Stone Age

The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period during which humans widely used stone for toolmaking. Stone tools were made from a variety of different sorts of stone. For example, flint and chert were shaped (or chipped) for use as cutting tools and weapons, while basalt and sandstone were used for ground stone tools, such as quern-stones. Wood, bone, shell, antler (deer) and other materials were widely used, as well. During the most recent part of the period, sediments (like clay) were used to make pottery. A series of metal technology innovations characterize the later Chalcolithic (Copper Age), Bronze Age and Iron Age.
The period from 2.9 million years ago  encompasses the first use of stone tools in Gona, Ethiopia and its spread and widespread use elsewhere soon thereafter. It ends with the development of agriculture, the domestication of certain animals, and the smelting of copper ore to produce metal. It is termed prehistoric since humanity had not yet started writing—the traditional start of history