Palaeolithic Age Living

Palaeolithic Age Living Human populations were extremely limited worldwide until around 12,000 years ago, and they survived mostly on subsistence hunting and gathering. An early human group might have consisted of as few as fifteen individuals or as many as forty. Family units were created by further subdividing these groups. Given that all they could rely on were the naturally available resources in their immediate environment, their tiny stature should come as no surprise. However, it also helped the group's members become close to one another, which was advantageous in a situation where collaboration may mean the difference between life and death. Larger groups than about forty would not have been able to survive on the limited resources of the region and would not have been able to cooperate well. Any group that grew too big would have had to disperse and locate alternative locations and supplies. During this time, people' diets included fish, birds, shellfish, insects, nuts, fruits, berries, wild grains, honey, and other animals. The surroundings in which individuals lived had a significant impact on what they ate. A wide range of food plants and animals were available to those living in lush, warm surroundings. They were more reliant on fish and animals in colder, more icy regions Spearfishing tactics probably included involved the use of nets and perhaps bone hooks. Either humans hunted the land animals they consumed for sustenance, or they scavenged from the carcasses left by other predators The majority of hunters probably targeted smaller game. But there were big game hunts. Mankind hunted deer, horses, gazelles, bison, and even very huge creatures like woolly mammoths, according to archaeological remnants and paintings. Archaeological research conducted in the Americas has shown us that, as early as 12,000 years ago, modern people periodically pushed bison herds over cliffs to their deaths so they could be killed for their skins and flesh. It's possible that similar techniques were employed elsewhere to hunt different herding animal species at this period or perhaps earlier Tens of thousands of years ago, hunting woolly mammoths would have needed close collaboration within the group as well as the use of complex equipment such as spears. In addition, it would have been extremely risky, and experts disagree on how prevalent it actually was. However, it would have been very desirable to kill a mammoth; an average animal weighed around six tonnes, and its harvest would have given a small group a considerable amount of meat, skin, and bone. Early people frequently sought sanctuary in caves and other naturally existing areas, as well as in constructed constructions. Evidence discovered by archaeologists worldwide indicates that certain. populations may have lived for tens of thousands of years in a single cave. For example, it's possible that humans have lived in Kenya's Panga ya Saidi cave for up to 78,000 years. In the absence of caves or when populations required more mobility, people constructed their own shelters out of wood, bone, animal pelts, and other materials they could acquire from the surrounding environment. Evidence of mammoth bone shelters wrapped in animal skins has been found in a number of Eastern European locales, including Poland, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine. It's possible that these camps were occupied up to 25,000 years ago. There are compelling arguments to suggest that even tens of thousands of years ago, contemporary people had formed a spirituality, if not a religion. Spirituality world, and they still are. For our Palaeolithic predecessors, numerous everyday occurrences such as sunsets, earthquakes, comets, lightning, volcanoes, and many others-might have had mystical meanings. If contemporary customs are any indication, prehistoric people probably followed religious customs akin to animism, which is the belief that in addition to living things, plants, inanimate objects, and even natural occurrences like flames also possessed a certain level of spirituality. Some of the last remaining evidence of their distant ancestors' beliefs about the paranormal may be seen in the intricate cave paintings of bison, deer, and other animals. They could even have acknowledged certain members as holy figures. Such men and women, the shamans, would have offered some link between this world and the other, less explored realm beyond. It is true that both Neanderthals and contemporary people interred their deceased, and that when they did, they usually buried everyday objects from their homes. A few extremely elaborate unusual burial sites from thirty thousand years ago were discovered in southern and eastern Europe. Among them were ivory discs and spears, corpses meticulously coated in red ochre, and beads fashioned from fox teeth and mammoth ivory. Still, the majority of graves found thus far were very straightforward. It's easy to assume that these discoveries indicate a belief in the afterlife, but it's hard to know for sure what these graves meant to the individuals who conducted them. Many have come to the conclusion that ancient hunter-gatherer communities were very egalitarian via researching archaeology and seeing contemporary hunter- gatherers. The nomadic lifestyle, small group sizes, and lack of money were probably the causes. However, it is challenging to determine the precise level considerable variation among them. Similar to today, there would have been a range of different levels of physical prowess, intelligence, charm, and other attributes within even a small group. Members of the group would have undoubtedly noticed these distinctions and taken advantage of them. Previous theories of social structure proposed that women cooked or took care of the family at home, while men conducted the majority of the hunting. Some have proposed more recently that both Palaeolithic women and men contributed significantly to civilization. Although vegetables and other meals collected primarily by women may have added as many, if not more, valuable calories to the group than meat, which was probably hunted predominantly by males, meat would have been highly appreciated. It is also possible that women would have had to take care of everything else if men had been out hunting. This included building tools, mending shelters, and defending households from harm.