Paleolithic Era
Impacts of Migration & Culture
Paleolithic Era
• 45000 BCE to 10000 BCE
What was life like?
Paleolithic Era
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Hunter-gatherers
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Purposefully migrated
Large lands to support small populations
Starvation uncommon
Gender roles differed w/o subordination
Many things cut life short: warfare, childbirth
Paleolithic Era
Key Development:
• humans migrated to all regions
Migration
Causes?
Effects?
Culture
What is culture?
all learned things that make up a people’s entire way of life
“Human beings, like other living things, have
physical needs. They need food to survive
and a safe place to raise their young…
Other animals fill these needs with their
physical characteristics. For example, a lion
uses speed, sharp teeth, and claws to
capture its food.
Humans lack these physical tools. Left to get
food like the lion, humans would starve.
Culture is how humans find food and
safety…”
Paleolithic Era
• B/t 45000 BCE & 10000 BCE humans
developed culture
– made humans more productive
Culture
Comprised of…
1. Belief systems
2. Economy
3. Social Structure
4. Traditions
5. Political systems
6. Arts
7. Language
Why do cultures change?
• Technology
• Environment
• Diffusion
Paleolithic Era
So…during the period, humans migrated to all regions of the
world, because they developed culture. Once in these
regions, cultures changed more due to new environments
and technologies.
Where are these environments?
Climate
660 N
300 N
23.50 N Tropic of Cancer
00 Equator
Climate: Tropical
Hot
 Wet
 Further from equator sometimes has a
dry season however =

 Tropical Wet & Dry: 2 seasons
Amazon
Rainforest
Climate: Desert
Hot
 Dry

Sahara
Climate: Temperate
4 seasons
 Moderate or “in the middle”

Pennsylvania
Climate: Arctic

Cold
Myth of Continents
How many continents do
you see?
 What makes something
a continent?

Label Continents