Neolithic: the New Stone Age Neolithic: the New Stone Age GO The dawn of the civilization Mar 25, 2008 16:27 GMT · By Stefan Anitei · Share: The Neolithic (New Stone Age) was a period in the technological development of Homo sapiens that started at the end of the Ice Age, 10,000 years ago, and ended around the Mediterranean Sea and other areas about 5,500 years ago, when the Bronze Age started. It was the period when first human settlements appeared. People left caves for huts made of branches, stones, adobe or bricks, depending on the resources of the place. The gathered huts formed small villages that could be defended easier. The main reason for the settling of the people was the emergence of the agriculture during the Neolithic. Neolithic clay-made figurines reproduced both animal and human figures. In many cases, human figures represented gods or goddesses. The stone and bone tools got even more complex than those of the Paleolithic. Neolithic was the time when pottery emerged. Paleolithic people kept liquids and foods in wood bowls and baskets.

Now, people found that clay could be molded, and once burned, the items could guard foods and beverages. The pottery gave birth to a new class: the potters. The Neolithic people not only made complex pottery items, but also used to adorn them with geometrical paintings and images of humans, animals and plants. The Neolithic hunter could not rely on megafauna, of which a great part had disappeared (like mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses). But this was the period when the domestication of many animals occurred. The only animal domesticated during the previous Upper Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) was the dog, in China, about 15,000 years ago. Sheep and cattle were domesticated during the Neolithic; the appearance of the livestock led to the emergence of the first shepherds and the transhumant lifestyle, as the people were always on the move searching for pasture and water for their livestock. To the fishing methods employing hooks, Neolithic people added more complex tools, like fishing baskets and nets, using plant stems and fibers. In shallow water, Neolithic people could use wooden sticks for catching fish.

The first 'vessels' appeared in the shape of canoes made of carved tree trunks or skiffs made of a branch scaffold covered by tarred skins. Navigation was made using long poles and only in shallow waters. Death was a mystery for Neolithic people, who imagined dead people went into another world, where spirits continued their activities. Dead people were, for this purpose, buried in special places, together with some food and tools. In some places, people were buried in big stone constructions, called dolmens, made of stone slabs weighing several tons. The tombs were covered by mounds. Neolithic people in Western Europe also raised large stone blocks called menhirs. The menhirs were decorated with zigzag rays, squares, rhombuses and circles, carved on one or several sides. Menhirs could have signaled borders between tribes, sacrifice places or worship places. The most famous menhir area is at Carnac (Brittany, France). The Neolithic is the period when humans started to trade, as people began to differentiate in classes of farmers, shepherds and craftsmen. In markets, people interchanged food, pottery, baskets and various crafted issues.

With the metallurgy, the humans had stepped out of the Stone Age. Probably, one of the first metals known was the gold, whose nuggets were collected from the sand of the rivers. But gold did not have a technological importance, being used mainly for making adornments. The first processed metals were copper, tin, silver and gold. 8,000 years ago, European populations were using malachite (a copper oxide) to get colorants. Probably ancient people noticed the transformations suffered by this mineral in contact with the fire. At the end of the Neolithic (the last Stone Age), about 6,300 years ago, people from Indus Valley (today northwestern India-Pakistan) to Central Asia started to process the copper. Mining activity for achieving copper ore started. At the beginning, the copper was processed in cold form, as it is soft, but later also heated. After that, people found how to reduce copper ore at 700-800o C, and also how to melt and mold it at 1085o C. The metals changed all; the new metal tools, weapons and adornments launched people off the Stone Age.

CHECK OUT THE GALLERY (3 Images) Neolithic Period | anthropology | Britannica.com Neolithic Period Alternative Titles: Late Stone Age, New Stone Age Related Topics Çatalhüyük Neolithic Period, also called New Stone Age, final stage of cultural evolution or technological development among prehistoric humans. It was characterized by stone tools shaped by polishing or grinding, dependence on domesticated plants or animals, settlement in permanent villages, and the appearance of such crafts as pottery and weaving . The Neolithic followed the Paleolithic Period , or age of chipped-stone tools, and preceded the Bronze Age , or early period of metal tools. The large burial mound at Newgrange, County Meath, Ireland. Brian Morrison/Tourism Ireland A brief treatment of the Neolithic Period follows. For full treatment, see Stone Age: Neolithic and technology: The Neolithic Revolution . The Neolithic stage of development was attained during the Holocene Epoch (the last 11,700 years of Earth history). The starting point of the Neolithic Period is much debated, with different parts of the world having achieved the Neolithic stage at different times, but it is generally thought to have occurred sometime about 10,000 bce.

During that time, humans learned to raise crops and keep domestic livestock and were thus no longer dependent on hunting , fishing , and gathering wild plants. Neolithic cultures made more-useful stone tools by grinding and polishing relatively hard rocks rather than merely chipping softer ones down to the desired shape. The cultivation of cereal grains enabled Neolithic peoples to build permanent dwellings and congregate in villages, and the release from nomadism and a hunting-gathering economy gave them the time to pursue specialized crafts. Stone Age: Neolithic Archaeological evidence indicates that the transition from food-collecting cultures to food-producing ones gradually occurred across Asia and Europe from a starting point in the Fertile Crescent . The first evidence of cultivation and animal domestication in southwestern Asia has been dated to roughly 9500 bce, which suggests that those activities may have begun before that date. A way of life based on farming and settled villages had been firmly achieved by 7000 bce in the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys (now in Iraq and Iran ) and in what are now Syria , Israel , Lebanon , and Jordan . Those earliest farmers raised barley and wheat and kept sheep and goats , later supplemented by cattle and pigs .

