This time period is part of the Pleistocene epoch.

Pleistocene       Paleolithic             Lower Paleolithic             Upper Paleolithic

Holocene       Mesolithic or Epipaleolithic       Neolithic

The Paleolithic (or Palaeolithic in Queen's English) - lit. old stone - period is the oldest part of the stone age, dating from the first use of stone tools by hominids (maybe 2,000,000 years ago) to the end of the Pleistocene epoch. Subdivisions of the Paleolithic include Lower Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic.

The Paleolithic is followed by the Mesolithic period in most of Europe. In regions such as the Middle East and Anatolia with a very early neolithisation, the Epipaleolithic is followed by the aceramic Neolithic (PPN) and the pottery Neolithic.

Notable paleolithic sites and cultures include:

• Altamira
• Baile Herculane, Romania
• Lascaux - cave paintings
• Natufian culture
• Olduvai Gorge