Stone Age Art

The Paleolithic period, or Old Stone Age, was the longest phase of human history. Its most outstanding feature was the development of the human species– Homo sapiens. Paleolithic peoples were generally nomadic hunters and gatherers who sheltered in caves, used fire, and fashioned stone tools. Their cultures are identified by distinctive stone-tool industries. By the Upper Paleolithic there is evidence of communal hunting, constructed shelters, and belief systems centering on magic and the supernatural. Rock carving and paintings reached their peak in the Magdalenian culture of Cro-Magnon man.