The Paleolithic or Paleolithic is a long prehistoric period in which stone was widely used to create sharp-edged, pointed or single-sided tools for beating. This period lasted for nearly 3.4 million years,and ended between 8700 BC and 2000 BC, [citation needed] with the advent of metal tools. Although some simple tools made of ductile metals, especially gold and copper, which were used for decorative purposes were known in the Stone Age, that man knew how to melt and refine. Bronze marked the end of the Stone Age. In West Asia this took place around 3000 BC when copper became common. The term Bronze Age is used to describe a period following the Stone Age, and it is also used to describe cultures that developed technologies and techniques for bronze making. Alternate tool for stone tool.