Neolithic and Paleolithic Era

Neolithic and Paleolithic Era
The Neolithic and Paleolithic Era were two periods in which humans began to develop and grow. Changes in population, early political structures, and social ladders are visible in both these periods of time, but withhold similarities as well. Population during the Paleolithic and Neolithic Era were made of small communities, but life expectancy’s of the time were slightly different. The people of the Neolithic time, who lived together and were more vulnerable to disease, normally lived about 25-30 years old while humans of the Paleolithic Era normally lived to be about 30-35. Humans during the Paleolithic Era had to worry about predators and the hunt as well, many of times just eating what the women were able to gather.

But during the Neolithic Era the founding of agriculture and domestication of animals made food less of a priority and since the community was bigger, animal attacks were not as common as they were in the Paleolithic Era who only ate what they found or killed and constantly moved around. Paleolithic society’s were normally nomadic, they gathered food instead of growing and producing like Neolithic civilizations. Paleolithic bands consisted of about 25-50 people, and they tended to form around a “Headman” who was elected because of his hunting skills and was said to have been blessed by the world of spirit. Neolithic society’s also tended to elect prophets who had proclaimed to have connections with gods and other spirits but these prophets lived comfortably and rich. The main deference with Neolithic and Paleolithic political structures was in a Paleolithic society, everyone was equal and no one ruled over another. Neolithic society’s had classes of poor and rich but were more technology advanced.

Socially, Paleolithic power between men and women was equal. Men and women in these communities were equal, the women gathered food from around the area and the men hunted for animals but both jobs were important to the community. Neolithic society’s were not so equal and female power evaporated due to the increase of jobs that needed to be completed and were more specialized. In turn men became more powerful and took more distinct roles as community leaders while women took responsibility of gathering wood and taking care of animals. The society of Neolithic was more than likely a patriarchy with the most talented craftsmen and crops gaining power and wealth over time and hiring the poorer to accumulate more wealth which was complete opposite of Paleolithic society. But in both Era’s, children normally were just as helpless and each society was isolated from the rest of the world. Both Era’s did have very prominent changes in human but still holds many similarities and traits. In conclusion, both Era’s were very different, but in different lights as history shows us, very alike.