Name  _______________________________                                            Date  ___________  Ms.  Grasso       Period  _______                                  Paleolithic/Neolithic                                                                              

                   

So  What?  

What  is  the  worst  mistake  in  human  history?  Why?  

Paleolithic  Era…It  Wasn’t  So  Bad  

Migrations  •Push  factors    –Move  from  the  region  

that  they  live  in  •Pull  factors            –Attracts  people  to  a  

new  region      

Migrations  (Questions/Thoughts)    

Human  Life  Before  8000  BCE  

•Decisive  differentiations  btwn  humans  &  apes  occurred  6-­‐8  million  years  ago  •What  makes  us  different  from  other  mammals?              –Bipedalism  (walking  on                          2  limbs)              –Opposable  thumbs              –Large  brains  (frontal              region  highly  developed)    •Primary  sources:                –Objects,  artifacts,                        skeletal  remains      

Human  Life  Before  8000  BCE  (Questions/Thoughts)  

 

Hunting  &  Gathering  •Traveled  in  small  groups  

–30-­‐50  people  •Followed  the  food  •Didn’t  accumulate  possessions  &  from  developing  a  sense  of  property  •Division  of  labor  based  on  gender  

–Men:  hunted  –Women:  gathering    –Both  genders  valued  equally  

 

Hunting  &  Gathering  (Questions/Thoughts)  

 

                                                                                                 

Importance  of  Tools  •Mainly  created  by  Homo  habilis,  Homo  erectus,  and  Homo  sapiens  •Made  out  of  wood,  bone,  &  stone  •Used  skins  for  clothing  •Technology!!!    

Importance  of  Tools  (Questions/Thoughts)  

 

Paleolithic  Culture  •Cave  paintings    

–Well-­‐developed  religions  •Ritualistic  burials  (Neanderthal)  •Cro-­‐Magnon  wore  necklaces,  bracelets,  &  beads  •Only  3-­‐5  hrs  tending  to  survival  needs  •Plenty  of  time  to  make  tools,  create  art,  &  socialize      

Importance  of  Paleolithic  Culture  

(Questions/Thoughts)    

“MARKER  EVENT”:  Fire!!!  •Homo  erectus  •Discovered  how  to  control  fire  •Meat  easily  digested  when  cooked  •Can  store  food  easier  •Frightened  predatory  animals  •Hardened  wooden  weapons  &  tools  •Warmth      “MARKER  EVENT”:  Fire!!!  

(Questions/Thoughts)    

                                                                                                 

“MARKER  EVENT”:  Neolithic  Revolution  

•Not  a  single  event  •Occurred  at  different  times  in  different  parts  of  the  world    •Happened  gradually      

“MARKER  EVENT”:  Neolithic  Revolution  (Questions/Thoughts)  

 

Neolithic  Revolution  Characteristics  •Sowing,  harvesting,  &  domestication  of  plants  &  animals  •Agriculture:  deliberate  tending  of  crops  &  livestock  in  order  to  produce  food  &  fiber  •Adopted  a  little  at  a  time  to  supplement  the  needs  of  hunters  &  gatherers    

Neolithic  Revolution  Characteristics  (Questions/Thoughts)  

 

Early  Horticulture  •Horticulture:  Use  only  hand  tools  (hoes  &  digging  sticks)  to  plant  seeds  &  cultivate  crops  

–Developed  earlier  than  agriculture    –Produced  garden-­‐sized  plots  –First  to  settle  in  one  place  –Domesticated  animals  after    

 

Early  Pastoralism  •First  domesticated  animals  •Remained  semi-­‐nomadic  •Led  herds  to  fresh  grazing  lands      

Early  Horticulture  &  Early  Pastoralism    

(Questions/Thoughts)    

Neolithic  Revolution  Change  •People  settled  down  

–To  be  near  their  crops  –Villages  =  protection  –Concept  of  private  property  defines  human  society  –Jerico  &  Catal  Huyuk  

•Division  of  Labor  &  Importance  of  Surplus  –Specialization  of  skills  –Work  done  more  efficiently  –Not  everyone  a  farmer,  so  you  had  to  produce  food  for  everyone    

•Social  Inequality  –Social  classes  (b/c  of  private  property)  –Some  harvests  were  more  successful  than  others  

•Gender  Inequality  –Loss  of  women’s  economic  power  –Men  took  over  both  care  of  animals  &  plants  –Women  were  sidelined  to  domestic  chores  (not  essential  to  survival)    

•Religious  Changes  –Developed  polytheism  –Made  connection  btwn  fertility  of  the  soil  &  fertility  of  human  beings    

 

Neolithic  Revolution  Change    

(Questions/Thoughts)    

                                                                                               

The  “Big  Picture  of  Foundations”      

•Migrated  from  East  Africa  to  Eurasia,  Australia,  and  the  Americas,  adapting  technology  &  cultures  to  the  new  areas  •Interactions  among  different  groups  of  people  on  the  planet  were  usually  limited  to  groups  that  were  geographically  nearby,  but  interactions  increased  steadily  throughout  the  time  period,  both  in  frequency  &  distance  •Physical  geography  and  the  natural  environment  interacted  with  human  activities  to  shape  changes  &  continuities  during  the  time  period  •2  “Marker  Events”  (Turning  Points):    

–Development  of  agriculture  –Appearance  of  earliest  urban-­‐based  societies      

 

The  “Big  Picture  of  Foundations”    (Questions/Thoughts)  

 

“The  Worse  Mistake  in  the  History  of  the  Human  Race”      

Positives  of  Neolithic  Revolution                                                    Negatives  of  Neolithic  Revolution    

“Far from scrabbling endlessly and desperately for food, hunter-gatherers are among the best-fed people on earth, and they manage this with only two or three hours a day of what you would call work –which makes them among the most leisured people on earth.” Paleolithic view of Neolithic

“He’s running and running and running…hunger and desperation driving him. He’s terrified as well. Behind him on the ride, just out of sight, his enemies are in pursuit to tear him to pieces –the lions, the wolves, the tigers…forever one step behind his prey and one step ahead of his enemies.” Neolithic view of Paleolithic

Jared  Diamond’s  Thesis  Statement: