Neolithic Age

Vocabulary: • Neolithic Age – “New Stone Age”, period in prehistory

when humans began to farm for food

• Domesticated – Tamed

• Population – the number of people

• Post and Lintel – the type of building where a horizontal piece of lumber is placed across two upright poles

• Specialization – development of occupations

I. Introduction to the Neolithic Age

• The beginning of farming and permanent villages

• Also known as the “Neolithic Revolution”

II. Farmers and Herders

• Two important discoveries during the Neolithic Age:

–1. learning how to grow food

–2. learning to herd and raise animals

• Farming: discovered when discarded seeds were discovered sprouting

• Herding: discovered when hunters trapped a herd of animals in a ravine and fenced it off, then killed the animals one at a time as they needed them

• Over time the animals became domesticated and humans began to breed and raise animals for their comsumption

II. Farmers and Herders (Continued)

• Farming and Herding = more food = more people

• People also had longer life expectancy

II. Farmers and Herders (Continued)

III. Early Villages

• Ability to produce food = Permanent Settlements

• Good Soil and Fresh Water = Great Village Location

• Jericho, located in Israel is the oldest studied village

• Catal Huyuk, Turkey

– Ancient Neolithic Village that was preserved by a fire that blacked the village

– Houses made of sun-dried brick

– Post and Lintel style houses

– Entrance was at the top for protection

III. Early Villages (Continued)

• Center of the village was a community oven for baking bread

• The fields were planted around the outside of the village away from the houses

III. Early Villages (Continued)

IV. Specialization • Fewer people were needed to find food so other

jobs became important

• 2 new jobs became available during the Neolithic Age: Potter and Weaver

– Potters began making oven dried pottery, needed to hold crops in

– Weavers began to make clothing, because they were no longer hunting as many animals

• The first metal workers appeared during the

Neolithic Age, but metal was rare

V. Government • Leadership was needed in the villages to prevent

problems that arose because of landownership

• A single chief was appointed to settle disputes between villagers

• A small council was appointed to direct the village activities

VI. Religion

• Neolithic Chiefs often filled the role of priest

• Prayed for the necessities of life

• #1 Goddess = Goddess of Fertility

• Temples and alters appeared to allow worship in places other than the home