Their innovations spread from the Middle East northward into Europe by two routes: across Turkey and Greece into central Europe, and across Egypt and North Africa and thence to Spain . Farming communities appeared in Greece as early as 7000 bce, and farming spread northward throughout the continent over the next four millennia. This long and gradual transition was not completed in Britain and Scandinavia until after 3000 bce and is known as the Mesolithic Period . Similar Topics Stone Age - Ancient History Encyclopedia Stone Age by Cristian Violatti published on 18 July 2014 From the dawn of our species to the present day, stone-made artefacts are the dominant form of material remains that have survived to today concerning human technology. The term “ Stone Age ” was coined in the late 19th century CE by the Danish scholar Christian J. Thomsen, who came up with a framework for the study of the human past, known as the “Three Age System”. The basis of this framework is technological: it revolves around the notion of three successive periods or ages: Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age, each age being technologically more complex than the one before it.

Thomsen came up with this idea after noticing that the artefacts found in archaeological sites displayed regularity in terms of the material that they were made with: stone-made tools were always found in the deepest layers, bronze artefacts in layers on top of the deepest layers, and finally iron-made artefacts were found closest to the surface. This suggested that metal technology developed later than stone-made tools. Remove Ads Advertisement This “Three Age System” has received some criticism. There are scholars who believe that this approach is too technologically oriented. Others say that this stone-bronze-iron pattern has hardly any meaning when applied outside Europe . Despite the critics, this system is still largely used today and, although it has limitations, it can be helpful as long as we remember that it is a simplified framework. Chronology of the Stone Age The Stone Age begins with the first production of stone implements and ends with the first use of bronze. Since the chronological limits of the Stone Age are based on technological development rather than actual date ranges, its length varies in different areas of the world.

The earliest global date for the beginning of the Stone Age is 2.5 million years ago in Africa, and the earliest end date is about 3300 BCE, which is the beginning of Bronze Age in the Near East . Tools and weapons during the Stone Age were not made exclusively of stone: organic materials such as antler, bone, fibre, leather, and wood were also employed. There is evidence suggesting that the 2.5 million year limit for stone tool manufacture might be pushed further back. The reason is that the capacity of tool use and even its manufacture is not exclusive of our species: there are studies indicating that bonobos are capable of flaking and using stone tools in order to gain access to food in an experimental setting. Nevertheless, there are differences between the tools produced by modern apes and those produced by the early toolmakers, who had better biomechanical and cognitive skills and produced more efficient tools. The difference, however, is of degree, not of nature. In fact, the earliest tools pre-date the emergence of the Homo genus, and it is believed that some of the Australopithecines were the first tool makers.

Remove Ads Advertisement In addition, some researchers have claimed that the earliest stone tools might even have an earlier origin: 3.4 million years ago. Although no stone tools that old have been found, some bones showing signs of striations and gouges have been found in Ethiopia, which might represent cut marks made with stone tools. This view, however, is not widely accepted: the marks have also been interpreted to be the result of crocodile predation or animal trampling. The Stone Age is also divided into three different periods. Paleolithic or Old Stone Age: from the first production of stone artefacts, about 2.5 million years ago, to the end of the last Ice Age, about 9,600 BCE. This is the longest Stone Age period. Remove Ads Advertisement The main types of evidence are fossilized human remains and stone tools, which show a gradual increase in their complexity. On the basis of the techniques employed and the quality of the tools, there are several stone industries (sometimes referred to as “lithic” industries). The earliest of these (2.5 million years ago) is called Oldowan, which are very simple choppers and flakes.

About 1.7 million years ago, we find another type of lithic industry called Acheulean, producing more complex and symmetrical shapes with sharp edges. There are several other types of lithic industries until finally towards the end of the Paleolithic, about 40,000 years ago, we see a “revolution” of lithic industries where many different types coexisted and developed rapidly. Around this same time, we also have the first recorded expressions of the artistic life: personal ornaments, cave paintings, and mobilary art. Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age: In purely scientific terms, the Mesolithic begins at the end of a period known in geology as the Younger Dryas stadial, the last cold snap, which marks the end of Ice Age, about 9,600 BCE. The Mesolithic period ends when agriculture starts. This is the time of the late hunter-gatherers. Because agriculture developed at different times in different regions of the world, there is no single date for the end of the Mesolithic period. Even within a specific region, agriculture developed during different times.

For example, agriculture first developed in Southeast Europe about 7,000 BCE, in Central Europe about 5,500 BCE, and Northern Europe about 4,000 BCE. All these factors make the chronological limits of the Mesolithic somehow fuzzy. Moreover, some regions do not have a Mesolithic period. An example is the Near East, where agriculture was developed around 9,000 BCE, right after the end of the Ice Age. During the Mesolithic period, important large-scale changes took place on our planet. As the climate was getting warmer and the ice sheets were melting, some areas in the northern latitudes rose as they were being freed from the weight of the ice. At the same time, the sea levels rose, drowning low-lying areas, resulting in major changes in the land worldwide: the Japanese islands were separated from the Asian mainland, Tasmania from Australia, the British Isles from continental Europe, East Asia and North America became divided by the flooding of the Bering Strait, and Sumatra separated from Malaysia with the correspondent formation of the Strait of Malacca. Around 5,000 BCE, the shape of the continents and islands was very much those of the present day.

Neolithic or New Stone Age: begins with the introduction of farming, dating variously from c. 9,000 BCE in the Near East, c. 7,000 BCE in Southeast Europe, c. 6,000 BCE in East Asia, and even later in other regions. This is the time when cereal cultivation and animal domestication was introduced. In order to reflect the deep impact that agriculture had over the human population, an Australian archaeologist named Gordon Childe popularized the term “Neolithic Revolution” in the 1940s CE. Today it is believed that the impact of agricultural innovation was exaggerated in the past: the development of Neolithic culture appears to have been more gradual rather than a sudden change. Agriculture brought major changes in the way human society is organized and how it uses the earth, including forest clearance, root crops, and cereal cultivation that can be stored for long periods of time, along with the development of new technologies for farming and herding such as plows, irrigation systems, etc. More intensive agriculture implies more food available for more people, more villages, and a movement towards a more complex social and political organization.

