Palaeolithic

British  

/ ˌpælɪəʊˈlɪθɪk /

noun

1. the period of the emergence of primitive man and the manufacture of unpolished chipped stone tools, about 2.5 million to 3 million years ago until about 12 000 _bc . See also Lower Palaeolithic Middle Palaeolithic Upper Palaeolithic

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adjective

1. (sometimes not capital) of or relating to this period

Example Sentences

One of the central questions guiding the research is how Neanderthals and Homo sapiens interacted during the mid-Middle Palaeolithic in this region.

From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026

During Palaeolithic times it contained a shallow lake.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 2, 2023

Plant residues found on grinding or pounding tools from the European later Palaeolithic period suggest early modern humans crushed and roasted wild grass seeds.

From Salon • Dec. 5, 2022

The Palaeolithic artwork, it says, must have been made by Neanderthals, a "sister" species to Homo sapiens, as they were Europe's sole human inhabitants at the time.

From BBC • Aug. 3, 2021

The famous rock paintings in Chauvet, France, made by cave- dwelling people of the Upper Palaeolithic period, or European Ice Age, are 32,000 years old.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall