Question

Describe the primary characteristics of Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures, citing similarities and differences.

Answer 1

The Paleolithic age was the period from about 2 million BC to 10,000 BC. This era is also known as the Old Stone Age. The Neolithic age, also called the New Stone Age, covers a period from about 9000 BC to 3500 BC. Both of these, along with the intermingled Mesolithic age, comprise the Stone Age. However, the Neolithic era lasted for a much shorter duration.
According to the archeologists, people of the Paleolithic era were hunters and gatherers. They led a nomadic life gathering around for food. In the Neolithic era, people settled down having a more sedentary life style. They started growing grains and also started storage of food. The rise of agriculture is one of the major changes of this era. In the Paleolithic age, humans used tools made out of stone and bones. These tools were used in hunting and fishing. In the Neolithic age, when people started agriculture, they used tools made up of copper. The prime innovation of this age was the development of pottery. The development of pottery products made it easier to cook and transport food. People of the Paleolithic age had a simple technology. Gathering of food was their main objective. However, the people of the Neolithic age had a far developed and much more complex culture. They were farmers; they used to grow crops. These people had developed trade networks and made use of the barter system. They developed the basics of economy.

The Paleolithic people lived in caves in groups of 20-30 people comprising a family. They created the ideas of religion and explained birth, death, and various issues. They lived in caves and made the famous cave sketches. The Neolithic man lived in a much more complex community. They lived in villages of 200 – 300 people. They even owned private land. The concepts of polished tools, pottery, cloth, the wheel, the sail, the ox yoke, and plow were well developed in this age. During this time man lived in houses made up of mud and stone.

Summary:

1.The Paleolithic age ended long before the start of the Neolithic age.

2.The Neolithic age lasted for a much shorter duration in comparison to the Paleolithic age.

3.The Paleolithic man moved in search of food. The Neolithic man moved in search of fertile land and water sources.

4.The Paleolithic man was a hunter and gatherer whereas the Neolithic man cultivated crops.

5.The Paleolithic society had a primitive type of government comprised of families ruled by men. In the Neolithic era the society had complex governance which had a chief who ruled the council.

6.The Neolithic era developed a barter system of trade. Trade was absent in the Paleolithic era.

7.People of the Paleolithic age made use of tools made up of stone and bones whereas in the Neolithic era, people started using tools made up of metals as copper and bronze.

8.The Neolithic era saw the innovation of pottery, wheel, weapons, farming, banking, and trade. All this was absent in the Paleolithic era.