Chapter 1 From the Origins of Agriculture to the first Early River Valley Civilizations Before Civilization Stone Age- 2 million to 4 thousand years ago Stone age is subdivided into the Paleolithic age (old stone age to 10,000 years ago) and the Neolithic Age (New Stone Age) Stone tools are developed in the Paleolithic Age Chauvet CaveOn December 18, 1994, this cave in southern France was discovered by Jean-Marie Chauvet, a French official. It contains the oldest and best preserved prehistoric cave paintings; more than three hundred paintings were found of animals that inhabited the Stone Age world, including panthers, cave bears, and mammoths. This black-painted panel in the Chauvet Cave shows horses, rhinoceroses, and wild oxen. (Jean Clottes/Ministere de la Culture)