different groups of humans made different types of tools and artifacts. They lived in groups of immediate family members. The two major cultures were Oldowan and Acheulean.
  • During the Middle Paleolithic Age, the stone tools were greatly improved. The humans started trading raw materials. They also looked after their elders and created art.
  • During the Upper Paleolithic Age, some of the cultures were the Aurignacian, Shugnou, Kebaran, Zarzian, and Mashubian. They had different types of food sources and different weapons.

Mesolithic Age

  • During the Mesolithic Age, humans developed more complex tools and formed large settlements.
  • The cultures practiced social ceremonies, such as burying their dead.
  • Some cultures greatly advanced in farming, while others remained hunter-gatherers.

17. Stone Age Hunting – How did they Hunt in the Stone Age

  • In the earliest Stone Age, people hunted animals with long sharp sticks.
  • Later, they made bows and arrows for hunting. They also made spears with tips made of bones and flints.
  • They cut the hunted animals with sharpened pieces of stones and cooked the meat on fire.
  • They used the animal’s skins for clothing and making shelters.

18. Stone Age Farming

  • Around 8000 BC, humans tried farming by growing wild crops like peas, lentils, and barley.
  • By 3500 BC, farming had become very common. There were many farms set up in different parts of the world.
  • The farmers made clearings in the forests and built houses surrounded by farms.
  • They used the wood from the trees for fire.
  • The Neolithic farmer’s domesticated herds of cows, goats, and sheep.
  • Cows provided milk and beef, goats and sheep provided wool, milk, and meat.
  • The farmers also kept dogs for herding the cattle.

19. Stone Age Food – What kind of food did they eat in the Stone Age

  • During the early Stone Age, humans were hunter-gatherers.
  • They hunted animals and gathered wild fruits and nuts for food.
  • They also caught fish, especially during the Ice Age.
  • Towards the end of the Stone Age in 8000 BC, they discovered farming.
  • After the discovery of farming, they made large villages that depended upon food from the crops.
  • They grew wheat, barley, maize, and many other crops.

20. Stone Age Clothing Facts – What did Stone Age people wear 

  • The weather was extremely cold during the Ice Age.
  • Early humans used to hunt animals. They cleaned and prepared the animal skins and then wrapped them around their bodies.
  • They also made needles from animal bones to sew animals’ skins into clothes.
  • They decorated their faces and bodies with paints from natural resources.

21. Stone Age Jewelry Facts

  • The first piece of jewelry was made by humans around 75,000 years ago.
  • They strung shells together to make necklaces.
  • This jewelry was simple in design.

22. Stone Age Cave Paintings Facts

  • Painting animals on cave walls were very common during the Stone Age.
  • Paintings were made deep inside the caves and not where the people lived, because flickering firelight could have created the illusion that these paintings were real animals.
  • The famous cave paintings at Lascaux in France are 18,000 years old. 

stone age cave paintings

23. What kind of tools did they use in the Stone Age

Stone Age Tools List

  • Stone or Wooden Club
  • Bone Needle
  • Bone Flute
  • Bow and Arrow
  • Hunting Spear
  • Stone Axe
  • Stone Knife

Learn more: Stone Age Tools

24. What kind of animals lived in the Stone Age – Stone Age Animals

  • The humans mostly depended on hunting for food during the Stone Age.
  • Many animals were roaming the forests during the Stone Age, some of which are not present today.
  • Some of the animals of the Stone Age are:
    • Woolly Mammoth (Extinct)
    • Woolly Rhinoceros (Extinct)
    • Cave Bear (Extinct)
    • Hippopotamus
    • Giant Dear (Extinct)
    • Hyena
    • Wild Boar
    • Wolf
    • Sheep

25. Interesting Facts About The Stone Age

  1. The first modern man, Homo sapiens, emerged about 200,000 years ago.
  2.  Homo habilis, evolved about 2.3 million years ago.
  3. The stone “Flint” was most commonly used to make stone tools in the stone age. Other than flint chert and obsidian stones were also used.
  4. The Stone Age period is further divided into three sub-periods;
    1. the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age),
    2. Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)
    3. the Neolithic (new Stone Age).
  5. The people living in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic were mostly nomads who hunted and gathered food. They were always on the move as they followed the animals which they hunted.
  6. It was during the Mesolithic period when the dog was domesticated. Dogs were very helpful in hunting, for security warnings, and faithful pets.
  7. During the Neolithic period agriculture developed, more animals were domesticated and people started living in settled communities.
  8. The stone age site Skara Brae is of an Orkney village of the Neolithic period, which had beds, cupboards, dressers, shelves, and chairs.

Murad Ali Khan is a researcher, writer & editor, who believes in generating quality content. He leads an awesome team of high school students, teachers & IT graduates who helps him in creating & maintaining educational Websites & Apps.
When not tinkering on the web, Murad enjoys going on hikes, read Latest Science News, plays tennis & hangs out with his friends.

27 Comments

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