Final answer:
Historians study the Paleolithic Era using fossil evidence, including human morphology, and ancient material culture, which consists of artifacts such as tools, sculptures, and food remnants that reveal early technology, society, and diet.
Step-by-step explanation:
The two main types of evidence that historians use to study our ancestors from the Paleolithic Era are fossil evidence and ancient material culture. Fossil evidence includes the physical morphology, such as skulls and other postcranial materials, which help paleoanthropologists form hypotheses about human evolution. Ancient material culture encompasses a range of artifacts such as stone, bone, and wood tools, as well as stone sculptures, remnants of shelters, and evidence of early human diets found in early archaeological sites.
Archaeological evidence like food remains, in the form of butchered bones and coprolites (fossilized fecal material), and tools used in food processing like hearths and pottery, provide insight into the dietary practices of Paleolithic societies. These artifacts and remains, when closely examined, can tell us about the technologies, social structures, and daily lives of these early humans, from their hunting-gathering lifestyle to the creation of some of the first examples of art such as cave paintings and rock art.