Paleo Lithic And Neolithic

Several critical developments distinguish civilizations from even the most advanced Paleolithic and Neolithic societies that preceded them. Some critical developments include inequality based on gender, status based on class, and lastly the beginning of written literature and more complex calendars. Specifically, one main critical development was inequality based on gender.

The Stone Age was divided into two eras, The Paleolithic and the Neolithic. During the Paleolithic Era, humans mostly foraged for food, used crude tools, and depended heavily on the environment around them. By the time the Neolithic Era began, people were developing more complex technology, social organization, using fire, and living sedentary lifestyles because of the discovery of agriculture. During the Paleolithic era, hominids used the natural materials in the environment around them (mostly wood, bone, and animal skin) to create simple tools and shelter, which started out mainly in caves and canyons. With the discovery of fire about one million years ago, humans were able to make simple structures like tents and huts to live in. Fire

The start of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution led directly to the beginning of civilization. The Neolithic Revolution, which happened 10,000 years ago, was the shift from hunter-gathers to a food-producing culture meaning humans started to farm and domesticate animals. This was the catalyst to help create civilizations. We know now how to distinguish groups of humans from actual civilization if those groups have certain characteristics. Those characteristics are complex institutions, record keeping, advanced cities, specialized workers, and advanced technology. A result of the Neolithic Revolution is that more people were able to thrive since there was a surplus of food. These early civilizations were able to take advantage of the rivers and create irrigation systems to water their crops.

The Paleolithic era began about 2.6 million years ago; this was considered the Old Age. The Neolithic era began about 10,000 BC where it was named the New Age. There were several differences that existed between the men who lived in these two ages. The Paleolithic man consisted of nomads who hunted and gathered their food to survive. Their hunting tools consisted of chipped and dull stones and wooden weapons. Their shelter consisted of huts and skin tents, and they were characterized as a tribal society. On the other hand, the Neolithic men were characterized by farmers who resided in permanent settlements, as opposed to wandering around. Their shelter was made up of bricks supported by timber, which seems to be a lot more durable

One main reason is that the Paleolithic men were much healthier than the Neolithic men in the ways that, Paleolithic men were foragers and they moved their food which led them to not staying in one spot permanently. This means that sickness and diseases were not easily passed on. Unlike the Neolithic men who did have permanent settlements and had illness passed around quite easily. Also it says in the passage Old Stone Age vs. New Stone Age that "The adoption of grains in the Neolithic era coincided with a shortening of stature, thinner bones and crooked, cavity - ridden teeth." Since Paleolithic Era did not domesticated grains they only ate wild grains they were taller,

The social and economic structures of early foraging societies are quite different from that of later agricultural societies. However, both societies share more similarities than one might think. Typically, all Paleolithic peoples were equal, but there were sometimes members that became more respected as a result of being courageous, skilled at hunting, etc. During the Neolithic Age, social divisions became more defined due to specialized labor and accumulated wealth. Foraging societies relied on loose cooperation to hunt big game for the community. Neolithic peoples were more advanced and had a specific order within their permanent settlements. Creativity in both societies was very clear. Foragers created bone sewing needles, figurines, and

1.Three major cultural changes or contributions to the humanities that occurred between the Paleolithic period and the and the Neolithic period are the different techniques developed to hunt, the importance of the human figures, and the architecture. Different techniques to hunt were shown by looking at wall paintings, in the Paleolithic era paintings were found in deep caves and showed a realism of the animals they depended on for food, where as the Neolithic era paintings were located on smooth limestone, beneath cliff hangs, and in rock shelters these paintings showed the animals that they depended on for food also but these paintings showed the animals being hunted by human figures with bows and arrows. This shows that somewhere between the two eras humans developed a more efficient way to hunt and human figures became more important. Human figures were rarely known before the Neolithic era, wall paintings did not show them and sculptures of them were very rare except few female figures found from the Paleolithic age. In the Neolithic age, paintings not only showed the importance of human figures hunting but it showed them dancing, and fighting as a community. Architecture is not known from before the Neolithic period, very little survives because it was made out of material that disappeared long ago. The most famous piece of architecture from that era is the Stonehenge, not only was the Stonehenge believed to serve as a religious purpose, it also was known as a clock

The transition from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic Age, could be viewed as evolutionary and straight-forward advancements in lifestyle (nomadic to sedentary), subsistence (constantly hunting for food to domesticating animals and farming), governance (primitive to complex government), but this over simplification would have vastly have understated the exploration and ingenuity of the people in these times. They moved society forward in the face of the challenges of their

The Paleolithic and Neolithic periods were both extremely different but also immensely similar. Between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, the two seemed to have the biggest difference in their lifestyles and tools. There are also quite a lot of similarities between the two including the idea of tools and the use of fire. Their lifestyles being almost alike are very different, with the Neolithic people celebrating holidays and finished efficient tools to the Paleolithic people making unfinished ridged tools and performing rituals in front of cave paintings of a buffalo. Between the two lifestyles of the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, the Paleolithic hunter would be the best overall lifestyle.