As the population density of the villages increase, they gradually evolve into towns and finally into cities . Towards the end of the Neolithic era, copper metallurgy is introduced, which marks a transition period to the Bronze Age, sometimes referred to as Chalcolithic or Eneolithic era. Archaeological Record Tools and weapons during the Stone Age were not made exclusively of stone: organic materials such as antler, bone, fibre, leather and wood were also employed. The archaeological record, however, is biased in favour of items made of stone because these are far more durable than the organic materials, which are easily obliterated by the many processes of decay that they are subject to and can only survive under rare circumstances such as cold temperatures or very dry climate. Other durable materials such as copper and glass-made items have also survived. Under rare circumstances, plant, animal, and human remains have also managed to survive, sometimes merely fossilized, but other times they still present part of the soft tissue such as the several frozen specimens of the extinct woolly rhino and woolly mammoth that have survived in Siberia virtually intact. Clay is another material which is abundant in the bulk of Stone Age material remains.

Clay can be fashioned into a desire shape and baked to fix its form. This is the birth of pottery . Usable clay is widely available, which explains why pottery was independently invented in many parts of the world at different times. The oldest evidence of pottery manufacture has been found in an archaeological site known as Odai Yamamoto, in Japan, where fragments from a specific vessel have been dated to 16,500-14,920 BP ("before present", meaning 16,500-14,920 years ago, usually associated with radiocarbon dating). Non-agricultural Jomon peoples of Japan were producing clay pots that were elaborately decorated by about 13,000 BP, which were used for food preparation. During the Early Neolithic era, around 8,000 BCE, special ovens used to parch cereal grains and to bake bread were being built in the Near East, which allowed people to control fire and produce high temperatures in enclosed facilities. Initially, pottery was made in open fires, but the use of ovens added new possibilities to the development of pottery. Around the same time, some areas of South America were also developing pottery technology.

With the introduction of Bronze metallurgy, the Stone Age came to an end. Bronze is a mixture of copper and tin, which has greater hardness than copper, better casting properties, and a lower melting point. Bronze could be used for making weapons, something that was not possible with copper, which is not hard enough to endure combat conditions. In time, bronze became the primary material for tools and weapons, and a good part of the stone technology became obsolete, signaling the end of the Stone Age. About the Author Neolithic - Ancient History Encyclopedia Neolithic by Cristian Violatti published on 05 August 2014 After the term “ Stone Age ” was coined in the late 19th century CE, scholars proposed to divide the Stone Age into different periods: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic . The term Neolithic refers to the last stage of the Stone Age. The period is significant for its megalithic architecture, spread of agricultural practices, and use of polished stone tools. Chronology The term Neolithic or New Stone Age is most frequently used in connection with agriculture, which is the time when cereal cultivation and animal domestication was introduced.

Because agriculture developed at different times in different regions of the world, there is no single date for the beginning of the Neolithic. In the Near East , agriculture was developed around 9,000 BCE, in Southeast Europe around 7,000 BCE, and later in other regions. Even within a specific region, agriculture developed during different times. For example, agriculture first developed in Southeast Europe about 7,000 BCE, in Central Europe about 5,500 BCE, and Northern Europe about 4,000 BCE. In East Asia, the Neolithic goes from 6000 to 2000 BCE. Remove Ads Advertisement Pottery is another element that makes the dating of the Neolithic problematic. In some regions, the appearance of pottery is considered a symbol of the Neolithic, but this notion makes the term Neolithic even more ambiguous, since the use of pottery does not always occur after agriculture: in Japan, pottery appears before agriculture, while in the Near East agriculture pre-dates pottery production. All these factors make the starting point of the Neolithic somewhat fuzzy.

It should be remembered that the origin of the term lies in a late 19th century CE classification system (detailed above) and we must keep in mind its limitations. Agricultural economies developed while hunting and gathering activities were reduced. A Revolution? In order to reflect the deep impact that agriculture had over the human population, an Australian archaeologist named Gordon Childe popularized the term “Neolithic Revolution” in the 1940s CE. However, today, it is believed that the impact of agricultural innovation was exaggerated in the past: the development of Neolithic culture appears to have been a gradual rather than a sudden change. Moreover, before agriculture was established, archaeological evidence has shown that there is usually a period of semi-nomadic life, where pre-agricultural societies might have a network of campsites and live in different locations according to how the resources respond to seasonal variations. Sometimes, one of these campsites might be adopted as a basecamp; the group might spend the majority of time there during the year exploiting local resources, including wild plants: this is a step closer to agriculture. Agriculture and foraging are not totally incompatible ways of life.

This means that a group could perform hunter-gatherer activities for part of the year and some farming during the rest, perhaps on a small scale. Rather than a revolution, the archaeological record suggests that the adoption of agriculture is the result of small and gradual changes. Remove Ads Advertisement Agriculture was developed independently in several regions. Since its origin, the dominant pattern in these separate regions is the spread of agricultural economies and the reduction of hunting and gathering activities, to the point that today hunting economies only persist in marginal areas where farming is not possible, such as frozen arctic regions, densely forested areas, or arid deserts. Major changes were introduced by agriculture, affecting the way human society was organized and how it used the earth, including forest clearance, root crops, and cereal cultivation that can be stored for long periods of time, along with the development of new technologies for farming and herding such as plows, irrigation systems, etc. More intensive agriculture implies more food available for more people, more villages, and a movement towards a more complex social and political organization. As the population density of the villages increase, they gradually evolve into towns and finally into cities .

