Characteristics of the Neolithic Era
What process do you take when you buy groceries, make a meal, and clean your home? Groceries line the shelves at your local supermarket, water comes directly out of a tap at your home when you want to boil it for food like pasta, and cleaning supplies come in easy-to-use spray bottles. How long would it take to do your chores if these conveniences did not exist? How far would you have to travel to obtain such necessities?
While early humans living during the Paleolithic Era spent most of their time walking around searching for resources necessary to survive, life began to change around 10,000 B.C. (B.C.E.), during the Neolithic Era. When you break down the word, Neolithic, you discover that "neo" means new, and "lithic" means stone. As you proceed through the content, this knowledge may help you remember what happened during the Neolithic Era, which is also called the New Stone Age, a period in history when nomadic people stayed in one place to meet their survival needs. In fact, archaeological evidence shows that Neolithic people began to farm. Some of the earliest farming took place in the fertile area on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, known as the Fertile Crescent. In this interactivity, you will discover more details about the characteristics of the Neolithic Era. As you delve into this period in history, think about how the technological advancements and social developments you will learn about gave rise to sedentary communities. Click the player button to begin.
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Important Archaeological Sites
As you have learned already, during the Neolithic Era, people were part of clans, and communities were small. Therefore, there was not yet a need for a centralized government in the early settlements. In this interactivity, you will learn about four important places from the Neolithic Era that archaeologists have excavated: Stonehenge, Aleppo, Jericho, and Çatalhöyük. Specifically, Stonehenge is an archaeological site in England, Aleppo and Jericho are archaeological sites in the Fertile Crescent, and Çatalhöyük is an archaeological site currently being excavated in Anatolia.The remains of places where ancient people built settlements, lived, and farmed provide archaeologists with keys to unlock the past. Click the player button to begin.
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Evidence exists that during the Neolithic Era, religious beliefs changed, and structures of worship were built. Specifically, people's beliefs became more complicated as their world grew more complex. Stonehenge, for example, may have been built to align with the sun, an indicator that the physical environment and religion were closely tied together. Similarly, people began to think about burial of the dead, showing that they perhaps were addressing a belief in an afterlife.
Now that you have explored the Neolithic Era, review your knowledge in this interactivity. Click the player button to get started.