Many people wonder where they come from and how they became humans. There are two eras throughout history that talks about how humans used to survive when there wasn’t anything to make a well-constructed shelter, weapons or kitchen essentials to make food to eat. According to Garvin Lewis in the book WCIV Volume 1. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012, the Paleolithic era was the earliest and longest period of prehistory, when humans used simple stone stool (Lewis). The Neolithic era was the period of human history characterized by advances in stone stool-making and the beginning of agriculture (Lewis). This essay is going to compare and contrast the people in Paleolithic era and Neolithic. The difference between the people in the Paleolithic and Neolithic era was the way they both obtain food, and how they both lived. The similarity that the people of the Paleolithic and Neolithic era had was that each gender obtained somewhat the same roles. Lastly, the way that art was used.

Hunter-gatherers, pastoralists and agricultural societies in the Neolithic/Paleolithic eras have definitely changed overtime and adapted and affected their environment. During the Bantu migrations, they encountered new, established societies that some were agricultural and others were hunter-gatherers. “ Farmers largely replaced foragers as the dominant people on the planet.”(283) This quote means that the hunter-gatherer practice decreased as the second-wave civilizations developed. In the Paleolithic era, hunting and gathering was the main way to get and maintain food. However, as societies grew overtime, the people adapted a new way of getting food which resulted in the hunting and gathering to decrease. Pastoralists on the other hand, they invaded China as well as other Nomads and ruled a few states in the Han Dynasty. “ These new conditions resulted in some loosening of the strict patriarchy of Han dynasty China… the cultural influence of nomadic peoples, whose women were far less restricted than those of China, was noticed… by more Confucian-minded male observers.”(236) The pastoral peoples that invaded China noticed the way women were treated, that is when they first adapted to the civilizations. Then, this affected their environment because they were very used to women who had less restrictions and when they came to China, the women were inferior and that is why it resulted in the patriarchy to loosen up a bit. With agriculture, In the Bantu speaking areas agriculture was preferred more than hunting and gathering. “ Their agriculture also was enriched by acquiring a variety of food crops from Southeast Asia… Bantu farmers then spread this agricultural package… throughout the cast area of eastern and southern Africa.”(284) The agriculture in Bantu locations was very popular as it was the basis of economy. The Bantu speaking people adapted to this rapidly because it was favored more than hunting and gathering. It affected their environment because their agriculture improved which resulted in different varieties of food. Overall, Hunter-gatherers, pastoralists and agricultural societies affected and adapted their environments over time.

One of the most incredible achievements of Paleolithic people was their ability to migrate across the globe. Paleolithic people first originated in Eastern Africa near the present-day countries of Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. The need for food and resources led to the initial migration out of Africa. The discovery of fire and warm animal skin clothing enabled people to live in colder climates which increased migration. In conclusion, the need for resources and discoveries such as fire and warm clothing, led to global migration.

The Lower Paleolithic period spans from 3.3 million to 300,000 years ago, during this period the first evidence for deliberate stone tool production and use by Hominins emerges. The two types of stone tools associated with the Lower Paleolithic are Oldowan and Acheulean, both constitute fairly crude forms of biface stone hand choppers, scrappers, and axes but are incredibly important in the biocultural evolution of Hominins. The advent of the use of stone tools marked a transition from a hunter-gatherer society to the development of hunting technologies that sparked several behavioral and physiological changes.

Once human globalization ended, Paleolithic societies slowly became different from one another. The difference between these communities can be seen by studying contemporary Paleolithic societies, such as the Ju/’hoansi, a nomadic, hunter-gatherer group located in Africa. In Southern California, the Chumash also live as a hunting and gathering tribe, but live in permanent settlement and many technological advancements. When compared together, the Ju/’hoansi and the Chumash are quite different from one another. As history will come to tell, with each millennia passed, individual Paleolithic societies become more unique and different.

Introduction Paleolithic development Neolithic Revolution "New Stone age" • Human appearance started roughly around 2 million years ago 1/4000 of the time earth has existed • Human species issues and strength Aggressiveness, back problems due to upright structure, fears , and tensions Grip, sex drive, omnivores, speech • Slow start for human improvement "Stone Age" 2.5 million - 2000B.C.E Use of simple tools such as shaped rocks and sticks Increase of brain development and capacity • Homo sapiens appear 120,000 years ago in Africa evolving into modern humans • Homo Sapiens face early constraints Hunters and gatherers cannot maintain large gorups Two people required at least one square mile to survive