The Paleolithic It is the longest period of the existence of the human being (in fact it covers 99% of it) and extends from about 2.59 million years ago (in Africa) until about 12 000 years ago. It is, together with the Mesolithic / Epipaleolithic (transition phases) and the Neolithic, the so-called Stone Age, named because the elaboration of lithic tools has served archaeologists to characterize it (as opposed to the later Metal Age).
Mesolithic is the term used to summarize the period of prehistory that serves as a transition between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The Mesolithic would begin with the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, about 12,000 years ago, and end with the appearance of the modes of life producers, whose chronology varies greatly from one region to another and from one continent to another: while in the Middle East the neolithization emerged over 9000 BC. C., to Scandinavia and certain areas of Atlantic Europe did not reach until 4000 a. C.
The Neolithic is the last of the periods in which the Stone Age is considered divided. Agriculture and livestock began to be practiced in different places on the planet independently and on different dates. The first region where there is evidence of the transition of some hunter-gatherer societies to others of producers was the Middle East, around 8500 BC. C., from where it spread to Europe, Egypt, the Middle East and, perhaps, South Asia. Very shortly after, the production processes developed completely independently in northern China in the valleys of the Yellow River and the Yangtze (7500 BC). In New Guinea there was also an early development independent of horticulture, as some evidence suggests that it was around 7500 BC. C., although this date is still insecure. In Africa, the first regions where the Neolithic transformations occurred were the Sahara, Sahel and Ethiopia, although there is a divergence of opinions: some authors believe that there could have been some kind of influence from Asia and others consider that the development was independent since they were domesticated local plant species.
