Paleolithic Age vs. Neolithic Age

Paleolithic Age vs. Neolithic Age

Which era would you have preferred to raise a family in?

Do Now: What do you remember about…….

The Paleolithic Era? The Neolithic Era??

Jot down as much information as you can

Paleolithic Era1.5 million 8,000 BCE

Otherwise known as the “Old Stone Age”

Change was VERY slow—life begins to change when people begin to take notice of the world around them

Cave Paintings

Hunters and Gatherers---never stayed in one place (followed herd)

Stone tools--use of rocks; teeth

• 500,000 years ago—humans developed ability to control fire

(expand diet, protection, religion, health…..)

• Spread of humans across the earth• Belief in an after-life• Spoken language

Neolithic Age (NeolithicRevolution)

Neo-- “New” Stone Age

People learn to farm

no longer have to follow herd

can stay in one place and live-establish permanent settlements (villages)

Domestication of animals--people learn to raise animals and keep them as a food source (pigs, chickens, cows)

Development of agriculture = food surpluses

Rise of the Homosapien

New tools--make farming easier

Use of bronze, plates, bowls

Causes of the Neolithic Revolution

Change in climate (rising temps = longer growing season)

Increase in population

Farming offered more of a steady source of food than hunting

Was farming a good idea?• What do you believe is the greatest

benefit of a lifestyle based on farming? • What do you believe to be the greatest

benefit from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle? Why?

• What do you believe was the biggest drawback from a farming lifestyle/hunter gatherer lifestyle? Explain.

• Which era would you have preferred to raise a family in? Why?