Hunters and Gatherers to Farmers

1. Hunters and Gatherers to Farmers How did the development of agriculture change life in the Neolithic Age?

2. Paleolithic Age • The “Old Stone Age” from 2 million years ago to 8000 B.C.E. • Begins with tool-making hominids (Homo Habilis) • Hunter-gatherers, nomads wandering from place to place

3. Shortage of Food – Paleolithic Age • No stable or dependable food supply • Plants and animals scarce when people stayed in one place too long • Hunting was dangerous due to close-up nature of hunting prey; hunters often killed or injured

4. Neolithic Age • The “New Stone Age” from 8000 B.C.E. to 3000 B.C.E. • Begins when people start to farm and produce their own food • Over 1000s of years people gradually learn to raise animals and plant crops • No longer need to roam long distances; can settle in one place

5. Dawn of Agriculture • Eventually people discover they can plant seeds and harvest crops • Farmers also observe which seeds grow better in their climate and soil • Farmers learn to domesticate animals, to raise and use them for people’s needs • Raised sheep, goats and cattle for meat; goats and cattle also provided milk; mules carry heavy loads • Neolithic Age begins with agriculture, the business of growing crops and raising animals; people now have some control over their food supply

6. Permanent Shelters • During Paleolithic Age people lived in temporary shelters, like caves, because they moved often looking for food • In the Neolithic Age, with the dawn of agriculture, people built more permanent shelters out of mud bricks • Permanent shelters gave people protection from harsh weather and wild animals • Long-lasting shelters enabled people to settle together in larger communities

7. Communities • Agriculture led to permanent shelters; permanent shelters led to larger communities • Living in communities or villages allowed people to organize themselves more efficiently, resulting in the division of labor (some people grow crops, others build houses and make tools, etc.) • Villagers also learn to cooperate to do tasks more quickly • With their basic needs met, people spent time and energy on other activities: inventing new ways to make life more comfortable and safer • These changes lead to growing populations

8. New Jobs • In Paleolithic times, people’s main concern was finding enough food to survive • Farming on the steadier supply of food, allows Neolithic people to develop specialized skills • Focusing on one job gave people the opportunity to improve the ways they worked • Neolithic people didn’t only want to survive, they wanted to make themselves and their surroundings beautiful (decorated pottery, polished stones for jewelry, etc.

9. Beginning to Trade • Paleolithic hunter-gatherers rarely traded • As Neolithic people settled in communities, trade became a more common activity (people trade to get resources they do not have) • Neolithic people wanted materials to improve the strength and beauty of the things they made; getting these resources became the job of traders • Traders traveled hundreds of miles looking for materials and resources (i.e., flint, obsidian, shells) • Trade brought people into contact with people from distant places; spreading ideas and knowledge

10. Review • What does Paleolithic mean? • What does Neolithic mean? • How did Paleolithic people survive? • What marked the beginning of the Neolithic Age? • What is agriculture? • What two main factors allowed communities/villages to develop? • What did trade allow people to do?

11. Constructed Response – Exit Ticket “Identify and explain three ways the development of agriculture changed daily life in the Neolithic Age.” Cite specific evidence from your presentation/Cornell notes.