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The Palaeolithic Era is divided broadly into three divisions; the Upper, Middle and Lower. From about 2,000,000 years ago until the closing stages of the last ice age in around 13,000 BC, chipped (or ‘knapped’) stone tools were first used and a hunting-and-gathering lifestyle was normal. Near the latter part of the Palaeolithic, specialized implements such as needles and harpoons were developed. This was the era of Cro-Magnon man in France, and the time of cave paintings such as those at Lasceaux. The earliest tools are very rare finds in Britain. Precise dating is very difficult in this period due to the numerous glaciations that periodically made most of Britain uninhabitable to all animal life, and the consequent disruption to stratification. A recent discovery at Boxgrove, Sussex, showed that early man, Homo Heidelbergensis, had come to Britain about 550,000 years ago. It is possible that these tools were left by this type of man and, if so, he was a tall and robust man, having teeth 50% longer than today’s human beings. It is thought that he perhaps used his teeth as a third hand, to tear meat and to grip objects. His handaxe was used as a multi-purpose implement.
