The term “Stone Age” was coined in the late 19th century CE by the Danish scholar Christian J. Thomsen. Who came up with a framework for the study of the past humans. Which is known as the “Three Age System”.
This system of this framework is basis on technological –
It revolves around the notion of three successive periods or ages –
01) Stone Age,
02) Bronze Age,
03) Iron Age,
Each age being technologically more complex than the one before it. Discuss in details so stay with the blog and share it to those who are keen to know.
CJ Thomsen is recognize as the creator of the “3 Age study system”. Let us know little about the CJ Thomsen. His full name is Christian Jürgensen Thomsen. He was a Danish archaeologist and museum curator. He became the first museum curator in the year 1819. He pioneered the ethnographic museum. His work contributed to increased popular interest in museum exhibitions. His most significant contributions came as a result of his work at the National Museum of Denmark, where he recognized the need for a clear standard for organizing a large collection of artefacts. He proposed a chronological classification of prehistoric artifacts with the innovative notion of progress in technology rather than concurrent development. His system was based on the nature of the tools discovered, such as stone, bronze and iron. He proposed a “tripartite classification system” of development from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age and then to the Iron Age. And today this system has been adopted by many museums.
Thomsen came up with the idea of “Three Age System” come in his mind after noticing that the artefacts found during excavation were in different elements and nature and it is difficult to categorize the artefacts in chronological order for study and display purposes. But it is necessary to display the artefacts found in archaeological sites regularity for study and reporting or chronological display purpose for the museum in terms of the material that they were made with.
During excavation he found that the tools made of stone were always found in the deepest layers of the earth crush and the bronze artefacts were found in layers which were always found on the top of the deepest layer. and finally the artefacts made of iron were always found on the closest layer to the surface. By this chronology of the placement of elements, he came on the conclusion that metal technology must have developed later than stone-made tools.
CJ Thomson has come out with the “3 Age Syetem” to study well. But this “Three Age System” has also received some criticism. There are scholars who believe that this approach is too technologically oriented. But some scholars say that this stone age – bronze age and iron age pattern has hardly any meaning when applied outside Europe. Despite critics, this system is still widely used today, although it does have some limitations. But this three age system can be considered as a simplified framework for study and remember.
Some experts believe that the use of stone tools may have developed even before the Stone Age. Our ancestors, who may have looked somewhat like apes, may also have used stone tools to obtain food.
Tools made of stones and other artifacts found during the excavation tell anthropologists a lot about early humans about how they live, how they made things and how human behavior evolved over time.
The timeline of stone ages are further in 3 categories.
The researchers believe that the Stone Age began about 2.6 million years ago. When the researchers found the earliest evidence of humans using stone tools which lasted until about 3,300 B.C. when the Bronze Age began. It is typically broken into three distinct periods –
The Paleolithic Period,
The Mesolithic Period,
The Neolithic Period.
Some of the fascinating facts of Stone Age –
01) The people are believed to have belonged to the ‘Negrito’ race, and lived in the open air, river valleys, caves and rock shelters.
02) The Palaeolithic age is further divided into three phases
a) Lower Palaeolithic Age ( period up to 100,000 BC)
b) Middle Palaeolithic Age (period from 100,000 BC to 40,000 BC)
c) Upper Palaeolithic Age (period from 40,000 BC to 10,000 BC)
03) In the Mesolithic Era the people lived on hunting, fishing and food gathering initially. But later on they also domesticated animals and cultivated plants, thereby paving the way for agriculture.
04 During the Neolithic period of the Stone Age, the mysterious monument of Stonehenge was built.
The people Neolithic Age used microlithic blades in addition to tools made of polished stones. The use of celts was especially important for ground and polished hand axes. They also used tools and weapons made of bones, such as needles, scrapers, borers, arrowheads, etc.
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All the best for the brightest future.