Paleolithic Era

 Paleo ( Prehistoric times)

 Lithos ( Stone )
The Paleolithic Age, or Old Stone Age, spanned from around 30,000 BCE until 10,000 BCE
and produced the first accomplishments in human creativity. Due to a lack of written records from
this time period, nearly all of our knowledge of Paleolithic human culture and way of life comes
from archaeologic and ethnographic comparisons to modern hunter-gatherer cultures. The
Paleolithic lasted until the retreat of the ice, when farming and use of metals were adopted.
A typical Paleolithic society followed a hunter-gatherer economy. Humans hunted wild animals
for meat and gathered food, firewood, and materials for their tools, clothes, or shelters. The
adoption of both technologies—clothing and shelter—cannot be dated exactly, but they were key
to humanity’s progress. As the Paleolithic era progressed, dwellings became more sophisticated,
more elaborate, and more house-like. At the end of the Paleolithic era, humans began to produce
works of art such as cave paintings, rock art, and jewelry, and began to engage in religious
behavior such as burial and rituals .

Early men chose locations that could be defended against predators and rivals and that
were shielded from inclement weather. Many such locations could be found near rivers,
lakes, and streams, perhaps with low hilltops nearby that could serve as refuges. Since
water can erode and change landscapes quite drastically, many of these campsites
have been destroyed. Our understanding of Paleolithic dwellings is therefore limited.

As early as 380,000 BCE, humans were constructing temporary wood huts . Other
types of houses existed; these were more frequently campsites in caves or in the open
air with little in the way of formal structure. The oldest examples are shelters within
caves, followed by houses of wood, straw, and rock. A few examples exist of houses
built out of bones.

Caves are the most famous example of Paleolithic shelters, though the number of caves
used by Paleolithic people is drastically small relative to the number of hominids thought
to have lived on Earth at the time. Most hominids probably never entered a cave, much
less lived in one. Nonetheless, the remains of hominid settlements show interesting
patterns. In one cave, a tribe of Neanderthals kept a hearth fire burning for a thousand
years, leaving behind an accumulation of coals and ash. In another cave, post holes in
the dirt floor reveal that the residents built some sort of shelter or enclosure with a roof
to protect themselves from water dripping on them from the cave ceiling. They often
used the rear portions of the cave as middens, depositing their garbage there.

In the Upper Paleolithic (the latest part of the Paleolithic), caves ceased to act as
houses. Instead, they likely became places for early people to gather for ritual and
religious purposes.
 Modern archaeologists know of few types of shelter used by ancient peoples other than caves.
Some examples do exist, but they are quite rare. In Siberia, a group of Russian scientists
uncovered a house or tent with a frame constructed of mammoth bones. The great tusks
supported the roof, while the skulls and thighbones formed the walls of the tent. Several families
could live inside, where three small hearths, little more than rings of stones, kept people warm
during the winter. Around 50,000 years ago, a group of Paleolithic humans camped on a lakeshore
in southern France. At Terra Amata, these hunter-gatherers built a long and narrow house. The
foundation was a ring of stones, with a flat threshold stone for a door at either end. Vertical posts
down the middle of the house supported roofs and walls of sticks and twigs, probably covered
over with a layer of straw. A hearth outside served as the kitchen, while a smaller hearth inside
kept people warm. Their residents could easily abandon both dwellings. This is why they are not
considered true houses, which was a development of the Neolithic period rather than the
Paleolithic period.
Reference:https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/the-paleolithic-
period/

Mesolithic Era

 Meso ( Middle )
 Lithos ( Stone )
The Mesolithic Period, or Middle Stone Age, is an archaeological term describing specific cultures
that fall between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic Periods. While the start and end dates of the
Mesolithic Period vary by geographical region, it dated approximately from 10,000 BCE to 8,000
BCE.
The Mesolithic was an age of purely hunting and gathering, but toward the Mesolithic period the
development of agriculture contributed to the rise of permanent settlements. The later Neolithic
period is distinguished by the domestication of plants and animals. Some Mesolithic people
continued with intensive hunting, while others practiced the initial stages of domestication. Some
Mesolithic settlements were villages of huts , others walled cities.

Excavation of some megalithic monuments in Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, and France

has revealed evidence of ritual activity, sometimes involving architecture, during the
Mesolithic Period. One megalith (circa 9350 BCE), found submerged in the Strait of
Sicily, was over 39 feet long and weighing nearly 530,000 pounds. Its purpose remains
unknown. In some cases, however, megalith monuments are so far removed in time
from their successors that continuity is unlikely. In other cases, the early dates or the
exact character of activity are controversial.

An engraved shale pendant unearthed in Star Carr, England in 2015 is believed to be

the oldest Mesolithic art form on the island of Great Britain. Engraved jewelry from this
period outside of Scandinavia is extremely rare. Although the hole in the upper angle of
the rock suggests that it was worn, archaeologists are currently analyzing the object to
determine whether this was the case. The incised patterns are similar to those on
pendants found in Denmark, which suggests contact with cultures on the continent or
migration from the continent to Britain. However, these possibilities remain under
investigation.

Reference:https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/the-mesolithic-
period/