Chapter 3 From Hunters and

Gatherers to Farmers

Ms. Mohamed

6th Grade

Mini-Assessment Please complete in your green notebook. When you read the title, From Hunters and

Gatherers to Farmers, what can you infer you will learn about in this chapter?

What do you think the author meant by hunters and gatherers?

responses When you read the title, From Hunters and

Gatherers to Farmers, what can you infer you will learn about in this chapter?o The type of work these people performedo How they performed their jobso Transition from hunting and gathering to farmingo How they cooperated and benefited from each othero Human development and inventions to make life easier

What do you think the author meant by hunters and gatherers? o Hunted animals and catch your own foodo Collected foods such as berries

Objective 1. Students will explain how

specialization and inventions helped in the development of world civilizations.oStudents will learn how special inventions

helped change civilizations.oStudents will be informed on how

innovations in the past helped civilizations transition from hunters and gatherers to farmers.

Objective 2. Students will describe early

communities including hunter-gatherer societies and why agricultural societies developed from them.o Students will learn how communities went

from being hunters and gathers to farmers. o Students will explain early civilizations such

as hunters and gatherers and why farming societies were created from them.

Objective 3. Students will explain how

geographical features influenced the development of early civilizations.oStudents will learn how natural

features affect the construction of ancient communities.

oStudents will describe how land forms caused the development of previous societies to change over time.

Standards 6.1 Students describe what is known through

archaeological studies of the early physical and cultural development of humankind from the Paleolithic era to the agricultural revolution.

Describe the hunter-gatherer societies, including the development of tools and the use of fire.

Identify the locations of human communities that populated the major regions of the world and describe how humans adapted to a variety of environments.

Discuss the climatic changes and human modifications of the physical environment that gave rise to the domestication of plants and animals and new sources of clothing and shelter.

GROUP ASSIGNMENT Students will form groups

o Each group must have • A scribe• A reporter• All members are responsible for identifying important

information

Each group will be responsible for a sub heading Each group will read their assigned sub-headings Each group will identify the important information

from the assigned sub-heading Each group will create a poster a poster to illustrate

or list the important information Each group will present their findings to the class

From Hunters and Gathers to Farmers

Farming was discovered toward the end of the Stone Age.

The name Stone Age comes from the tools the people made of stone.

Historians divide the Stone Age into two parts Paleolithic Age – old Stone Age Neolithic Age – new Stone Age

Paleolithic Age – Old Stone Age

Began about 2 million years ago. Lasted until 8000 BCE. During this time early modern humans

developed. People got their food from hunting wild

animals, gathering nuts, berries, and other plants.

They lived their lives out in the open and rarely stayed in one place long.

Neolithic – new stone age Began from 8000BCE and lasted until 3000BCE

During this time people learned to make tools out of metal.

Began when people learned to farm and produce their own food.

Later people learned to raise animals and grow crops.

People settled down and lived in one place. Shift from hunters and gatherers to farmers was

one of the greatest advances people ever made.

Neolithic – new stone age Farming developed in various parts of the world

including Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Many settlements were located east of the

Mediterranean Sea where the land was fertile. People built towns and villages. People in settlements were able to build

permanent shelters and form larger communities. They made better tools. And traded with other people for the resources

they needed.

Mini Assessment

What is one MAJOR difference between the Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age?

Creating a stable food supply Neolithic age began with the invention

of agriculture. Agriculture – growing crops and

domesticating animals. Early farmers learned how to

domesticate animals – raising and using them for their own purposes.

Mini Assessment

How did the people of the Neolithic Age create a stable food supply?

What was the greatest benefit when people began farming?

What was the result of creating a stable food supply?

Making permanent shelters People packed mud bricks together to

build round or rectangular houses. Sometimes they added stones and tree

branches to strengthen the walls and floors.

Houses had openings high in the walls. People probably used ladders to reach the

openings and enter the house. There were places to store and cook food.

Permanent shelters Houses gave people protection from

harsh weather and wild animals. Made life more comfortable. Allowed for new ways of cooking food. Allowed people to form larger

communities.

Mini Assessment How did the people of the Neolithic Age

protect themselves from wild animal attacks?

Development of new jobs Having a stable food supply allowed people to

develop new jobs. They could develop more specialized skills. Focusing on one job allowed them to get

better at their work. The development of different jobs encouraged

people to become highly skilled at their crafts. This led to new and better ways of doing things. Different jobs created much more variety in

community life.

Mini Assessment Building permanent

shelters had many effects. Fill in the chart below with three major changes that came about because people began living in permanent shelters.

Mini Assessment

Based on the description of the Neolithic homes, draw an illustration that depicts the homes of this period.

What were some advantages to having permanent shelters?

Establish communities Living in communities allowed people to

organize themselves more efficiently. They could divide up the work of

producing food and other things they needed.

With basic needs met – they could invent ways to be safer and more comfortable.

Mini Assessment How did establishing communities allow

the people of the Neolithic age to advance as a people?

Why were the people of the Neolithic Age able to develop new jobs?

How did these jobs enhance their lives? Why did the people of the Neolithic Age

trade? How did trading contribute to the lives

of the people of the Neolithic Age?

Beginning to trade People trade to get the resources they

did not have in their own area. The growth of trade allowed people to

make use of more resources. It brought them in contact with people

from distant places. These contacts helped spread ideas and

knowledge around the ancient world.

Past and present

Important Questions Looking Back TodayHow did these people develop architecture?

   

How did they build or choose their homes?

How did these people conduct agriculture?

   

How did they raise crops? Domesticate animals?

Past and present

Important Questions Looking Back TodayHow did inventions and innovations improve the lives of these people?

   

How did these inventions change transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing?

Create a tool that would be used during the neolithic era

Discuss innovations and inventions that gradually made life a bit easier for hunters and gatherers:o inventions—fishhooks, bone needles,

arrowheads, scraping tools, spears, pounding stones

o innovations/discoveries—fire, domestication of animals, seeds

homework Students will research the political, social,

and economic influences of the early human cultures and how they progressed from a nomadic society to an agricultural society.

Data for this research can be found on the Internet, printed resources, encyclopedias, and atlases.

Students can choose what developments they want to emphasize.

They must justify why the developments were important to the Neolithic.

homework For example, the creation of walls

and weapons created an enclosed society that forced once nomadic people to protect their chosen land.

Inform the students that the timeline will not be proportional.

The spaces will be equal, but the real time between the dates will vary greatly.

homework Encourage the students to create visual

representations of the timeline dates. Dates should be alternated above and

below the actual line of the timeline to create more space for visual representations.

A rubric describing the project requirements, physical representation, and content should be emphasized before the research begins.

essay Students will explain how inventions

and discoveries permitted hunting and gathering clans to become an agricultural society. o domesticated farm animals for food and

laboro a seed culture that allowed them to grow

crops for foodo specialized skills (hunters, farmers, and

craftsmen)

Videos From Hunters and Gatherers to Farmers Part 1

o On a separate piece of paper, answer the following prompt:• What connections can you make between the videos and the Chapter 3?• What new information did you learn from the video?

From Hunters and Gatherers to Farmers Part 2o What did you learn in the video that was not mentioned in the text?

From Hunters and Gatherers to Farmers Part 3o How did the visual images of the Neolithic Age further inform your

understanding of the communities the people built?o What additional information did the video provide about the

communities? From Hunters and Gatherers to Farmers Part 4

o After watching all four parts of this video, write a brief summary about your understanding of the people of the Neolithic Age.