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The Old Stone Age or the Palaeolithic period covers a period between two and one-half and three million years. However, we identify the period by the extensive use of stone tools. The late upper Palaeolithic period was blatant because the rise of Homo sapiens began roughly around 40,000 years ago and lasted till 8,000 BCE, through the Pleistocene ice age.
The ever-developing potential of Homo sapiens to create tools and weapons in this period was noticeable. This period symbolises the very first achievements of Homo sapiens in human creativity, foregoing the invention of writing. There were two kinds of art, although they were limited in scope.
What is the Old Stone Age?
The Old Stone Age or prehistoric cultural stage is the period that corresponds to the revelation of the oldest known stone tools, creation and use of stone tools. We usually divide the Stone Age into three phases: the Palaeolithic Period, the Mesolithic Period, and the Neolithic Period.
The basis of this categorisation is the degree of sophistication in constructing and utilising tools. A tool is simply an object that makes human life easier. Humans in the old stone age made their tools from stones.
Palaeolithic comes from the Greek words palios (old) and lithos (stone). Humans met their three basic needs of humans, such as food, clothing, and shelter, by using the first stone tools.
Art of Old Stone Age
The utilisation of basic stone tools and stone art indicates the old stone age art. Humans began to create durable products. By sharpening the ends of sticks, they formed spears and later by fixing a sharp stone spear tip to wood for animal sinew.
Small sculptures and large paintings and engraving on the walls of cave art were the two primary forms of diagnostic art of that era. The theme of the art during this period consists of food or fertility.
The two kinds of art of the Palaeolithic period are as below.
Portable:
Portable art is also called art Mobilier in French or “mobiliary”. During the Upper Palaeolithic period (40,000 – 20,000 years ago), it consisted of figurines or carved objects that one could move around.
Figurative art commonly depicted something identifiable, either an animal or human in form. “Venus” is the collective name for these figurines as it is of distinctive females of a childbearing build.
The portable art in Africa is around 100,000 years older than anything in Europe and is the oldest instance of portable art.
Stationary:
Stationary art is the form of art that does not move. The cave paintings in western Europe, which originated during the Palaeolithic era, are the best examples existing.
People usually manufacture paints by combining a mixture of minerals, ochres, and charcoal into the medium of blood, water, animal fats, and tree saps.
Specialists hypothesise that these paintings serve ceremonial or magical purposes due to their location far from the mouths of the caves.
Rather than realistic, cave paintings carry many elements which are symbolic or far more non-figurative. The portrayal of real animals is the clear exception here. On the other hand, humans are either wholly missing or stock figures.
Comparison between Old Stone Age, Middle Stone Age, and New Stone Age
The basic difference between the three different periods is as follows:
The Old Stone Age | The Middle Stone Age | The New Stone Age |
Stones used in this era were already present in nature. It provided a cutting edge for hunting by humans. | Humans started to sharpen stones for hunting. | The group of hunters learned about agriculture at this age. |
People used fire in the old stone age by rubbing stones together and roasting meat. | The people of the middle stone age began to settle in one place, but they remained as hunters and gatherers of meat, fish, fruits, etc. | The people of the new stone age utilise stone mortars and pestles to grind cereals and grains. |
People refer to the Old Stone Age as the Palaeolithic period. | The Middle stone age is also called the Mesolithic period. | The New stone age is also referred to as the Neolithic period by people. |
Conclusion
When prehistoric humans made and used tools of stones was the period of the Old Stone Age. Over time, Homo sapiens rose to prominence. This period also saw the creation of art. There are two kinds of art, namely portable and stationary.
The typical subjects of the art were animals, plants and their fellow humans. With increasing time, art became vast and small statues of stone, ivory, etc., began to be manufactured.
People not only made tools but also started to dance, create art, and compose music in that period. People did not live in cages by the end of the Stone Age and built civilisation worldwide in the lights.
