Paleolithic vs. Neolithic

Neolithic Revolution WebQuest The Neolithic Revolution: An Introduction The Neolithic Age is a far shorter period of time than the Paleolithic Age. Generally thought to last from about 8000 years ago to about 5000 years ago, the Neolithic Age ends with the discovery and development of writing. In this so called “New Stone Age”, people started to gather themselves together in slightly larger groups. Between 50 and 300 people starting living together in what we now call villages. There, the people developed new technologies such as dried mud-brick building construction. Later, they also developed the post and lintel. This construction technique allowed for more open space inside of buildings. While stone tool making continued to advance, as did the use of bone tools, the most significant developments during the Neolithic came in the areas of agricultural and animal husbandry, or the control and management of plants and animals. It is during Neolithic times that people first start to settle down. The purposeful planting of crops (like wheat and barley) and the domestication of animals gave people the confidence to stay in one location year round. That is, people no longer felt compelled to roam to find the food they needed to survive. There were also advancements in metal working. Starting with finding pieces of metal lying on the ground, people beat these into jewelry. Later, people dug into the ground and found larger amounts of metals. Still later, people started to not only melt the metals they had found but to combine metals into harder and more durable metals. This is not to say that metal tools were being used. But, people were beginning to better understand metal and its many properties. With larger numbers of people living one space, people could now focus on a smaller number of jobs they had to learn in order to survive. People could specialize. With specialization, came jobs such as farmers, potters, weavers, metal workers, government ofÏcials, religious leaders and soldiers. Besides the development of newer and better stone (and bone) tools people developed new types of food such as soup. This added to the health of the people, which in turn helped people live longer lives. During Neolithic times people also developed what were the first types of government. People found that if they were going to live together in larger groups they needed to have formal rules. Land ownership, and the idea of protecting what was their own, helped lead to the idea of a chief who could settle disputes over land, property, or anything else. Besides government, people started to formalize ideas about religion. People have always wondered about the forces of nature, and religion may have begun as prayers to those forces. Over time there may have been a need for one person to handle the duties of those prayers. These people may have been the first priests. Ceremonies became associated with prayer, and many rituals were developed. Also, Neolithic people "personified", or gave human characteristics, to the forces of nature, in order to make those forces easier to understand. Introduction Paleolithic v. Neolithic Have you ever wondered what it might have been like to live in the past? What might it have been like to live 100 years ago, 1,000 years ago, or 10,000 years ago? We can get a feeling for what it was like by reading historical accounts. But written history only goes back about 8,000 years. Prehistory is a very long time period. Dates range from about 2.3 million years ago to about 8000 years ago. That is roughly the time period that starts with the emergence of the Genus Homo and ends with the development of written languages. So, without a written history to guide us, how then can we tell about how these early people lived? We have to study the artifacts (things that are made by human beings) they left behind. These artifacts include tools made out of stone or bone, burial sites, human remains, and cave paintings. The Task The Quest(ion)/Task Question: What are the similarities and differences between the time period, artifacts, life style, and culture of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Peoples? Goal: Your goal is increase your understanding of the Paleolithic and Neolithic time periods. Task: Your task is to compare and contrast the two prehistoric eras. ***Google “Paleolithic” and “Neolithic” and research the information you find. *** When completed: You should be able to create a Venn diagram charting the two different eras and write a story or draw a comic strip which accurately portrays a day in the life of a Paleolithic or Neolithic person. Use the next page to complete your Venn diagram. When you are done, print it out or email it to Mr. Combs What are the similarities and differences between the time period, artifacts, life style, and culture of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Peoples? Name _________________________________ Paleolithic Age Same Neolithic Age lasted from 2.6m years ago to around 12,000 years ago. the clothes they wore, they wore animal skin. The Paleolithic age ended long before the start of the Neolithic age. the tools they used were similar. The Neolithic man moved in search of fertile land and water sources. They both used stones as tools. The Neolithic man cultivated crops. The Paleolithic man moved in search of food. Wall paintings. The Paleolithic man was a hunter and gatherer. The Paleolithic society had a primitive type of government comprised of families ruled by men. Trade was absent in the Paleolithic era. began in 10,000 BC. In the Neolithic era the society had complex governance which had a chief who ruled the council. The Neolithic era developed a barter system of trade.