*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading The early history of Earth covers such vast stretches of time that years, centuries, and even millennia become virtually meaningless. Instead, paleontologists and scientists who study geochronology divide time into periods and eras. The current view of science is that Earth is around 4.6 billion years old, but despite all of the scientific advances made in the past few centuries, including an enhanced understanding of Earth's geological past, relatively little is known about the planet's early history. In a modern study of prehistoric man, the twenty-first century mind may struggle with the vast timeline of what we call the Stone Age. Most authorities set the pre-human and human occupation of the planet at three to four million years in the past. From our perch in today's technological age with its relatively quiet climate, charting the journey of ancient humans to preeminence among Earth's life forms is an unsettling effort. Should one pursue a history of the physical planet, the inquiry will track the agitated natural forces that brought pre-humans onto the evolutionary stage. Of the many hominids fighting for life in an ongoing state of planetary upheaval, all but one fell to extinction. The species that survives today has crossed paths with fallen ancestors who lent us elements of their genetic code. As one generation stands on the shoulders of those who came before, so it has been with human evolution, if a flawed species is fortunate enough to survive the process. As the fossil record expands, dating the early human is conducted within a constant state of flux. Thus, the most common period names for phases of early history must do the same. A linear chronology of human development defies possibility as tribal relevance moves out and back in all directions. Each genetic path requires a return to separate points of origin, and the primary archaeological sites must disentangle disparate genetic biographies taken from the same soil or sediment. A generally accepted figure for the larger Stone Age featuring the first use of stone tools begins at 3.4 million years in the early Paleolithic Age. In a brief interim period of two thousand years following the end of the most recent Ice Age, the Mesolithic period serves as a transition to the Neolithic running from 8700 to 2000 BCE. More conservative estimates place the span of the Stone Age at 2.5 million years, ending around 3000 BCE. Modern dating systems are intended to provide approximate conclusions within large epochs, not pinpoint calendar dates, and shifts of opinion are ongoing. Grouped together, the Stone Age phases for the tripartite Stone Age are drawn from the Greek words Palaios (old) and Lithos (stone). The proliferation of sub-categorizations was designed as a method for studying early humans within a more organized set of chronologies. Before such terms came into use in the eighteenth century, the best available tracing of early man came from the Greek poet Hesiod. His categorization of prehistory followed a scheme through the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Heroic Age, and Iron Age. Such an arrangement is by all appearances more of a reflection of and salute to human mythology gathered by the threads of emerging and past cultures. Something more scientific was required for scholars of the Enlightenment. The solution was provided by Christian J. Thomsen, a Danish antiquarian who relied on a three-part system of identification. In the larger picture of earth's pre-history, his sequence of Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages gained consensus. The Stone Age's separation into Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic brought about a clearer dividing line for epochs where humans began to work with metal.

THE subject primarily treated of in the following pages is the man of that new hemisphere which was revealed to Europe in 1492. There through all historic centuries he had lived apart, absolutely uninfluenced by any reflex of the civilisation of the Ancient World; and yet, as it appears, pursuing a course in many respects strikingly analogous to that by means of which the civilisation of Europe originated. The recognition of this is not only of value as an aid to the realisation of the necessary conditions through which man passed in reaching the stage at which he is found at the dawn of history; but it seems to point to the significant conclusion that civilisation is the development of capacities inherent in man. The term used in the title was first employed, in 1851, in my Prehistoric Annals of Scotland, where evidence was adduced in proof of man’s presence in Britain “long anterior to the earliest indications of the Aryan nations passing into Europe.” It was purposely coined to express the whole period disclosed to us by means of archæological evidence, as distinguished from what is known through written records; and in this sense the term was speedily adopted by the Archæologists of Europe. But the subject thus defined is a comprehensive one; and in its rapid growth, distinctive subdivisions have been introduced which tend to narrow the application of the term. Nevertheless it is still a legitimate definition of man, wherever his history is recoverable solely by means of primitive arts. The first edition of Prehistoric Man, published in 1862, was followed in 1865 by another, carefully revised in accordance with later disclosures. Since then I have availed myself of further opportunities for study and research in reference both to existing races, and to the arts and monumental remains of extinct nations of the New World. Within the same period important additions have been contributed to our knowledge not only of the arts, but of the physical characteristics of primeval man in Europe. In the present edition, accordingly, much of the original work has been rewritten. Several chapters have been replaced by new matter. Others have been condensed, or recast, with considerable modifications and a new arrangement of the whole.

Recent archaeological discoveries from China and central Asia have changed our understanding of how human civilization developed in the period of some 4 million years before the start of written history. In this new edition of his Very Short Introduction, Chris Gosden explores the current theories on the ebb and flow of human cultural variety.

Excerpt from An Introduction to the Study of Prehistoric Art As the adequate presentation of a subject like that dealt with in this work largely depends on the extent to which it is illustrated, an effort has been made to illustrate it as fully and variously as the limitations under which it is published would permit. The sources from which the illustrations have been drawn are acknowledged in the List of Illustrations and the text. I desire, however, here more formally to express my thanks to the Hon. J. Abercromby, M. Boule and the Institut de Paleontologie Humaine, Mr. G. Coffey and the Royal Irish Academy and Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Dr. R. Munro, Mr. G. Penrose, and M. D. Peyrony: to the Societe d'Anthropologie de Paris, the Society of Antiquaries, the Royal Archæological Institute, the Somerset Archæological Society, the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies, and the British Museum. Illustration of the Palæolithic section has been facilitated by M. S. Reinach kindly consenting to my drawing considerably from his Répertoire de l Art Quaternaire, and by M. J. Dechelette's publishers supplying cliches from his invaluable Manuel d Archéologic. My indebtedness to L'Anthropologie, in which so much on Palæolithic Art has first appeared, goes without saying. Throughout I have given references in notes to enable the reader, if he so desire, to find the original and further illustrations, and the student to follow up in the original sources any subject in which he may be interested. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Prehistoric life is the archive of evolution preserved in the fossil record. This book focuses on the meaning and significance of that archive and is designed for introductory college science students, including non-science majors, enrolled in survey courses emphasizing paleontology, geology and biology. From the origins of animals to the evolution of rap music, from ancient mass extinctions to the current biodiversity crisis, and from the Snowball Earth to present day climate change this book covers it, with an eye towards showing how past life on Earth puts the modern world into its proper context. The history of life and the patterns and processes of evolution are especially emphasized, as are the interconnections between our planet, its climate system, and its varied life forms. The book does not just describe the history of life, but uses actual examples from life’s history to illustrate important concepts and theories.

First published in 1998. Did prehistoric humans walk to North America from Siberia? Who were the inhabitants of the spectacular Anasazi cliff dwellings in the Southwest and why did they disappear? Native Americans used acorns as a major food source, but how did they get rid of the tannic acid which is toxic to humans? How does radiocarbon dating work and how accurate is it? Written for the informed lay person, college-level student, and professional, Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia is an important resource for the study of the earliest North Americans; including facts, theories, descriptions, and speculations on the ancient nomads and hunter-gathers that populated continental North America.