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Paleolithic

Syllabification: (Pa·le·o·lith·ic)

Definition of Paleolithic

adjective

Archaeology

of, relating to, or denoting the early phase of the Stone Age, lasting about 2.5 million years, when primitive stone implements were used.
(as noun the Paleolithic) the Paleolithic period. Also called Old Stone Age.

The Paleolithic period extends from the first appearance of artifacts to the end of the last ice age (about 8,500 years ago). The period has been divided into the Lower Paleolithic, with the earliest forms of humankind and the emergence of hand-ax industries (ending about 120,000 years ago), the Middle Paleolithic, the era of Neanderthal humans (ending about 35,000 years ago), and the Upper Paleolithic, during which only modern Homo sapiens is known to have existed

Origin:

mid 19th century: from paleo- 'of prehistoric times' + Greek lithos 'stone' + -ic

Paleolithic in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of Paleolithic in the British & World English dictionary

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