What is the Three Age-System of Classification for Human Prehistory?
The three-age system of classification for human prehistory is primarily used by archaeologists and paleontologists. It gives a way of classifying human prehistory all the way from the creation of the first stone tools to the beginning of reliable written records and the emergence of modern civilization in Europe with the Roman Empire, around 500 BC. The famous three ages are the Stone Age (from 2.6 million BC to roughly 3500 BC), the Bronze Age (from 3500 BC to 1200 BC or so), and the Iron Age (from 1200 BC to 500 BC – 500 AD, depending on area). In each respective age, its namesake was the primary material used for human industry and toolmaking. Evidence of human tool use can be found in fertile valleys in East Africa, where humanity originated. This was when the first part of the three-age system, the Stone Age, began. The first tools were crude stone axes, first with only one shaped face, then two. Over time, a plethora of stone tools were developed, but after that, the basic set o
