The first humans evolved in Africa during the Paleolithic Era, or Stone Age, which spans the period of history from 2.5 million to about 10 000 BCE. During this time, humans lived in small groups as hunter-gatherers, with clear gender divisions for labor. The men hunted animals while the women gathered food, such as fruit, nuts and berries, from the local area. Simple tools made of stone, wood and bone, such as hand axes, flints and spearheads, were used throughout the period. Fire was controlled, which created heat and light, and allowed for cooking. 

Humankind gradually evolved from early members of the genus Homo such as Homo habilis – who used simple stone tools – into fully behaviourally and anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) during the Paleolithic era. During the end of the Paleolithic, specifically the Middle and or Upper Paleolithic, humans began to produce the earliest works of art and engage in religious and spiritual behaviour such as burial and ritual.

Paleolithic humans were nomads, who often moved their settlements as food became scarce; this eventually resulted in humans spreading out from Africa (beginning roughly 60 000 years ago) and into Eurasia, Southeast Asia and Australia. By about 40 000 years ago, they had entered Europe, and by about 15 000 years ago, they had reached North America, and then South America. 

image source Manlaw Mondays https://manlawmondays.files.wordpress.com

text source: Boundless. “The Neolithic Revolution.” Boundless World History I: Ancient Civilizations-Enlightenment.