Changes During the Neolithic By adopting a sedentary way of life, the Neolithic groups increased their awareness of territoriality. During the 9600-6900 BCE period in the Near East, there were also innovations in arrowheads, yet no important changes in the animals hunted was detected. However, human skeletons were found with arrowheads embedded in them and also some settlements such as Jericho were surrounded with a massive wall and ditch around this time. It seems that the evidence of this period is a testimony of inter-communal conflicts, not far from organized warfare . There were also additional innovations in stone tool production that became widespread and adopted by many groups in distant locations, which is evidence for the existence of important networks of exchange and cultural interaction. The Stone Age The Stone Age Prehistoric cultural stage, or level of human development, characterized by the creation and use of stone tools. Robert A.

Guisepi Date:2000 Archaeology is concerned with the origins and development of early human culture between the first appearance of man as a tool-using mammal, which is believed to have occurred about 600,000 or 700,000 years ago, and the beginning of the Recent geologic era, about 8000 BC. The Stone Age is usually divided into three separate periods--Paleolithic Period, Mesolithic Period, and Neolithic Period--based on the degree of sophistication in the fashioning and use of tools. Paleolithic Archaeology is concerned with the origins and development of early human culture between the first appearance of man as a tool-using mammal, which is believed to have occurred about 600,000 or 700,000 years ago, and the beginning of the Recent geologic era, about 8000 BC. It is included in the time span of the Pleistocene, or Glacial, Epoch--an interval of about 1,000,000 years.

Although it cannot be proved, modern evidence suggests that the earliest protohuman forms had diverged from the ancestral primate stock by the beginning of the Pleistocene. In any case, the oldest recognizable tools are found in horizons of Lower Pleistocene Age. During the Pleistocene a series of momentous climatic events occurred. The northern latitudes and mountainous areas were subjected on four successive occasions to the advances and retreats of ice sheets (known as Gï¿½nz, Mindel, Riss, and Wï¿½rm in the Alps), river valleys and terraces were formed, the present coastlines were established, and great changes were induced in the fauna and flora of the globe. In large measure, the development of culture during Paleolithic times seems to have been profoundly influenced by the environmental factors that characterize the successive stages of the Pleistocene Epoch. Throughout the Paleolithic, man was a food gatherer, depending for his subsistence on hunting wild animals and birds, fishing, and collecting wild fruits, nuts, and berries.

The artifactual record of this exceedingly long interval is very incomplete; it can be studied from such imperishable objects of now-extinct cultures as were made of flint, stone, bone, and antler. These alone have withstood the ravages of time, and, together with the remains of contemporary animals hunted by our prehistoric forerunners, they are all that scholars have to guide them in attempting to reconstruct human activity throughout this vast interval--approximately 98 percent of the time span since the appearance of the first true hominid stock. In general, these materials develop gradually from single, all-purpose tools to an assemblage of varied and highly specialized types of artifacts, each designed to serve in connection with a specific function. Indeed, it is a process of increasingly more complex technologies, each founded on a specific tradition, which characterizes the cultural development of Paleolithic times. In other words, the trend was from simple to complex, from a stage of non-specialization to stages of relatively high degrees of specialization, just as has been the case during historic times.

In the manufacture of stone implements, four fundamental traditions were developed by the Paleolithic ancestors: (1) pebble-tool traditions; (2) bifacial-tool, or hand-ax, traditions; (3) flake-tool traditions; and (4) blade-tool traditions. Only rarely are any of these found in "pure" form, and this fact has led to mistaken notions in many instances concerning the significance of various assemblages. Indeed, though a certain tradition might be superseded in a given region by a more advanced method of producing tools, the older technique persisted as long as it was needed for a given purpose. In general, however, there is an overall trend in the order as given above, starting with simple pebble tools that have a single edge sharpened for cutting or chopping. But no true pebble-tool horizons had yet, by the late 20th century, been recognized in Europe. In southern and eastern Asia, on the other hand, pebble tools of primitive type continued in use throughout Paleolithic times. French place-names have long been used to designate the various Paleolithic subdivisions, since many of the earliest discoveries were made in France.

This terminology has been widely applied in other countries, notwithstanding the very great regional differences that do in fact exist. But the French sequence still serves as the foundation of Paleolithic studies in other parts of the Old World. (H.L.Ms./Ed.) There is reasonable agreement that the Paleolithic ended with the beginning of the recent (Holocene) geologic and climatic era about 8000 BC. It is also increasingly clear that a developmental bifurcation in man's culture history took place at about this time. In most of the world, especially in the temperate and tropical woodland environments or along the southern fringes of Arctic tundra, the older Upper Paleolithic traditions of life were simply readapted toward more or less increasingly intensified levels of food collection. These cultural re-adaptations of older food procedures to the variety and succession of post-Pleistocene environments are generally referred to as occurring in the Mesolithic Period. But also by 8000 BC (if not even somewhat earlier) in certain semi-arid environments of the world's middle latitudes, traces of a quite different course of development began to appear. These traces indicate a movement toward incipient agriculture and (in one or two instances) animal domestication.

In the case of southwestern Asia, this movement had already culminated in a level of effective village-farming communities by 7000 BC. In Meso-America, a comparable development--somewhat different in its details and without animal domestication--was taking place almost as early. It may thus be maintained that in the environmentally favorable portions of southwestern Asia, Meso-America, the coastal slopes below the Andes, and perhaps in southeastern Asia (for which little evidence is available), little if any trace of the Mesolithic stage need be anticipated. The general level of culture probably shifted directly from that of the Upper Paleolithic to that of incipient cultivation and domestication. The picture presented by the culture history of the earlier portion of the Recent period is thus one of two generalized developmental patterns: (1) the cultural re-adaptations to post-Pleistocene environments on a more or less intensified level of food collection; and (2) the appearance and development of an effective level of food production. It is generally agreed that this latter appearance and development was achieved quite independently in various localities in both the Old and New Worlds.

As the procedures and the plant or animal domesticates of this new food-producing level gained effectiveness and flexibility to adapt to new environments, the new level expanded at the expense of the older, more conservative one. Finally, it is only within the matrix of a level of food production that any of the world's civilizations have been achieved. Old Stone Age, the earliest period of human development and the longest phase of mankindï¿½s history. It is approximately coextensive with the Pleistocene geologic epoch, beginning about 2 million years ago and ending in various places between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, when it was succeeded by the Mesolithic period. By far the most outstanding feature of the Paleolithic period was the evolution of the human species from an apelike creature, or near human, to true Homo sapiens. This development was exceedingly slow and continued through the three successive divisions of the period, the Lower, Middle, and Upper Paleolithic. The most abundant remains of Paleolithic cultures are a variety of stone tools whose distinct characteristics provide the basis for a system of classification containing several tool making traditions or industries.

The Lower Paleolithic Period The oldest recognizable tools made by members of the family of man are simple stone choppers, such as those discovered at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. These tools may have been made over 1 million years ago by Australopithecus, ancestor of modern man. Fractured stones called eoliths have been considered the earliest tools, but it is impossible to distinguish man-made from naturally produced modifications in such stones. Lower Paleolithic stone industries of the early species of humans called Homo erectus include the Choukoutienian of China and the Clactonian, Chellean-Abbevillian, Acheulian and Levalloisian represented at various sites in Europe, Africa, and Asia, from 100,000 to 500,000 years ago. Stone tools of this period are of the core type, made by chipping the stone to form a cutting edge, or of the flake type, fashioned from fragments struck off a stone. Hand axes were the typical tool of these early hunters and food-gatherers.

The Middle Paleolithic Period The Middle Paleolithic period includes the Mousterian culture, often associated with Neanderthal man, an early form of man, living between 40,000 and 100,000 years ago. Neanderthal remains are often found in caves with evidence of the use of fire. Neanderthals were hunters of prehistoric mammals, and their cultural remains, though unearthed chiefly in Europe, have been found also in N Africa, Palestine, and Siberia. Stone tools of this period are of the flake tradition, and bone implements, such as needles, indicate that crudely sewn furs and skins were used as body coverings. Since the dead were painted before burial, a kind of primitive religion may have been practiced. The Upper Paleolithic Period In the Upper Paleolithic period Neanderthal man disappears and is replaced by a variety of Homo sapiens such as Cro-Magnon man and Grimaldi man. This, the flowering of the Paleolithic period, saw an astonishing number of human cultures, such as the Aurignacian, Gravettian, Perigordian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian, rise and develop in the Old World.

The beginnings of communal hunting and extensive fishing are found here, as is the first conclusive evidence of belief systems centering on magic and the supernatural. Pit houses, the first man-made shelters, were built, sewn clothing was worn, and sculpture and painting originated. Tools were of great variety, including flint and obsidian blades and projectile points. It is probable that the people of the Aurignacian culture migrated to Europe after developing their distinctive culture elsewhere, perhaps in Asia. Their stone tools are finely worked, and they made a typical figure eightï¿½shaped blade. They also used bone, horn, and ivory and made necklaces and other personal ornaments. They carved the so-called Venus figures, ritual statuettes of bone, and made outline drawings on cave walls. 4 The hunters of the Solutrean phase of the Upper Paleolithic entered Europe from the east and ousted many of their Aurignacian predecessors. The Solutrean wrought extremely fine spearheads, shaped like a laurel leaf. The wild horse was their chief quarry. The Solutrean as well as remnants of the Aurignacian were replaced by the Magdalenian, the final, and perhaps most impressive, phase of the Paleolithic period.

Here artifacts reflect a society made up of communities of fishermen and reindeer hunters. Surviving Magdalenian tools, which range from tiny microliths to implements of great length and fineness, indicate an advanced technique. Weapons were highly refined and varied, the atlatl first came into use, and along the southern edge of the ice sheet boats and harpoons were developed. However, the crowning achievement of the Magdalenian was its cave paintings, the culmination of Paleolithic art. Neolithic vs Paleolithic - Difference and Comparison | Diffen Neolithic vs. Paleolithic Diffen › Social Sciences › History › Prehistory The Paleolithic Era (or Old Stone Age) is a period of prehistory from about 2.6 million years ago to around 10000 years ago. The Neolithic Era (or New Stone Age) began around 10,000 BC and ended between 4500 and 2000 BC in various parts of the world. In the Paleolithic era, there were more than one human species but only one survived until the Neolithic era. Paleolithic humans lived a nomadic lifestyle in small groups.

They used primitive stone tools and their survival depended heavily on their environment and climate . Neolithic humans discovered agriculture and animal husbandry, which allowed them to settle down in one area. The Mesolithic era followed the Paleolithic era but the period of the Paleolithic—Mesolithic boundary varies by geography by as much as several thousand years. Comparison chart Neolithic versus Paleolithic comparison chart Neolithic Neo=new; Lithic=stone. Neolithic era is also call the New Stone age. Paleo=old; Lithic=stone. The Paelolithic era is also called the Old Stone age. Dwelling Mud bricks supported by timber Mouths of caves, huts, skin tents Lifestyle Sedentary....They farmed in permanent settlements and raised/herded animals; agriculture was discovered and became a major source of food; families evolved. Nomadic; in groups of up to 50; tribal society; hunters and gatherers Tools polished stone tools made sharper by grinding Chipped stone, wooden weapons, light stone tools (not sharpened) Clothes Military and religious leaders had authority. Monarchy emerged. Tribal society.

Clan controlled by elders or the powerful (according to age) Economy The concept of private property and ownership emerged for things such as land, livestock and tools. There was no concept of private property. Health Neolithic people were shorter and had lower life expectancy. Diseases like tooth cavities and typhoid emerged in the new stone age. Neolithic women had more children because the life style was no longer nomadic. Paleolithic people were taller and lived longer than neolithic people. Art Stone, mammoth ivory, reindeer horn Main Discovery Agriculture and tools with polished stones, the plow Fire; Rough stone tools They grew crops such as corn, wheat, beans, etc. Hunted and gathered for their food supply. Contents: Neolithic vs Paleolithic A reconstruction of the head from a skull of a Paleolithic man excavated from Gongwangling, Lantian County. Lifestyle Paleolithic people were hunter-gatherers. They were nomads who lived in tribes and relied on hunting, fishing and gathering wild fruits. They hunted animals like bison , mammoths , bears and deer . Meat was a source of food and animal hide was used to make clothes.

They lived in clans of 20-30 people in caves, outdoors or in cabins made of tree branches and animal skin. The Neolithic era began when humans discovered agriculture and raising cattle, which allowed them to no longer have a nomadic life style. They were able to settle in fertile areas with predictable climate, usually near river basins. Rice and wheat were the first plants they cultivated, and the first animals to be domesticated were dogs, goats, sheep, oxen and horses. A painting at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park showing paleolithic men hunting a mammoth using spears. Important Discoveries and Inventions Perhaps the most important invention of paleolithic man was language . A close second was their discovery of how to control fire. Neolithic humans discovered how to cultivate plants and domesticate animals. They also invented writing, pottery and weaving. The agricultural revolution in the early Neolithic era had a profound impact on the human species. The wheel is also believed to have been invented in the Neolithic period. Calendars and time-keeping were also invented in this era. Health and longevity In general, Paleolithic people were healthier than Neolithic man.

Life expectancy was 35.4 years for men and 30.0 years for women in the late Paleolithic era (30000 to 9000 BC). In the early neolithic era (7000 to 5000 BC) this fell to 33.6 and 29.8 years, and in the late Neolithic era (5000 to 3000 BC) fell even further to 33.1 and 29.2 years respectively. The adoption of grains in the Neolithic era coincided with a shortening of stature, thinner bones and crooked, cavity-ridden teeth. Another interesting physiological change was a decline in pelvic inlet depth, making childbirth more difficult in the Neolithic era compared with the Paleolithic era. [1] Diseases like tooth cavities, malaria, tuberculosis and typhoid fever are first known to have occurred in the Neolithic era. Tools Paleolithic tools were made of wood, stone and animal bones. Tools and weapons like harpoons, axes, lances, choppers and awls were used.

An obsidian arrowhead belonging to in Middle Paleolithic age Two Lower Paleolithic bifaces Neolithic era tools were more sophisticated. A variety of tools were invented in the New Stone age, such as sickle blades and grinding stones for agriculture, and pottery and bone implements for food production. Stone axes allowed Neolithic man to clear forests, and the adze allowed him to ashioning wood for shelter, structures and canoes. Archaeologists have also found projectile points, beads, and statuettes from this era. Art Paleolithic people are believed to have animistic religious beliefs. They decorated walls of their cave dwellings with pictures of animals, including deer, bison and mammoths. They also made small sculptures; notably Venus. The most famous prehistorical paintings are in the caves of Altamira, in Spain, and Lascaux, in France. This kind of art, distinct from natural formations in caves , is called cave art. Cave art has been found all over Europe, Asia and Africa. People in paintings were depicted as stick figures. A neolithic statue in China Paleolithic cave art in Lascaux, France Stonehenge, an archaeological site in the UK from the Neolithic era.

A standing female figurine from the Neolithic era (circa 5th or 6th millenium B.C.) The human figure became more important in Neolithic art, which often paints scenes with groups of people hunting, farming or dancing. Figures in these paintings were very schematic. Religion Religion in the paleolithic era was not institutionalized nor was the concept well-developed. Paleolithic people believed in animism or spirits that controlled their environment and animals around them. Small stone statues of pregnant women may suggest worship of fertility or nature. They usually buried their dead. Human Species There were several Homo species related to modern humans (including Neanderthals) during the paleolithic era but only one - Homo sapiens sapiens - survived until the neolithic age. Here is an interesting video where Chip Walter, author of Last Ape Standing , describes what we know of day-to-day Neanderthal life and how Homo sapiens outlasted them : References Human prehistory and the Stone Age… a timeline critique (4th edition - October 2012) by A.O.

Kime for information on 'renting' this article, see Rent-a-Article In the 1820’s, in order to address the prehistory of mankind more clearly, it was thought necessary to divide it into time periods, thus a ‘three-age’ system of the (1) Stone Age , (2) Bronze Age and (3) Iron Age was adopted. While this system is still more-or-less in common use today, refinements were inevitable and the Stone Age, so immensely long, was later subdivided into three major periods as follows: Paleolithic (c 2,000,000 – c 10,000 B.C.) (Old Stone Age) The Paleolithic time period is by far the longest, beginning some (circa) two million years ago to coincide with the first evidence of toolmaking and ending around 10,000 B.C. to coincide with the end of the last ice age (Pleistocene epoch).

Later, as notable advancements in stone toolmaking capabilities were recognized and identified pertaining to the Paleolithic, it was also subdivided thusly: • Lower Paleolithic (two million – 100,000 B.C.) • Middle Paleolithic (100,000 – 30,000 B.C.) • Upper Paleolithic (30,000 – 10,000 B.C.) Mesolithic (c 10,000 – c 5,500 B.C.) (Middle Stone Age) This relatively short Mesolithic time period, sometimes called the Epipaleolithic Era in areas where glaciers did not exist, was set-up to cover the period from the last ice age until the introduction of farming considered to have occurred sometime around 5,500 B.C. However, that particular date just represents widespread farming; it apparently was already taking place a few (or several) thousand years earlier in the Middle East. Farming began at different times between the various cultures but was generally more pronounced between continents.

From a broad point-of-view, that is, if uniformly applied worldwide, the Mesolithic could overlap the next one (Neolithic) by a few (or several) thousand years. In other words, in one part of the world it could still be Mesolithic (no farming) yet having already advanced to Neolithic (farming) in another. Because of this, its application became regionalized. Neolithic (c 5,500 – c 2,500 B.C.) (New Stone Age) This very short Neolithic time period, the last part of the Stone Age, was set-up to cover the period from the onset of farming and ending when metal tools came into widespread use. Again, since ‘widespread’ would be a judgment call as to when the next age (Bronze Age) should begin, it would be a matter of opinion. Metal tools in common use (copper) could have begun as early as 6,000 B.C. within some regions of Europe, Asia and North Africa, effectively eliminating the need to refer to any Neolithic time period at these locations. However, it could apply to less advanced regions like the Americas and the rest of Africa.

The Neolithic therefore became regionally applied also. Stone Age observations It's apparent archeologists devised and adopted these Stone Age time periods prematurely (1820s), without knowing enough, as if anticipating history, because, as it turned out, the Neolithic period wasn’t applicable to the more advanced societies. And the evidence suggests the Middle East (highly advanced) also snubbed the Mesolithic period as well due to its very early farming (more on 'early farming' further below). And later, some societies, due to their backwardness, never went through any Bronze Age but lingered behind until the Iron Age. For newer and even past discoveries, in order to more clearly define a time period they should belong to; more relevant regional terms and timelines have crept into archeological lingo because the old system is either too vague or not applicable. This is especially true beginning with the Mesolithic time period and into the Neolithic. Of the time periods occurring later, the Bronze Age and Iron Age are often found nearly as inappropriate. While the idea of a Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age made sense to archeologists in the early 1800s, they weren’t based on enough data.

Obviously it was expected progress would be more uniform. Since far fewer discoveries have been made concerning the Paleolithic time period (the very first time period), and since stone toolmaking capabilities is the basis upon which the Paleolithic was established, the Paleolithic hasn’t been problematic as with the time periods which followed. It is only the differences in stone toolmaking capabilities which separates (characterizes) the Lower, Middle and Upper Paleolithic. However, sometimes scientific references to humans during the Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) are tied to geological time frames instead... if, or when, a relationship was important to note. Still, while the Stone Age needed to be subdivided by distinguishable differences, being so excessively long, it was perhaps premature, presumptuous and shallow to establish stone toolmaking capabilities as the basis. While it may be the only recognized differences by archaeologists, it appears something more distinguishing exists… albeit unproven as yet. This great difference will be pointed out shortly... and, if ever to be considered the single most significant difference, then the Paleolithic should only have two parts, not three.

But first, as to the earliest alleged stone tools, the so-called 'Oldowan pebble tools', of which the Lower Paleolithic was based upon, it should be noted they're barely distinguishable from any other little rock. It's doubtful the livelihood of early man depended entirely upon such featureless tools. Perhaps in most cases, they were no more a tool than say… in lieu of a hammer we might use our shoe. Even today, on occasion, we still use rocks… as a weapon, to prop something up or as handy weights (like to keep a loose tarp from blowing away). Yet, while we still use rocks, we don’t consider them tools. Besides, early man could have been, after all, vegetarians, with no real need for stone tools. And wooden tools, in the earliest days, assuredly dominated the scene instead. Aside from the fact wood is much lighter than stone and easier to haul around, it would also be easier to construct a wooden tool. Furthermore, wooden tools could be made to serve a thousand purposes. Even a simple stick can serve many purposes… more purposes than any one rock.

While stone tools (as weapons) would be more appropriate for killing large animals, whenever that began to occur, stone tools were likely viewed upon by the ancients as ‘heavy construction’ equipment, much like a sledgehammer would be considered today. In this respect, if our earliest ancestors were vegetarians for the most part, only to occasionally kill small animals and birds for food, perhaps most often by only trapping them, would explain their lack of ‘sophisticated’ stone tools. Nor would fishing require stone tools. While this wouldn’t necessary affect the basis for defining that era (toolmaking capabilities), it throws the wrong light on our most ancient ancestors. To be judged by their stone tools alone is wrong because there is a limit to how sophisticated a stone tool can be. Nobody, nobody at all, could survive reliant on stone tools alone. Wooden tools This would not be the case with wooden tools however. The possible variety and useful applications would be innumerable, but sadly because these tools were wooden, few, if any, would survive the ages. Some of their wooden tools could have even consisted of parts, bound together with pegs and sinew.

Besides wooden tools, there were also surely wooden ‘devices’ created during the Stone Age on occasion... as sure as the sun rises and sets. Furthermore, some likely had moving parts. After all, to construct something wooden with a moving part doesn't necessarily have to mean 'sophisticated' or 'complex'. A gravity reliant latch would be an example and most likely such a device was employed in a trap… even a jointed (elbow-flexible) shaft perhaps, designed to pivot upon the slightest touch. Nor can we rule out wooden pulleys, hinges and a variety of other devises. It seems apparent, stone weapons came into being as a result of humans progressively becoming more reliant on meat for food. In order to kill bigger animals for more abundant meat, an efficiency consideration, bigger and more specialized stone tools (as weapons) were needed whereas flint or obsidian stone tools would have existed for cutting and skinning purposes (hides). Only children, or perhaps expediency, would explain those scientifically-heralded (featureless) pebble stones. From the progressive state of stone toolmaking capabilities over the ages, one cannot conclude the early stages of tool development reflected a time of lesser intelligence.

Instead, the earliest humans may have been primarily vegetarians. In that case therefore, which appears a certainty, the Old Stone Age evolved from the passive days of vegetarianism to the aggressive days of carnivorousness. Being of monumental consequences and the most characterizing event of all, It is the reason the Paleolithic period (Old Stone Age) should be divided into two parts, not three. (more about this in Examples of stone tools and why the earliest cavemen had no heavy weapons ) While the changeover was assuredly gradual and regionally different, the 'sophisticated' types of stone tools found would indicate it had already occurred. The oldest, if determinable, would give us an idea when. Seemingly, from most indications, it occurred towards the end of the upper Paleolithic time period (30,000 – 100,000 B.C.) The profoundness of this great difference is explained next and it concerns vegetarianism. Most likely they were vegetarians not just because killing large animals required stone weapons- which they didn't have - but because, in their social upbringing, there was a stigma attached to killing. It would then logically follow that a stigma would also be attached to the eating of flesh.

Stigmas, of course, are usually rooted in what is considered sinfulness. We must not forget, ancient man was very spiritual. There is testimony galore. However, to the extent killing (in general) and carnivorousness were considered sins, their analysis would be derived from a 'pure conscience'... not yet polluted by centuries-old influences. Health concerns may have played a roll as well. Any change in our conscience since then (due to 'justifying') would indicate injured spiritual forces in today's societies. In other words, our conclusions about anything with a spiritual flavor are likely much different... and why anthropologists often fail to properly characterize ancient societies. Of course, having a mindset unable to relate to the original (ancient) mindset, modern-day justifications would make it harder to visualize vegetarians in ancient times... or that this lifestyle existed for spiritual reasons. It wouldn't 'compute'. Nonetheless, the lack of killing tools is evidence of vegetarianism. Anthropologists, of course, mistakenly linked this absence to 'intelligence'. Sin or not, as much distaste early man likely had for killing and the eating of flesh, to avoid starvation he probably knew it was necessary at times. Survival, after all, is the trump card.

Over time, it became more acceptable. It shouldn’t be too hard to imagine how disgusting the eating of animal flesh would seem without precedent. Or if influenced thusly by society... like cannibalism is today. While fish may have been the exception, along with possibly a few other socially established 'exceptions', likely varying in different parts of the world, mankind may not have been carnivorous to any extent for quite some time. It is the greatest characterizing difference between the earliest days of the Paleolithic to the latter days. Yet, if the earliest humans were primarily vegetarians, then, it seems, we should expect to find grinding tools like a recognizable metate or mano (handheld 'grinder')... but apparently we haven't. At least not anything older than 8,000 years... although the ability to determine (date) the earliest use of a rock is doubtful. In any case, gathering grain in the wild - if a nomadic lifestyle was the norm - wouldn’t yield enough to require special grinding tools. Gatherable yields of any significance would require the act of farming which, in turn, requires people to stick around. Until then, for only a few handfuls of grain any rock or hard spot would do.

Continuing along these lines, if the ancients were primarily nomads as often suggested, then finding a rock with evidential wear would be unlikely. It would take several decades of daily grinding grain on the same rock for a recognizable metate to take shape. Nobody would carry these heavy rocks to their next location either, not in a sea of rocks. But for them, that lifestyle would have made no sense. If anything they were only 'seasonal nomads'. Surely farming had to have taken place to some extent since the very beginning. It's only natural this would occur as the benefits would be immediately seen. Only vagrants and the dispossessed might constantly be on the move. However, this contradicts what archaeologists believe, that the practice of farming did not begin until sometime around 5,500 B.C. Apparently that date was established because metates were determined to be in use some 6,000 years ago in Africa at the Standing Stones at Nabta, and some 8,000 years ago at Jia Lake, China. Still, evidence of earlier usage must exist (somewhere). However, such evidence would be increasingly scant the further back in history one tries to go (less and less people).

Whether farming has always occurred or whether humans were once vegetarians, it's all about knowing the mettle of mankind. Of course, there'd be a difference between the originals (ancient man) and their made-over offspring (modern man). In summary, archeologists have been irresponsible in presenting to the public our ancient past. You can't extrapolate from a few facts the full picture. Nor do they seem to fathom how much the missing data could change it. It is wholly premature to paint a picture based on a single discovery, as if each finding was the Holy Grail, the Rosetta Stone or the 'missing link'. To do so is shamefully grandstanding. While the credo of science is to stick-to-the-facts, except archeologists simply can't draw an accurate picture from a couple of facts. With stone tools effectively being the only evidence of the caveman's existence, the public has been purposefully left with the impression stone tools were the extent of the caveman's sophistication. Although my spiritually-derived beliefs may belong to the realm of speculation to a great extent - although a logical discourse can often lessen that extent - hopefully you've seen the picture I've painted is far more likely than that of science...

who continually tries to make a fraction of the story the whole story. A.O. Kime Mesolithic Period | prehistoric period | Britannica.com prehistoric period Alternative Title: Middle Stone Age Related Topics Stone Age Mesolithic Period, also called Middle Stone Age, ancient cultural stage that existed between the Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age), with its chipped stone tools , and the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age), with its polished stone tools. Most often used to describe archaeological assemblages from the Eastern Hemisphere , the Mesolithic Period is broadly analogous to the Archaic culture of the Western Hemisphere . Mesolithic material culture is characterized by greater innovation and diversity than is found in the Paleolithic. Among the new forms of chipped stone tools were microliths, very small stone tools intended for mounting together on a shaft to produce a serrated edge. Polished stone was another innovation that occurred in some Mesolithic assemblages. Woman gathering honey, watercolour copy by F. Benitez Mellado of a Mesolithic (c. … Instituto de Estudios Editoriales, Barcelona Although culturally and technologically continuous with Paleolithic peoples, Mesolithic cultures developed diverse local adaptations to special environments .

The Mesolithic hunter achieved a greater efficiency than did the Paleolithic and was able to exploit a wider range of animal and vegetable food sources. Immigrant Neolithic farmers probably absorbed many indigenous Mesolithic hunters and fishers, and some Neolithic communities seem to have been composed entirely of Mesolithic peoples who adopted Neolithic equipment (these are sometimes called Secondary Neolithic).

Question: The New Stone Age was in what period?
Answer: Neolithic