The earlier part of the Stone Age, when primitive stone implements were used; a period, which extends from the first appearance of artefacts, some 2.5 million years ago, to the end of the last ice age c.10,000 bc. It has been divided into the Lower Palaeolithic, with the earliest forms of mankind and the presence of hand-axe industries, ending c.80,000 bc, the Middle Palaeolithic (or Mousterian), the era of Neanderthal man, ending c.33,000 bc, and the Upper Palaeolithic, which saw the development of Homo sapiens from c.50,000 years ago. Palaeolithic cultures include Acheulian, a culture characterized by handaxes, named after St Acheul near Amiens, France, but widely distributed across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. The handaxes were general-purpose stone tools produced from a cobble or large flake by trimming it to an oval or pear-shaped form. They lacked a handle but were nonetheless efficient slicing tools. They first appeared in Africa around 1.5 million years ago and continued to be made with little modification to the basic shape until 150,000 years ago. Sites with Acheulian tools have provided the earliest certain evidence of the control and use of fire by humans. The Lower Palaeolithic industries represented by the flint implements found at Clacton in Essex, south-east England, dated c.250,000–200,000 bc are known as Clactonian. The Palaeolithic industry of North Africa and southern Europe (c.8000–4500 bc) is noted for its microliths and called Capsian culture, taking its name from the town of Gafsa in Tunisia.

Mousterian culture is associated with Neanderthals in Europe. Tools of this type were named after the Neanderthal cave site of Le Moustier in the Dordogne, France, but have since been found throughout Europe. They date from c.130,000 years ago to c.30,000 years ago, disappearing with the emergence of anatomically modern humans and the start of the Upper Palaeolithic. They are also found in North Africa and the Near East. Characteristically, Mousterian tools were made from flint. Compared with the earlier Acheulian tools, there was a much greater emphasis on flakes, which allowed a larger range of tools to be produced. Small, neat handaxes and stone and bone projectile points were among other typical Mousterian tools. The Upper Palaeolithic occupies the second half of the last glaciation, ending 10,000 years ago. During the Upper Palaeolithic the early human population increased and formed larger communities, displaying a faster rate of cultural change than in the Middle Palaeolithic. Distinctive regional groups appeared for the first time. The most developed cultures were on the steppe and tundra belts south of the ice sheets, where there were plentiful herds of horses, reindeer, and mammoths. Several cultures, distinguished by their styles of toolmaking, can be distinguished in Europe: the earliest is Aurignacian, characterized by the first blade tools and a plentiful use of bone for missile heads. This was followed by the Gravettian, stretching from France to the Ukraine, featuring small pointed stone blades with one blunt edge, small female figurines are also associated with Gravettian culture. More localized traditions, such as the Solutrian and Magdalenian, were responsible for the cave art of south-western France and northern Spain. These cultures disappeared with the onset of warmer conditions at the end of the last Ice Age and the spread of forests, which displaced the large herds of game animals. Magdalenian culture was named after the type-site at La Madeleine in the Dordogne region of France and dated to c.15,000–11,000 bc. It is characterized by a range of bone and horn tools, including elaborate bone harpoons; cave art reached a zenith during this period. The cave at Lascaux contains Palaeolithic drawings and paintings and is generally held to be the finest example of prehistoric art. It was discovered in 1940 in the Dordogne region of south-west-central France. Now closed for reasons of preservation, its artwork is reproduced in caves nearby (Lascaux II).