Lower Palaeolithic

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

The Lower Palaeolithic refers to the earliest period of human existence from around 4 million years ago when the first hominids appear in the archaeological record to around 120,000 years ago when important evolutionary and technological changes ushered in the Middle Palaeolithic.

The earliest hominids, known as australopithecines personified by the famous find of Lucy in Ethiopia were not advanced tool users and were likely to have been common prey for larger animals. Sometime before 3,000,000 years ago the first fossils that can be called Homo appear in the archaeological record. They may have evolved from the australopithecines or come from another genetic branch of the primates

Homo erectus remains, such as those from at Olduvai Gorge, are much more recognisable as humans. They spread out from Africa into Europe and Asia and may have constructed shelters to act as temporary settlements. Stone tool use was developed by these people around 2.5 million years ago before they were replaced by homo habilis about 1.5 million years ago. Homo habilis used Acheulian tools and had learnt to control fire to support the hunter gatherer method of subsistence.