Chapter 2 Section 2: The Neolithic Age

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The Neolithic Age

• AKA New Stone Age

• People became farmers

• Called the Neolithic Revolution

Neolithic Revolution• Two changes caused this:• Learning to farm through spilled

grain• Learning to herd animals by

fencing in animals and killing one at a time

• Captured animals lost their fear of people and became domesticated

• Because of the Neolithic

Revolution the population of the world began to grow

• 8000 BC= 5 million people

• 4000 BC= 90 million people

Early Villages

• People formed villages near good soil and water.

• 150-200 people

• Earliest were found in Southwest Asia

• Jericho- Near Israel

• The walls and roof were supported by a “post-and-lintel”

• This enabled buildings to support weight above an open space.

Specialization• More food meant less people were

needed to produce it.• People became potters, weavers,

and metal workers.• They made: pots, cloth, jewelry,

and weapons.• Metal was scarce, so they used

stone,bone,and wood.

Government

• Village government also developed during the Neolithic Age.

• People set boundaries and passed their land down to their children.

• A single chief settled disputes over land.

Religion

• The chiefs of each village were also priests.

• They handled religious duties which involved praying for: soil, water, and animals.

• First prayed to forces of nature, later to gods and goddesses such as Earth Mother (fertility)