Charles Scott, age 11, of Somerville, Massachusetts, for his question:

Were there ever real cavemen?

The human family lived on earth for long ages before the dawn of history came with the invention of reading and writing. The period of prehistory was much longer than the few thousand years of recorded history. And through much of this prehistory our sturdy ancestors lived the life of cavemen. By this we mean that they sheltered in caves and under rocky ledges. Eventually they learned how to warm their cave homes with fires. But for a long time, they depended only upon the caves and the skins of animals to shelter them from the cold.

The reason our early ancestors lived in caves is very simple. They had not learned to build more suitable shelters and homes for themselves. They were, however, beginning to use stones and things to make tools and weapons. Archaeologists name the cultures of mankind from the most common material used. The cavemen belonged in the Stone Age of prehistory.