Describe Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures. What were the main characteristics of each?The Paleolithic "Old Stone" era began in about 40,000 - 10,000 B. C. The beginning of this period was marked by the first human hunter-gatherer societies. Hunting, fishing, and gathering of fruits and nuts were the main economic endeavors at the time. The responsibilities in these hunter-gathering societies were shared. The men of this period did the very dangerous hunting of large wild animals like bison and reindeer, while women gatherer fruits and nuts for an entire year. The small communities of 25-50 people came to consensus on decisions and ideas were shared. The extended family was core. Men and women both played a roll in child bearing. The people of this era lived in huts and caves. Caves were idealistic living quarters; they could be heated in the cold weather months and were cool in hot weather months. Caves were also good advantage points for observing prey. Caves were also the sites of representational art. Paleolithic cave paintings were of bison, horse, reindeer and mammoths. Historians believe that art may have been the cave dwellers' attempts to control the environment through magic. Other representational art of this time included (Venus) figurines of women. The female figurines exaggerated the buttocks and breasts of women, perhaps in attempt to control fertility of women. Men spent a lot of time fashioning tools, like the javelin for hunting. The skilled craftsmanship of tools and the artists demonstrates at least a limited specialization of skills and division of labor, so these societies required organization in the villages. The desire to trade ideas and merchandise with other societies developed. The Neolithic "New Stone" era began sometime around 10,000 B. C. The beginning of this period was marked by the domestication of animals and plants. With men occupied in hunting, it may well hav...
