Stone Age Cultures — Key Changes

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
Technological Shift: Core to Flake Tools	c. 100,000 BCE	Transition from large, bifacial core tools (hand-axes, cleavers) of the Lower Paleolithic to smaller, lighter tools made primarily from flakes, often using the Levallois technique. This marked the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic.	Enabled the creation of more specialized tools (scrapers, borers, points), indicating improved hunting and processing capabilities, and greater adaptability to diverse environments.
Innovation: Microlithic Technology	c. 10,000 BCE	Development of tiny, geometrically shaped stone tools (microliths) that were often hafted onto bone or wood to form composite tools like arrows, sickles, and spearheads. This defines the Mesolithic period.	Revolutionized hunting efficiency, allowed for the exploitation of smaller game and diverse food resources (broad-spectrum foraging), and facilitated more efficient processing of plant materials.
Societal Transformation: Agricultural Revolution	c. 7,000 BCE (Mehrgarh)	The shift from a nomadic hunter-gatherer existence to settled agricultural life, involving the cultivation of crops (wheat, barley, rice) and the domestication of animals (cattle, sheep, goat). This is the defining feature of the Neolithic period.	Led to food surplus, population growth, permanent villages, development of pottery and weaving, social stratification, and laid the foundation for urban civilizations, fundamentally altering human society.