Item Code: Document1
DOK: 2
GLCE: 7-W1.2.2, 7-W1.2.1, 7-W1.1.1, 7-W1.1.2
How and why did many humans shift from full-time foraging to living in settled villages?
Task Overview: 110 Minutes
Title: Paleolithic to Neolithic
Part 1 (35 minutes) Ultimately tasked with writing an informational essay why there was a shift from
paleolithic to neolithic, students will read articles and view pictures while taking notes on these sources.
They will then respond to a constructed-response questions addressing the research skills of analyzing
and evaluating information.
Part 2 - 70 minutes: Students will work indivdually on drafting, composing, and revising an informative
essay about the shift from the Paleolithic Era to the Neolithic Era.
Scorable Products: Student responses to the constructed-response questions and the essay in part 2 will
be scored.
Teacher preparation/Resource requirements: The teacher should ensure that sufficient blank paper
and writing utensils are available for student note-taking. Teacher should conduct standard preparation,
registration ,etc. for computer-based testing. The testing software will include access to spell check but
not to grammar check.
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Item Code: Document1
http://www.wfsd.k12.ny.us/webquests/Paleolithic%20and%20Neolithic%20Era_files/page0002.htm
The earliest people lived during the Old Stone Age. The period is also called the Paleolithic Era. The
Paleolithic Period began more than 2,000,000 years ago. These people were nomads. In order to find
food, the Paleolithic people often had to move from place to place, hunting and gathering. Because of
the lack of food and the constant moving, populations tended to be small. These people usually died at
a very early age because of hunger, disease, or injury.
Early people were quite smart. They developed tools that made life easier for them. They were
simple tools but they were able to use stones, sticks, bones and other things to make weapons for
hunting and defense. Although these were prehistoric times, they left cave paintings behind. These
paintings have helped us understand the lives and religious beliefs of these people. (Click here to see
paintings.) In order to communicate, Paleolithic Man developed a very simple language that usually
consisted of simple grunts or babbles. Today we would say that their language was similar to the early
language of a baby. At some point, early man discovered fire and that it could be used for cooking, light
and warmth. Over time they even discovered ways to make fire.
When Paleolithic people had a successful hunt, they would use every part of the animal they
killed. They would use the meat for food, the skins for clothing, and the bones for tools or weapons. If
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they were unable to find the shelter of a cave, they might also use the bones and skins to make simple
huts.
Paleolithic People also developed religious beliefs. They believed in animism, where all living things
had spirits. They also believed in life after death and because of this they took special care in burying
their dead. To ensure that their dead would have what they needed in theafterlife they would often
bury their dead with food, tools, and weapons.
Because populations were small, both men and women were important in these early societies. It is
believed that men were probably the leaders of these little tribes. The eldest man ruled until his
death. At that point power would move to the next oldest male. Women, however, had the most
important roles during this time period. They had the important role of carrying on life and for the most
part they were more successful in finding food. They were the “gatherers.” They found nuts and berries
while the men hunted. Most times the men were unsuccessful in finding food while the
women weren’t.
http://www.wfsd.k12.ny.us/webquests/Paleolithic%20and%20Neolithic%20Era_files/page0003.htm
About 12,000 years ago (10,000 B.C.) an important discovery was made. Humans learned to farm. This
became known as the NeolithicPeriod or New Stone Age. The Neolithic Revolution was a major turning
point in history. In addition to learning to farm, man learned to domesticate (tame) animals. In doing
so, life drastically changed for mankind.
Once man learned to farm, they began to settle. Permanent settlements began to develop in river
valleys. The rivers provided fertile soil and water for irrigation. In order to farm more effectively, man
developed new skills and tools. They made tools that were more complex and made farming
easier. They quickly learned that animals could be used to do work. In addition, they developed ways to
measure their seed for planting, keep track of time, build stronger homes and boats that could be used
for trade and travel.
These changes made work more specialized. Unlike the Paleo lithic Era where you either hunted or
gathered, now there were many jobs that needed to be completed. Some families may have strictly
farmed, while others took care of the animals, another family may have been responsible for gathering
wood or other building materials. In order for communities to function efficiently, it was important that
each person perform his or her role in the community responsibly. The status of women soon
changed. Men became more powerful and some men took on more distinct roles as community
leaders.
Since more food was available, populations began to grow. Soon small societies developed into
villages and eventually they became large advanced societies called civilizations. As these civilizations
grew, they began to accumulate more personal property and distinct cultures began to
develop. Language became more sophisticated and people soon learned to write. Animal skin clothing
was replaced by cloth, caves and simple shelters became wood or clay homes. As more communities
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emerged, there was greater interaction among the people and, in time, humans began to trade with one
another. Cultural diffusion increased. Life was changed rapidly during this time.
One aspect of life that seemed to stay the same was religion. Like their earlier ancestors, Neolithic
man believed in animism. To help them in this world, they would call on spirits to help them. As the
societies became more developed, people began to develop more elaborate structures for
worshipping. But like their earlier ancestors, Neolithic man believed in the importance of burying their
dead and preparing them for the afterlife.
