Paleolithic_Neolithic_Comparative(Not_Completed)

Paleolithic and Neolithic Comparative Essay The Paleolithic and Neolithic periods display common aspects of human life evident through archaeological findings. Although the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods differed in gender roles and in the area of population size, with the increase in the Neolithic population due to agriculture, they share religious beliefs and artistic expression. Both the Paleolithic and Neolithic people had a strong love of art. While in some ways they expressed it differently, like the Paleolithic having cave paintings while the Neolithic had wall paintings, they used some of the same approaches for art, like sculpting. Both were well versed in the use of stone for their sculptures. When it comes to nature, Paleolithic and Neolithic people studied it intensely to incorporate into their art projects. Polytheism, the belief in many gods, was popular in both periods. Each had rituals that would help them in some sort of way, whether it be harvesting, hunting, or fertility. These periods were both the beginning of the setting of political structures in civilizations. The Paleolithic and Neolithic people both had a set of rules and laws that needed to be followed, which lead to the result of no real chaos occurring. For both periods, men and elders had the most authority and were the leaders. The citizens of each civilizations saw the rulers as gods, or people who were chosen by the gods. Over time, you can see that gender equality changed drastically between the time of the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. In the Paleolithic period, men and women were considered equal, in contrary to the Neolithic people, where men were higher than the women. Without all of these women and men working in the Paleolithic period the clan would eventually fail, due to the fact that every job was vital for survival. In the Neolithic period, the men were the rulers, while women were in charge of watching the children and doing farm work, so their job wasn’t viewed as important as the men’s. Population size was very small in the Paleolithic period compared to the population in the Neolithic period. The reasons for this were because people in the Paleolithic period were nomads and were not able to have as many people with them while they were moving. The average population was somewhere between 30 and 50 people, but there were pros to this, like better health. The Neolithic people were sedentary and had a food surplus, which could support more people. For the families in this period, there was no limit for child bearing unlike the Paleolithic group. The Neolithic people were able to use agriculture as a food source because they were a sedentary civilization, but agriculture wouldn’t work for the Paleolithic people, due to them being nomads and always moving. It was much easier for the Paleolithic people to farm.