The Lower Paleolithic period, or the Early Stone Age, is believed to have lasted from about 3 million years BC to 300.000 years BC. It is the first archaeological period in prehistory when the first evidence of human behaviors have been found, including stone tool making and the human use and control of fire. It spans the Oldowan and Acheuleari lithics industries. The Lower Paleolithic is followed by the Middle Paleolithic. The Lower Paleolithic is spreaded over two ages: Gelasian and Galabrian. (See: Quarternary Period).

The beginning of the period is marked by the earliest known stone tool manufacture. The dates can change as new evidence for tool making behavior can be found. The currently (2021) stone tool tradition is the Oldowan tradition. They date from about 3 million years BC to 1,5 million years BC. The Oldowan was a method of stone chopping where one or a few flakes chipped of a stone. These were very simple tools

The Lower Paleolithic was based on the consumption of scavenged or hunted large-sized and medium-sized mammals. It is believed that the human beings known as Homo erectus left Africa and traveled to Eurasia along the Levantine belt. Early discoveries dated about 1,7 million years BC.

The Acheulian method is associated with the Homo erectus. The stone becomes a distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand-axe". This stone tool tradition was established around 1,4 million years BC in sub-Saharan Africa. The toolkit is dominated by stone flakes, but includes the first bifacially worked tools. They were made by working both sides of a cobble.

The end of this period is debated. It varies from place to place. We chose 300.000 BC when the production of blades began, systematic hunting and butchering techniques, and meat-sharing habits. But mostly because it is the time that Homo sapiens first appeared.