Many individuals see the "Stone Age" as one big diverse period in history, but in fact the Stone Age is made up of two distinct sub-periods called the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) and the Neolithic (New Stone Age). During the Paleolithic Era, the men and women hunted and gathered their food, but with the discovery of agriculture and domestication of animals, a new way of living was introduced and changed society forever. This introduced the Neolithic Age, and although many ways of living changed, some were still preserved. Religion for instance was a similarity that was carried into the Neolithic society; both eras did burials which indicated a belief in afterlife. Along with that, some aspects of the social organization were the same.
This poor soil attracted very few immigrants. Summers were hot, and winters were bitterly cold. Forests were cleared to grow staple crops such as corn, squash, and barley, however, livestock had to be brought to supplement the New England diet. The fish, fur, shipbuilding and lumber industries thrived in New England colonies. Creative ways to solve problems because of this region’s barren soil keyed the term “Yankee Ingenuity.” The Triangular Trade is an example of this.
However, once the specialization of labor occurred it was possible for one to accumulate wealth. Therefore, social distinctions came to be. In contrast, gender distinctions happened earlier due to the men leaving and hunting while the women gathered the crops and tended to the children. 4. How did early humans interact with their environment (Paleolithic & Neolithic)?
At which extent did physical geography impact civilizations and agriculture? From what we know today it impacted a lot. It changed the culture, the people and their way of life. And it all started with the warmth of the globe that made domesticating crops possible. In the beginning people were hunters and gatherers, and didn’t have permanent dwellings because they were nomadic.
They cleared the land for sheep and cattle farming and also for the growing of crops as the land was thought to be so much more lush than in Britain. With the clearing of the land though, they also cleared the homes of animals and drove away Kangaroos, Emus and Possums, all of these being stable items in the Diet of the Aboriginals. The Sheep that the settlers had brought with them dug up and destroyed the Yam Daisy which was also largely eaten by the Aborigines. Because of the sparse amounts of food that were left for the Aboriginals to hunt and eat, they had to choose one of three options. Aborigines could choose to stay where they were and fight the settlers, though soon it was obvious that spears were no match for the guns that had been brought over.
They traveled on the rivers to other civilizations to trade supplies needed for living and things they treasured. When the rivers flooded, they created fertile fields. The farmers used the rich, fertile soil to grow grain to make a surplus of food. Although historians and archeologists concur that each of these societies worshipped several Divine Beings, not much else is known about the Indus Valley religion. However, evidence shows that Sumer, Egypt, and China believed in gods closely related to nature.
Since the Paleolithic era was the era of hunters and gatherers, it is thought that each role was looked at as equally important and that gender equality was a normality. This changed in Neolithic time, because of the fact that men would work outside the home outside on a farm, and women would tend to the home. Since the men provided the food, gender roles and hierarchies were created and that is where the inequality that still plagues us today stemmed from. In Paleolithic times,
The Washo tribes are not an agricultural people, so they move in accordance with the seasonal food supply migrations, (Siskin: 1). They relied mostly on the two distinctive environments brought about by the arid deserts and lightly wooded areas near the mountains foraging piñon as their main source of food, (a tree’s nuts which where a stable for the tribe), and deer, mountain sheep, bear, rabbit, and antelope as a secondary source are hunted. Though the food supply was more sustainable for the Washo tribes, it was not unheard of for there to be food shortages; so as a result their population density was approximately sixteen people for every one-hundred kilometers, (Siskin:7). Tribal kinship was recognized by all of the Washo tribes; the differences between them were limited to slight cultural and dialectic variations. Linguistically the Washo did not affiliate closely with any other neighboring tribes.
Wild beasts were tamed as work animals or kept for their meat and hides. Because their fields and flocks could supply most of their wants, a settled life in villages became possible; people were no longer compelled to move on endlessly in search of food, as their food-gathering ancestors had done for countless generations. Early peoples relied on information transmitted by word of mouth. But as cultures became increasingly
It also gave them the ability to teach others how to grow crops so they can live in America without starving. The Europeans that colonized America benefitted from the knowledge of the Native Americans because they did not know how to find their own food. Before the Native Americans taught the Europeans how to grow their own food, they were eating whatever they could get their hands onto. The Europeans took advantage of the Native Americans and took over their territory. Understanding the terrain was a crucial element to learn because they would know where to grow crops, find animals to eat and know where safety is.