Neolithic, Paleolithic, and Agriculture Revolution Time Period

 Cave paintings?  Tiny adult hands?  Ladders to get into houses?  This was the time of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Age.  The gradual shift from the Paleolithic Age of hunter-gatherers to the Neolithic Age of farmers is one of the most important advances in human development also known as the agricultural revolution.

Prehistory dates back to the Paleolithic Age which started around 2 million years ago and ended around 8,000 B.C.E.   People living in the Paleolithic time period were nomads and usually lived in groups ranging from 20 people to 60 people.  They usually hunted animals such as bison and bulls because back then it was needed for survival.  Along with hunting, Paleolithic people gathered berries and nuts again, for their survival.  Paleolithic people also made the first stone tools which were used for hunting and fishing, but sometimes they even used their bare hands for things like hunting or defending themselves.

As change occurred, the Paleolithic Age ended and farming replaced hunting and gathering with an advanced form of agriculture.  The agricultural revolution included planting seeds and harvesting crops, along with domesticating animals such as sheep, goat, and cattle.   During this time, people settled near the Fertile Crescent since the soil was fertile and good for farming and growing crops.  The first crop people grew were wheat and barley which they used for spices and dishes.  

The agricultural revolution was a period of technological improvement and productivity.  People living in the Neolithic time period built permanent shelters out of mud bricks to prevent wild animals and unwanted people from breaking into their houses.  Most of the houses were built in communities near farms to first feel safer with more people and second to easily harvest plants to make cooking easier.   Living in the Neolithic Age meant jobs and many changes on a daily basis. Some of the most popular jobs at this time were farmers, weavers, traders, toolmakers, basket makers, and stone workers.  Neolithic people also traded to get resources they lacked.  They commonly traded for a stone called obsidian which was very popular during the Neolithic time period.  

The agriculture revolution went from Paleolithic hunter-gathers to Neolithic farmers.  Living in this time period sounds like one of the hardest times to live through and definitely sounds stressful.  It sounds so different from our world now that it’s hard to imagine waking up and having to go hunt for food.  But people back then must have been very brave and hardworking to live through a time period like that.