Paleolithic Era to Neolithic Era. Created for a sixth grade social studies classroom. Contains information about the transition from hunting and gathering to a more permanent and agricultural lifestyle.
Information from History Alive! Pictures from Wikipedia and Discovery Education.
2. The Paleolithic Era
• The Paleolithic Era (Old
Stone Age) began when
hominids first made
tools.
• These tools were used
to make their lives
easier.
3. • Humans living during
the Paleolithic Era were
hunter-gatherers.
• This means they moved
around hunting animals
and gathering plants to
eat.
4. • Hunting and gathering
did not always provide
the people with a
steady supply of food.
• If there were no animals
and plants where the
people were the people
would have to leave to
find plants and animals
to eat.
5. • Paleolithic people lived
in temporary shelters
like tents or caves
because they were
nomads.
• A nomad is a person
who does not have a
permanent home and
moves around a lot.
6. • Paleolithic people were
nomads because they
moved around to follow
their food sources.
7. • Paleolithic people lived
in small groups of no
more than 60 people
because being nomadic
made living in large
groups difficult..
8. The Neolithic Era
• The Neolithic Era (New Stone Age) began
when humans invented agriculture and
started making tools out of metal instead of
stone.
9. • Neolithic people
learned how to farm
and domesticate
animals.
• Domesticate means to
train a wild animal to be
useful to humans.
10. • Growing crops and
domesticating animals
is called agriculture and
this began in the
Neolithic Era.
• These people farmed in
Europe, Africa, Asia, an
d the Americas.
Humans domesticated wheat. They
would harvest it, grind it up, and use
that to make other foods!
11. • A lot of Neolithic people
began living in the
Fertile Crescent.
• The Fertile Crescent was
a place where the land
was fertile (good for
growing plants).
Sometimes historians call the
Fertile Crescent the “Cradle of
Civilization”
12. • Neolithic people were
not nomadic. They
settled down in towns
and built houses
because they were able
to farm and needed to
be close to their fields.
13. • They began to form villages around the fields
they farmed and they learned how to make
many new things like: jewelry, pottery, bigger
houses, better clothing, and stronger tools.
Neolithic Homesite
14. • Once people began
building houses and living
in towns life got easier.
• They divided up the work;
some people
farmed, some took care
of animals, some built
houses, some made
tools, some made
clothing, some made
pottery, and others
traded.
Wall painting from a Neolithic
village of a man with cattle and
deer.
15. • After starting
agriculture Neolithic
people began to focus
on making their lives
comfortable and
beautiful.
• They began decorating
their
clothing, pottery, and
jewelry; some women
even began wearing
makeup!
16. • Trade began during the Neolithic Era.
• Trade is buying and selling/exchanging goods.
• Neolithic people began to trade for things
they wanted, so some people became traders.
• They wanted resources they did not have.
17. • These resources could
be used to make things
in their own villages.
• These traders would
meet with traders from
other villages and
exchange or sell goods
for things their village
did not have.Carvings of bull’s heads found in a
Neolithic village
18. So to sum everything up!
• Overall, life during the
Paleolithic Era was
tough.
• Paleolithic people
moved around a lot,
depended on wild
animals and plants for
food, and did not have
permanent homes.
19. • Life improved greatly during the Neolithic Era
when people began farming, settling down in
permanent homes, and trading.