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab63
Doing what comes naturally
Lions and wolves communicate well enough to hunt as a group. Bees can tell each other where the best
pollen is.
For almost the whole of human history, from at least 3 million years ago, mankind has lived by carrying
out these two basic acitivities of hunting (or fishing) and gathering edible items of any kind (from fruit to
insects). We are unusual among animals in combining the two functions, and we have been greatly
helped in both by the development of language. But basically, as hunter-gatherers, we have lived by
doing what comes naturally.
It is true that human beings have dignified both activities with elaborate ritual and with much attention
to the spirits of nature. And it is true that in human societies the business of hunting and gathering has
involved specialization, with men doing the hunting and women much of the gathering. And humans,
unlike most animals, carry the food home and share it, rather than consume it there and then.
But all this is a result of our ability to communicate, to speculate, to rationalize. It does not alter the fact
that for 3 million years Stone Age man, the hunter-gatherer, engages in an activity as natural as the
swoop of a hawk or the grazing of a horse.
The Neolithic Revolution: 10,000 years ago
The change comes a mere 10,000 years ago, when people first discover how to cultivate crops and to
domesticate animals. This is the most significant single development in human history. It happens within
the Stone Age, for tools are still flint rather than metal, but it is the dividing line which separates the old
Stone Age (palaeolithic) from the new Stone Age (neolithic). It has been aptly called the Neolithic
Revolution.
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The strange thing is that this revolution occurs independently in separate parts of the world - the Middle
East, for example, andAmerica. How can this unlikely coincidence occur?
Part of the reason may be the ending of the most recent cold phase of the present ice age (see Ice
Ages). This creates new temperate regions, in which humans can live comfortably. By contrast many of
their main victims in the chase cannot survive in the changed climate.
Herds of bison move to colder regions. Mammoths become extinct. But plants of all kinds grow more
easily in the new temperate zones.
It is not hard to imagine, in these circumstances, a strong human impulse to abandon the pursuit of the
bison and to stay, instead, in a region where edible plants are now growing in sufficient profusion to
seem worth encouraging and protecting (by weeding around them, for example). Some human groups
adapt to a new way of life. Others go after the bison.
If the impulse is to settle, there is also a strong incentive to ensure that animals remain nearby as a
supply of food. This may involve attempts to herd them, to pen them in enclosures, or to entice them
near the settlement by laying out fodder.
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-neolithic-revolution.htm
The Neolithic Revolution is the transformation of human societies from being hunter-gatherer based to
agriculture based. This period, which occurred between 12,000 and 8,000 years ago, brought along
many profound changes to human society and culture, including the creation of cities and permanent
dwellings, labor specialization, the baking of bread and brewing of beer, personal property, more
complex hierarchical social structures, non-agricultural crafts, slavery, the state, official marriage,
personal inheritance, and more. The term "Neolithic revolution" refers both to the period of time when
it occurred as well as the enduring changes it caused.
Tens of thousands of years ago, there were no crops: only the primitive ancestors of the plants we
recognize as being edible. After hundreds or thousands of generations of purposeful and accidental
selection by human farmers, who would destroy or confiscate the seeds of plants with undesirable
qualities, we domesticated strains optimized for maximum nutrition and largest yield. The so-called
"Neolithic founder crops" include emmer, einkorn, barley, lentil, pea, chickpea, bitter vetch, and flax.
These are all new species created by human intervention into wild ancestor species.
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Your Assignment:
Your essay will be scored: based on:
1.) Statement of purpose/focus: how well you clearly state and maintain your controlling idea or main
idea.
2.) Organization: how well the ideas progress from the introduction to the conclusion using effective
transitions and how well you stay on topic throughout the essay.
3.) Elaboration of Evidence: how well you provide evidence from sources about your topic and elaborate
with specific information.
4.) Language and Vocabulary: how well you express your ideas using precise language that is appropriate
for your audience and purpose.
5.) Conventions: how well you follow the rules of usage, punctuation, capitalization and spelling.
Analyze/Integrate Information Rubric (Claim 4, Target 2)
2
• The response gives sufficient evidence of the ability to gather, analyze, and integrate
information within and among multiple sources of information.
1
• The response gives limited evidence of the ability to gather, analyze, and integrate
information within and among multiple sources of information.
0
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A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to gather, analyze, and
integrate information within and among multiple sources of information.
Evaluate Information/Sources Rubric (Claim 4, Target 3)
2
• The response gives sufficient evidence of the ability to evaluate the credibility,
completeness, relevancy, and/or accuracy of the information and sources.
1
• The response gives limited evidence of the ability to evaluate the credibility, completeness,
relevancy, and/or accuracy of the information and sources.
0
A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to evaluate the credibility,
completeness, relevancy, and/or accuracy of the information and sources.
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