Comparison and Contrast of Paleolithic and Neolithic Age free essay sample

Tonya Lewis George Lewis HIS 101 August 17, 2011 Compare the Paleolithic Age, Neolithic Age, and the Bronze Age. The Paleolithic and Neolithic culture can be compared in many ways because the Paleolithic culture was a gateway for the Neolithic era. They also contrast because the Neolithic people transitioned and advanced the skills of the Paleolithic people to become a more settled agrarian people. The period called the Paleolithic Age, or Old Stone Age, began with the earliest primitive tool making human beings who inhabited East Africa nearly three million years ago. The Paleolithic culture was characterized by a hunting and gathering lifestyle for humans. During this time their diet was almost exclusively wild meats, fish, vegetable, and fruits. The people lived in caves and occupied rock and wood shelters. They would tend to stay in large groups sharing food among family members. Although human progress was very slow during the long centuries of the Paleolithic Age, developments occurred that influence the future enormously. We will write a custom essay sample on Comparison and Contrast of Paleolithic and Neolithic Age or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Paleolithic people developed spoken language and learned how to make and use tools of bone, wood, and stone. They also discovered how o use fire, which allowed them to cook their meat and provided warmth and protection. A gradual transition from hunters gathered to agricultural economies began at the start of the Neolithic Age, the New Stone Age. During this time human beings discovered farming, domesticated animals, established villages, polished stone tools, made pottery, and wove cloth. Neolithic farmers altered their environment to satisfy human needs. Instead of spending their time searching for grains, roots, and berries, women and children grew crops near their homes. Food was still gathered from the wild but they also cultivated wheat, barley, raised sheep, goats, and pigs for food. The Neolithic farmer began to build permanent mud brick homes, giving rise to towns and later cities and states. Tool making continued to develop; flint was easy to shape and produced razor sharp edges for arrowheads and knives. Proceeded by the Paleolithic, and Neolithic periods and followed by the Iron Age, the Bronze Age is noted as an era when copper and bronze, which is an alloy derived from copper and tin, was used extensively to make tools, weapons, and other decorative items. The Bronze Age is more advanced than the Stone Age, in which artifacts and tools are largely made from carved stone. Bronze tools including knives, axes, and other cutting instruments could also be sharpened more easily than those made from copper, thus reducing the time required for workers to perform their jobs. Because workers had better tools and could work faster, the creation of larger building structures and the development of urban areas also grew during this time period. In conclusion we can see that Paleolithic and Neolithic culture used the same skills and tools. They both were hunter gatherers and used the same flint based tools. In addition to this both left their art on the walls of their habitats. The Stone Age, Bronze Age, and the Iron Age make up traditional three-age system for classifying prehistoric cultures.