Changes From The Paleolithic To The Neolithic

Age Essay, Research Paper

There were changes that occurred from the Paleolithic Period to the Neolithic. Small changes were made in this time, from the culture, to bigger changes like economics, and agriculture. How did man deal with these changes and what kind of impact did it have on society?

The Paleolithic Period is the earliest time period man has been alive, and the longest of the Stone Age’s. It dates from 2,000,000 B.C to 10,000 BC The people of the Paleolithic Period lived simple lives, which consisted primarily of survival. Man’s life was simply to hunt, eat, and survive, while the woman?s job was to gather and watch over the children.

The people of the Paleolithic Age were mostly nomads. To survive they had to travel everywhere, and follow the migration of animals; as the animals were there primary food source. Whenever they decided to stay, they lived mostly in caves, tree trunks, and those types of shelter. They had to eat, and to do that they had to kill the animals. They did this by using tools as weapons. The tools were mainly stone, bone, and ivory. They could make the weapons into hatchets, knives, and spearheads. The use of tools is one important development that took place in this time period.

The Old Stone Age (Paleolithic Age) is also the step forward in technology and religion. The people of this time discovered how to control fire, and use it in their everyday needs. These needs include, heat, protection, and cooking. Scientists are still not sure whether people of this time had religion like we do today, but artifacts show that they had a primitive type of religion.

The Neolithic Period extended from 10,000 B.C to 3,000 BC. It is also called the New Stone Age, and many new advances and changes took place in this time. Unlike the nomadic life of the Old Stone Age, the New Stone Age was the dawning of settled life. People lived more towards lakes and rivers instead of caves, and tree trunks. This led to the change of the jobs of the society.

Unlike Paleolithic time’s, man could have more leisure time to spend. This led him to broaden the society he was living in and led to increased populations in the Neolithic Age. The more people there were the more discovery man made during this time. The invention of agriculture led to the settled life. Since man no longer needed to roam, all they had to do was put a seed in the ground and watch it grow. Tool and weaponry became more advanced, and pottery and the potters wheel was invented.

The societies of Paleolithic man were far different then that of the Neolithic man. The Old Stone Age societies had no time for other actives then what was necessary to survive. They did not invent many new things, and were constantly moving and changing their environment. Societies in he New Stone Age were a settled people, who constantly improved their lifestyle?s to make it easier to live by. Job’s of the women no longer consisted of gathering, it consisted of growing the crops, since agriculture was a new provider of food.

In conclusion, the lives of the people living in the Paleolithic and the Neolithic time period were different in many ways and a like also. Through the improvements in technology, education, and culture they were able to enhance the quality of life throughout these two periods. As man?s mind increased, it led into the new age, and the start of what may be civilization, as we know it.