Stone Age

The Stone Age is the first major chunk in Hejelnik's history which saw both modern races and their ancestors interact with and shape the environment around them for the first time. It was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make implements with an edge, a point or a percussion surface. It's end was signalled by the advent of bronze metalworking. It is split into three sub-periods: the Early Stone Age, the Middle Stone Age and the Late Stone Age that each corresponded with different societal advancements. Most races lived a hunter gatherer lifestyle until the Late Stone Age when a mass extinction of mega fauna forced many species into a more pastoral and settled existence. One of the main sources of information later historians have about this early period are rock paintings that could have served a spiritual as well as artistic purpose.

Tools
Very primitive tools were used by modern races as well as their predecessor species. Bone tools have also been discovered dating back to this period but are rarely preserved in the archaeological record. Tin's low melting point and copper's relatively moderate melting point placed them within the capabilities of the New Stone Age Period pottery kilns. However, copper-tin ores are rare as reflected in the fact that there were no tin bronzes before trading in bronze began at the end of the period.

Stone tools were made from a variety of stones. For example, flint and chert were shaped (or chipped) for use as cutting tools and weapons, while basalt and sandstone were used for ground stone tools, such as quern-stones. Wood, bone, shell, antler and other materials were widely used as well. During the most recent part of the period sediments (such as clay) were used to make pottery. Agriculture was developed and certain animals were domesticated as well.

Diet
Food sources of early hunter-gatherers were wild plants and animals harvested from the environment. Animal organ meats were often eaten including the livers, kidneys and brains. Large seeded legumes were part of their diet long before the agricultural revolution as is evident from archaeobotanical finds in different caves. Moreover, recent evidence indicates that wild cereal grains were processed and consumed as far back as -19,000 TF.

-11,000 TF to -5,000 TF, a mass extinction of Megafauna occurred. It possibly forced modification in the dietary habits of that age and with the emergence of agricultural practices, plant-based foods also became a regular part of the diet. A number of factors have been suggested for the extinction: over-hunting, deforestation and climate change in particular. The net effect was to fragment the vast ranges required by the large animals and extinguish them piecemeal in each fragment.

Shelter and Habitat
Several habitats dating back to the Stone Age have been discovered around the globe, including tent like structures, structures with timber supported roofs, huts made of animal bone and animal hide tents.

Art
Prehistoric art is visible in the artefacts. Prehistoric music is inferred from found instruments, while parietal art can be found on rocks of any kind. The latter are petroglyphs and rock paintings. The art may or may not have had a religious function.

In the Old Stone Age, mostly animals were painted - in theory ones that were used as food or represented strength. Signs such as dots were sometimes drawn. Rare representations include hand prints and hybrid figures. The meaning of many of these paintings remains unknown. They may have been used for seasonal rituals. The animals are accompanied by signs that suggest a possible magic use. Arrow-like symbols are sometimes interpreted as calendar or almanac use but the evidence remains interpretative.

However some scenes of the Middle Stone Age can be typed and therefore judging from their various modifications are fairly clear. Some figures often wear head-dresses and knee ornaments but otherwise fight nude. Some scenes depict the dead and wounded, bristling with arrows.

Petroglyphs appeared in the New Stone Age Period. A Petroglyph is an intaglio abstract or symbolic image engraved on natural stone by various methods, usually by prehistoric races. They were a dominant form of pre-writing symbols. Petroglyphs have been discovered all over the world.

Rituals and Beliefs
Modern studies and the in-depth analysis of finds dating from the Stone Age indicate certain rituals and beliefs of the prehistoric races. It is now believed that activities of the Stone Age races went beyond the immediate requirements of procuring food, body coverings, and shelters. Specific rites relating to death and burial were practised though certainly differing in style and execution between cultures. Megalithic tombs, multi chambered and single-chambered dolmens were graves with a huge stone slab stacked over other similarly large stone slabs.

Image Credits
Image 1: https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-indian-weapons-tools/native-american-tools.htm

Image 2: http://i-cias.com/e.o/algeria.ancient.htm