AKS.30.a : The Neolithic Revolution 

Scientists divided the Stone Age into 2 parts:

  1. The Paleolithic Age (Old Stone Age)
  2. Neolithic Revolution

  • During the Paleolithic age, there were humans called nomads.

    • Nomads were people who lived in the early part of the old stone age and they moved from place to place in search of food.

  • Nomads found food by hunting for meat and gathering nits, berries, and roots.

    • Cro-Magnon people used tools to hunt.

  • Scientists think that a warmer climate and the accidental discovery of farming turned into the agricultural revolution (The Neolithic Revolution)

  • The neolithic revolution caused nomads to settle into one spot.

  • New advanced tools were created to make farming more efficient and less time consuming.

  • When food can be produced at a faster rate, the population will increase

    • Slash and burning was when people cut trees to clear a field. The ashes would fertilize the soil so people could plant necessary foods.
    • Irrigation brought water to the crops which lead to the invention of the wheel and the sailboat which helped people travel easier.

  • People started to raise domesticated animals

  • The mass population boom led to cities which lead to civilizations

    • A civilization is a complex culture with 5 characteristics which include
  1. Advanced Cities
  2. Specialized Workers
  3. Complex Institution
  4. Record Keeping
  5. Advanced Technology

  • Advanced Cities are large populations that serves as a center of trade for the surrounding area

  • Specialization is the development of skills needed for one specific kind of work.

    • Skilled workers who make goods by hand are called artisans

  • Complex Institution is an organization that provided stability (E.X. Governments, Schools, and Religious Institution)

  • Record Keeping is when the recorded the population, economic records, and government records

    • The economic records recorded the debts, payments, how much is sold and inventory
    • Government records recorded elected officials, historical events, laws, calendars, etc.
    • The people who used writing to keep the records were called scribes. They were the mostly highly educated in the city.

  • Improved technology provided new tools and methods to solve problems.

    • Some of the tools that they created were the sail, plow, wheel, slash and burn farming, irrigation systems, etc.

  • There were also changes in human society which included patriarchy, hierarchical class structure, wealth inequality, and slavery.