Acheulean/Acheulian denotes an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture associated with early humans during the lower Palaeolithic era across Africa and much of West Asia, South Asia and Europe. The Palaeolithic era is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory. It extends from the earliest known use of stone tools, probably by hominins such as Australopithecines, 2.6 million years ago, to the end of the Pleistocene around 10,000 BP.