The institute was founded by archaeologists Nicholas Toth and Kathy Schick to provide a focal point for research on human origins where affiliated scientists could collaborate on research and to provide science education outreach on human origins and evolution.

[1] The institute publishes scholarly books and articles and offers post-doctoral positions for prospective scientists.

The institute is housed in a 11,400-square-foot (1,060 m2) facility located on a 30-acre (120,000 m2) rural site outside Bloomington, Indiana.

[1] The Stone Age Institute is an autonomous research facility, but it has strong ties with Indiana University, especially CRAFT (the Center for Research into the Anthropological Foundations of Technology) and the Human Evolutionary Studies Program.

[1] The facility includes a research library on early human prehistory and related science donated by the late J. Desmond Clark, professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley.