caveman stage

English

Etymology

From the notion that early humans dwelled in caves. The word caveman has later developed figurative senses with a connotation of primitiveness.

Noun

caveman stage (plural caveman stages)

1. The early or primitive developmental stage.
   • 1942, The Living Church, volume 104:

     What is life? What are the limitations of knowledge? Compared with the caveman's, our knowledge is vast, but compared with what there is to know, the wisest of men are still at the caveman stage.

   • 2019, Steven Jenkins, Erika Stalder, 97 Things to Do Before You Finish High School:

     So how does one evolve out of the caveman stage of conversation? Easy: Just talk.

   • 2011, William Gaspar, The World Tree:

     The caveman stage of human existence might have arrived for us after the Flood wiped out almost everybody and everything.