The Lower Paleolithic is the earliest and longest part of the Old Stone Age, beginning with the first stone tools in Africa about 3.3 million years ago and lasting until roughly 300,000 years ago. It covers the time of early human relatives such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus, who spread from Africa to Asia and Europe. The first tools were simple choppers and flakes, called Oldowan, and later came the more carefully shaped hand axes of the Acheulean tradition. Toward the end of this period, humans learned to control fire and began to hunt larger animals cooperatively. It was followed by the Middle Paleolithic.
Before and after
- about 34 million years agoAntarctica freezes over
- about 33.9 million years agoEocene–Oligocene extinction event
- about 7 million years agoSahelanthropus, one of the earliest hominins
- from about 3.3 million years ago to 15,000 years agoPaleolithic
- from about 3.3 million years ago to 302,000 years agoLower Paleolithic
- about 2.7 million years agoGreat American Interchange
- about 2.6 million years agoOldowan
- from about 1.76 million years ago to 150,000 years agoAcheulean
- from about 315,000 years ago to 33,000 years agoMousterian
More in Evolution & life
- about 66 million years agoCretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction
- from about 302,000 years ago to 32,000 years agoMiddle Paleolithic
- from 3rd millennium BCE to 2nd millenniumMaya civilization
- from 13th century BCE to 6th centuryAncient Greece
- from 1200 to 1523Aztec
- 24 November 1974Discovery of Lucy
The era
This moment belongs to the Cenozoic (66 million years ago to 300,000 years ago), the rise of mammals and the ice ages.