the palaeolithic began when hominids (early humans) started to use stones as tools for bashing, cutting, and scraping. all members of the genus "homo" made stone tools, starting with relatively crude tools made by "homo habilis" and "homo erectus". in europe, the large-brained neanderthal man ("homo neanderthalensis") made tools of high quality. our own species, "homo sapiens", made even higher-quality tools. these tools are the first cultural products which have survived to modern times.