| Paleolithic | The first period of human prehistory, extending from the time of the first tools, more than 2.5 m.y.a., until the end of the Pleistocene, 10,000 years ago.
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| Neolithic | The period of time of early farmers with domesticated plants and animals, polished stone tools, permanent villages, and often pottery.
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| paleoanthropology | The branch of anthropology that combines archaeology and physical anthropology to study the biological and behavioral remains of the early hominins.
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| glacial | A cold episode of the Pleistocene; also called an ice age.
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| interglacial | A warm period of the Pleistocene.
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| glaciation | The expansion of continental glacial ice during a period of cold climate.
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| oxygen isotope ratio | The ratio of different isotopes of oxygen in ocean water, varying with the temperature of the water.
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| Milankovitch forcing | A term describing the phenomenon considered to be the prime reason for glacial fluctuations and climatic change.
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| handaxe | A large, teardrop-shaped stone tool bifacially flaked to a point at one end and a broader base at the other.
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| reduction technique | In archaeology, a manufacturing process involving the removal (as opposed to the addition) of materials from a core that becomes the finished product.
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| Acheulean | A major archaeological culture of the Lower Paleolithic, named after the site of St. Acheul in France.
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| hard-hammer technique | A percussion technique for making stone tools by striking one stone, or core, with another stone, or hammer.
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| soft-hammer technique | A flintknapping technique that involves the use of a hammer of bone, antler, or wood, rather than stone.
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| cleaver | A tool with a broad leading edge.
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| burin | A stone tool with right-angle edges used for planing and engraving.
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| Clactonian | A term used for assemblages from the Lower Paleolithic, lacking handaxes and characterized by large flakes with heavy retouching and notches.
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| sexual division of labor | The cooperative relationship between the sexes in hunter-gatherer groups involving different male and female task activity.
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