Prehistory

Main article: Prehistoric Europe
Lower PaleolithicFossilized remains of Homo georgicus, Homo ergaster and Homo erectus between 1.8 and 1.0 million years old have been found in Europe (Georgia (Dmanisi), Spain), Indonesia (e.g., Sangiran and Trinil), Vietnam, and China (e.g., Shaanxi). (see also:Multiregional hypothesis). The first remains are of Olduwan culture, later of Acheulean and Clactonian culture. Finds of later fossils, such as Homo cepranensis, are local in nature, so the extent of human residence in Eurasia during 1,000,000 - 300,000 bp remains a mystery.

Middle PaleolithicGeologic temperature records indicate two intense ice ages dated around 650000 ybp and 450000 ybp, these would have presented any humans outside tropics unprecedented difficulties. Indeed, fossils from this period are very few, and little can be said of human habitats in Eurasia during this period. The few finds are of Homo antecessor and Homo heidelbergensis. Lantian Man in China.

Homo neanderthalensis, with his Mousterian technology emerged, in areas from Europe to western Asia, after this and continued to be the dominant group of humans in Europe and Middle East up until 70000-40000 ybp. Peking man has also been dated to this period. During Eemian Stage humans probably (see f.e. Wolf Cave) spread where ever their technology and skills allowed, Sahara dried up forming a difficult area for peoples to cross.

The birth of first modern humans (Homo sapiens idaltu) has been dated to be between 200000-130000 BP (see:Mitochondrial Eve, Single-origin hypothesis), to the coldest phase of Riss glaciation. Remains of Aterian culture appear on the archaeological evidence.

Population bottleneckIn the beginning of the last ice age a supervolcano erupted in Indonesia sometime between 75000 - 70000 BP. Theory states the effects of the eruption caused global climatic changes for many years, effectively obliterating most of the earlier cultures. Y-chromosomal Adam (90000 - 60000 BP) has been dated here. Neanderthals survived this abrupt change in the environment, so it's possible for other human groups too. According to the theory humans survived in Africa, and began to resettle areas north, as the effects of the eruption slowly vanished. Upper Paleolithic revolution began after this extreme event, the earliest finds are dated c.50000 BCE.

A divergence in genetical evidence occurs during the early phase of the glaciation. Descendants of female haplogroups M, N and male CT are the ones found among Eurasian peoples today.

Upper Paleolithic, the dispersal of modern humans
Humans populated all of ice-free Europe during the Upper PaleolithicWhile it has been estimated (by molecular clock) that modern humans migrated to Eurasia during the early phases of the last glaciation, the findings are very few. Most remains are of neanderthals. It has been suggested that the earliest migrations (through Middle East (Cro magnon in Levant c. 60000 BC)) have happened along coasts of southern Asia. Neanderthal interaction with Cro-Magnons remains a vigorous topic of discussion. Eurasian Upper Paleolithic is traditionally dated to start with the earliest finds (circa 45000 BC) of more developed stone tools gradually replacing the Mousterian (Neanderthal) culture as seen f.e. in Santimamiñe. Asian finds are few. They've been tributed to Ordos culture. Cultural periods in the ice age include Châtelperronian culture, Aurignacian culture, Gravettian culture, Solutrean culture and Magdalenian culture.

See also: Pre-history of the Southern Levant
Migrations
A model of human migration on the globe, based on mitochondrial genetics.Tracing back minute differences in the genomes of modern humans by methods of genetic genealogy, can and have been used to produce models of historical migration. Though these give indications of the routes taken by ancestral humans, the dating of the various genetic markers is not very accurate. The earliest migrations (dated c. 75.000 BP) from the Red Sea shores have been most likely along southern coast of Asia. After this, tracking and timing genetical markers gets increasingly difficult. What is known, is that on areas, of what is now Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, genetic markers diversify (from about 60000 BCE), and subsequent migrations emerge to all directions (even backwards to Levant) from here. Northeastbound were likely the ancestors of Samoyeds and Indigenous Americans (dated 50000 - 40000 BCE), northbound the ancestors of Uralic peoples, eastbound (maybe along Ganges) likely went the ancestors of Chinese. It is still largely unclear what routes different groups of Indo-European ancestors took to Europe (this likely happened later though). Genetic evidence suggests three - four separate migrations (1.Illyrians - Greeks 2.Celts - Italics, (3.Balts, if separately), 4.Goths - Slavs, - not necessarily in this order). Archaeological evidence has not been attributed to any particular group. On historical linguistic evidence, see f.e. classification of Thracian. The traditional view of associating early Celts with the chalcolithic Europe, European Bronze Age with Germanic peoples, and Roman Empire with first widespread use of iron outside Paleobalkan area, is not considered good. Most likely there has been trade also in these periods f.e. with amber.

Influences from northern Africa via Gibraltar and Sicilia cannot be readily discounted. Many other questions remain open, too (f.e. Neanderthals were still present at this time). More genetical data is being gathered by various research programs.

Early HoloceneSee:Mesolithic
Main article: Neolithic Revolution
See also: Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures
 
Primary cultural areas in Europe c.4500 BCAs the ice age ended, major environmental changes happened, such as sea level rise (est. 120m), vegetation changes, some animals disappearing. At the same time Neolithic revolution began and humans started to make pottery, began to cultivate crops and domesticated some animal species.

Neolithic cultures in Eurasia are many, and best discussed in separate articles. Some of the articles on this subject include: Natufian culture, Jōmon culture, List of Neolithic cultures of China and Mehrgarh. European sites are many, they are discussed f.e. in Prehistoric Europe. The finding of Ötzi the Iceman (dated 3300 BC) provides an important insight to Chalcolithic period in Europe. Proto-languages of various peoples have been forming in this period, though no literal evidence can (by definition) be found. Later migrations further complicate the study of migrations in this period.