PREHISTORY
The long silence before the written word. 99% of human history occurred here, in the firelight.
The Stone Age
Paleolithic (Old Stone)
Hunter-gatherers. Discovery of fire. Cave art. The longest period of human development.
Mesolithic (Middle Stone)
Retreat of glaciers. Microliths (small stone tools). Transition towards settling.
Neolithic (New Stone)
The Agricultural Revolution. Domestication of plants and animals. Pottery. Permanent settlements.
The Cognitive Revolution
Around 70,000 years ago, *Homo sapiens* developed the ability to communicate about things that do not exist in the physical world (myths, gods, money). This "Fictive Language" allowed large groups of strangers to cooperate.
Evolutionary Path
4 - 2 MYAAustralopithecus
The 'Southern Ape'. Walked upright but retained ape-like features. Used unmodified stones.
Control of Fire
Controlled fire (~1 MYA) provided warmth, protection, and cooked food. Cooking broke down proteins, making digestion easier and allowing the human gut to shrink while the brain grew.