This is a public domain image of a wall painting from the LSA.

THE EARLY & MIDDLE STONE AGE (~3 Ma to ~35 ka)

Predators

Cave Bears

Cave bears were the primary rivals of Neanderthals who flourished in the MSA, but both of these species were soon replaced by humans (for reasons we will discuss in Part III). In order to defeat a cave bear, Neanderthals had to band together and fight as a team or else they wouldn't survive the encounter. Because the monstrous beasts were so dangerous, their flesh and even brains were considered a delicacy among Neanderthals [2].

THE LATER STONE AGE (~35 ka)

Prey

Humans in the LSA survived by eating small animals and occasionally challenging big-game beasts. The Cro-Magnons (Homo sapiens who moved into Europe around 30,000 years ago) followed their prey in warmer months, but hunkered down in caves and shelters under cliffs in colder ones. And even though they hunted “bison, aurochs, an occasional mammoth, and especially the reindeer and the wild horse” (refer back to [2] p. 4), they probably had to live off of smaller animals like rabbits. This is because big-game animals were downright dangerous to hunt. A mammoth, for instance, was a towering beast that could put up a good fight against a group of humans with spears. This made their meat (among other big-game animals) a delicacy rather than a primary food source [3].

Improvements on Hunting Methods

The LSA was characterized by important and novel developments, including the use of more efficient weaponry for hunting, sophisticated traps, a greater reliance on agriculture, and the domestication of animals. Typically, Homo sapien men in the LSA hunted while women and children gathered fruit, grain, and edible plants. Still, some women did in fact hunt animals; although, they didn't appear to join in the big-game kills [4]. On that note, hunters – often accompanied by domesticated dogs – primarily used bows and arrows to kill their prey. Archery was a revolutionary hunting method that was developed by humans, and it made them far more efficient than the unimaginative Neanderthals (cf. Part III of this site). This wasn't the only development that gave them an advantage, however. Another popular form of finding food was through fishing with dugout canoes [5]. Given that fishing takes patience, it's evident that humans had the ability to remotely plan and delay gratification when trying to hunt. These unique abilities were also demonstrated by their use of remotely operated traps like fish weirs and kites (see the images below for more information) [6]. Again, humans advanced further in the Neolithic period (or the late LSA), during which they began to rely more heavily on agriculture for their source of food. It was then that they figured out how to domesticate livestock by gathering them into flocks and herds (refer back to [5]). These were far more systematized and reliable methods of finding food than trying to hunt wild animals.

The Lives of Women

Even though prehistoric women are commonly conceptualized as being passive gatherers who only exist to bear children, worldwide ethnographical evidence suggests that they were probably skillful engineers who developed important stone tools. As noted before, prime-age men were most often the ones who hunted big-game animals for the rest of the tribe. However, women (along with children and the elderly) also contributed in an important way. Using certain bone and antler tools, they crafted numerous perishables such as net gauges and battens for weaving. Of course, they also gathered plants and assisted in agricultural operations (refer back to [3]), but these are commonly-known facts about women in the Stone Age. What's perhaps more surprising is what we can understand about life in the Stone Age based on modern hunter-gatherer societies. Konso women in Ethiopia, for example, are the main stone toolmakers in their culture. Accordingly, heat treating, grinding, knapping, and so on are all considered "feminine" activities in Konso society [7]. And this isn't the only culture in which women make tools. As anthropologist Dr. Kathryn Weedman Arthur contended, "worldwide" ethnographic evidence "clearly illustrates that women are highly kowledgeable lithic practitioners who actively seek superior raw materials, thus dispelling myths that women are passive and careless in their selection of lithic resources" [8]. This means that we westerners cannot merely assume that LSA women had passive roles in their tribes. Instead, a wealth of data suggests that they created high quality stone tools and hunted animals. Fascinatingly, some researchers have even suggested that females were responsible for the earliest tools ever made since female primates tend to be the ones who compensate for a lack of resources by developing new technologies [9].

Hardships

At this point in your tour through this Google Site, you may have come to the realization that life in the Stone Age was incredibly difficult. In this dog-eat-dog world, one can only survive by cooperating with their own kind, conquering their foes, and consuming other living beings. Australopithicines were slaughtered by leopards, Neanderthals by cave bears, and humans by a host of big-game animals. Life in the Stone Age would be an incredibly scary existence, characterized by the constant fear of being killed by some powerful predator, or in a war with neighboring hominids, or even from Mother Nature herself as she sends blizzards and other fierce storms. Tragically, these harsh living conditions caused many to desert their own infants if they felt the children couldn't thrive [10]. I've heard that the strongest bond in the universe is between a mother and her child. If that's true, then the world of these prehistoric mothers must have been worse than we can even imagine if they felt that their child would have been better off dead. This reveals the disturbing quality of life for Stone Age hominids. Unsurprisingly, their lifespans were incredibly short as most LSA humans would only live to be 36, and it was incredbily rare to make it past 50 [11] or even 40 [12]. Not only that, but it was unlikely for children and teenagers to make it to adulthood without breaking at least one limb (refer back to [1]). These facts about life in the Stone Age are very depressing indeed. However, they should make us feel grateful for our situation today. Many have the privledge of being born in a country where they can have their needs met without risking their lives on a daily basis. This is a gift, and it shouldn't be squandered or wasted.

1. Kellehear, "A Social History of Dying," p. 21.
2. Noss and Grangaard, "A History of the World's Religions," pp. 3-4.
3. Wong, "The Caveman's New Clothes," p. 34.
4. Arthur, "Feminine Knowledge and Skill Reconsidered," p. 228.
5. Noss and Grangaard, "A History of the World's Religions," p. 7.
6. Wynn and Coolidge, "A Stone-Age Meeting of Minds," p. 49.
7. Arthur, "Feminine Knowledge and Skill Reconsidered," p. 236.
8. ibid., p. 237.
9. ibid., p. 238.
10. Kellehear, "A Social History of Dying," p. 20.
11. ibid., p. 19.
12. Bower, "Children of Prehistory," p. 265.