Early History Eras
Name:
Date:
Subject: World History
Assignment: Read the facts about the Paleolithic and Neolithic Eras. Based on your reading write a brief paragraph in first
person, on the bottom of this worksheet, about what life is like in each Era and be sure to include at least 5 facts.
(2 paragraphs and 10 facts total)

For example: My father and I were out hunting while Mom and the girls stayed behind gathering what they could to eat. I got frustrated that I
missed my target, it had been weeks since we had any meat and I was sick of nuts and fruit, and he told me an amazing story about how it wasn’t
time for that animal’s spirit to die and it had taken over the direction of my sphere. Father and I returned back to the clan and I heard them
discussing the need to find a new cave and food source. I was sick of moving all the time; I wish we could just stay in one place.
Paleolithic Era:
•
Old Stone Age
–
New Stone Age
–
Started about 7,000 BC
Facts:
People were nomadic
–
Nomadic: Move from place to place
foraging or searching for new sources of
food.
•
Lived in clans of 20-30 people
•
Men hunted/fished, women gathered wild
fruits/nuts/roots
•
People depended entirely on their environment
for their survival
–
•
•
2 million BC to 10,000 BC
Facts:
•
Neolithic Era:
Climate had a huge impact
Made simple tools and weapons out of the
materials at hand
–
Learned how to farm, which allowed them to stay
in one place
–
Developed a spoken (oral) language
•
Invented clothing (wrapped animal skins around
their bodies) to protect themselves from the
environment
•
Lived in caves & built fires
•
Animism
Slash & Burn agriculture
•
Built permanent villages
•
Developed advanced tools
–
Stone tools, arrowhead, ax heads,
needles, and plow
•
Domesticated plants & animals
•
Pottery & Weaving Skills
•
Neolithic Agricultural Revolution
–
Stone, bone, wood
•
–
•
The change from hunting and gathering
to farming
•
Led to a growth in population
•
Which led to the decline in women’s status, as
men controlled family, economic & political life
•
Led to trade & accumulation of wealth
•
Led to the development of new technology
–
Calendars, plow, arrowhead, ax heads
Belief that the world was full of spirits
and forces that might reside in animals,
objects or dreams
Life during the Paleolithic Era:
Life during the Neolithic Era: