Stone Age

American  

noun

1. the period in the history of humankind, preceding the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, and marked by the use of stone implements and weapons: subdivided into the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods.

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Stone Age British  

noun

1. a period in human culture identified by the use of stone implements and usually divided into the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic stages

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

   stone-age man

Stone Age Scientific  

1. The earliest known period of human culture, marked by the use of stone tools.

2. See Mesolithic Neolithic Paleolithic See Note at Three Age system

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Stone Age Cultural  

1. A period encompassing all of human history, perhaps several million years, before the Bronze Age. In the Stone Age, people learned to make and use stone tools and weapons.

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Etymology

Origin of Stone Age

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Across the country, their fighters have joined private looters in stripping museums of valuable artifacts chronicling the country’s history from the Stone Age to the rise of Islam.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

He observes that “geology is the beginning of technology,” which explains our use of phrases such as the Stone Age and the Bronze Age and, in the future, he believes, our current Sand Age.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Nick Oliveri, ex-Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age bassist who is now playing in multiple bands, including the Dwarves and Bl’ast, is perhaps the most surprising addition.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026

Scientists have detected traces of plant-based poison on Stone Age arrowheads from South Africa, marking the oldest confirmed use of arrow poison ever identified.

From Science Daily • Feb. 12, 2026

In a letter to a friend he wrote, 1 began my adult life with the hypothesis that it would be possible to become a Stone Age native.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer