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

See Examples For:

Stone Age

Their companies really are capable of creating a souped-up chatbot that could take the world back to the Stone Age.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

Science Minister Hossein Simaei Saraf slammed the move as "'Stone Age' behaviour", an apparent reference to language used by US President Donald Trump when he threatened to send Iran back to the Stone Age.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

The Venus figurines crafted in Stone Age Europe depict women with enormous bellies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The results confirmed that the bison dates to the Upper Paleolithic, the later portion of the Old Stone Age when anatomically modern humans created many of Europe's most famous cave paintings.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

This is the first craft of which we have evidence, and with it we enter a phase of human development known as the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson