Early Humans, Part II: From Paleolithic to Neolithic –  Changes in Daily Life

Essential Questions:  How did life in the past differ from today?  What legacies from the past affect us today?  

Shared Learning Target:
What will I be able to do?: You will be able to identify and describe Paleolithic versus Neolithic daily life characteristics and justify your conclusions. 

What idea, topic, or subject is important for you to learn?: You will learn the many differences between Paleolithic and Neolithic daily life and understand the significance of the shift to agricultural production on human history.  

 
What you will do to show that you know this?: You will show this by completed the Changes in Life During the Neolithic Period Chart in your notebook and answering Comprehension Questions about your findings.  Then, you will write a compare/contrast essay about the change between the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras. 

Introduction: The Neolithic period was part of the Stone Age, a time period in which humans primarily made tools and weapons out of stone, but also in later periods out of bone, antler and shell.  The Stone Age ended in about 3,000 BCE when people developed metal-working technology.  The Stone Age consisted of two major time periods--the Paleolithic, or "Old Stone," period from roughly two million years ago to 8500 B.C.E. and the Neolithic, or "New Stone," period from roughly 8500 B.C.E. to 3000 B.C.E.  Tools in the Neolithic period became more sophisticated, but the primary difference was the development of agriculture and sedentary lifestyles.

The development of agriculture, or farming, during the Neolithic period had a tremendous effect on human society. Farming changed so many aspects of daily life that scholars have often referred to it as the "Neolithic Revolution." However, these changes did not happen suddenly, as the word "revolution" suggests, but rather took place over thousands of years.  When villages made the transition to farming, they did it slowly over centuries or millennia.  They didn't plan ahead or have a clear vision that they would farm in sedentary communities instead of hunting and gathering in a nomadic lifestyle.  However, since the Paleolithic Era of modern humans had lasted approximately 200,000 years, a change that occurred over approximately one to five thousand years, might seem to be a relatively fast change.  Regardless of how long it took, the lifestyles were significantly different at the end of the Neolithic Era, and the changes led to life in cities, and what we later called civilizations.

The earliest Neolithic societies arose in the modern-day countries of Turkey, Israel, and Iraq and included such settlements as Catalhoyuk, Jericho, and Jarmo. In these settlements, people began farming, building permanent shelters, making better tools and clothing, and developing trade and craftsmanship. Each of these changes made life more stable for the people of the Neolithic period.  (Adapted from www.mitchellteachers.net)   

Paleolithic Dwelling/Shelter

Step 1: Tokens - Print out the Daily Life Tokens Handout and cut them along the dotted lines.

Step 2: Daily Life Chart – Make a chart in your notebook similar to the Changes in Life During the Neolithic Period Charts and the Daily Life Description Handout.  Paste the tokens into your notebook chart and complete the rest of the chart based on the Daily Life Description Handout.

Step 3: Virtual Tour of Catalhoyuk -  Take the virtual tour of Catalhoyuk at

http://www.mitchellteachers.net/WorldHistory/MrMEarlyHumansProject/VirtualTourCatalHoyukAssignment.htm.  Answer the Catalhoyuk Essential Questions in this Word document.  As soon as you open the document, save it in the WAS_Student directory with the filename YOURLASTNAME.catalhoyuk in the writeable subdirectory of the alarvidson directory.  Then begin answering the questions, and save as you go.  

Step 4: Comprehension Questions – On a separate sheet of paper, in ink, answer each question below in paragraph form, citing evidence to back up your answers from the given text. 

1. What was the main difference between life in the Paleolithic period and life in the Neolithic period?

2. How did people's daily lives change as they began to domesticate plants and animals during the Neolithic period?

3. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the changes in daily life that occurred as a result of the development of agriculture?

4. A revolution is defined as a “a sudden, radical, or complete change” (Merriam Webster online, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revolution).  Some historians refer to the development of agriculture as a revolution because of the dramatic effect it had on people's lives. Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.