Neolithic Time Essay

Before you can fully understand the changes that occurred in the Neolithic period, you must first know the history of the Paleolithic period. During the Paleolithic period, there was a more equal division of labor. Women worked outside the home gathering plant and animal products. Men also worked outside of the home to hunt for food, locate water, and find shelter. During this period, wealth was not a factor in deciding who had more power because importance was not placed on material goods in a foraging society. Position in family, age, and gender were what categorized the people’s power in society during this time. Due to social hierarchies, gender hierarchies, and increase in trade, the power in society shifted to the wealthy man, making society as they knew it more complex. Plow agriculture changed the way social hierarchies were formed in the Neolithic period. Instead of family or age determining social hierarchies, wealth began separating society. Due to the time saved and abundance of food using plowing, people had more time to do things other than foraging for food and resources. People began making containers for excess food such as …show more content…
Prior to the Neolithic period, people had to hunt for food. If there was no food left to hunt, they had to move. This created a constantly changing environment, as well as very little opportunity to trade goods. Due to the life changing invention of the plow and the domestication of animals in the Neolithic period, people began settling down into areas for longer periods of time. There was no need to move as often , since they could live off of the land they inhabited and no longer needed to hunt. The population grew drastically and the trading of goods began. Many people during the Neolithic period lived in clean homes and made items for trade such as wheat, pots, baskets, knives, and copper for