Impact of The Ideas of The Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages in Today's World

There are many things and pieces of history that will always leave a mark on the world, but one in which left a major impact are called the Stone Ages. The times known as the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages occurred thousands of years ago, and each have their own unique attributes that make up each age and the culture that was involved in shaping our world today. Each age was considered a Stone Age, the Paleolithic being seen as the old Stone Age and the Neolithic being the new Stone Age. These times are known for their first use of stones in tool making to improve life in general and make a way to more efficiently complete tasks as well as introducing agriculture as a way of life to people instead of living life as a nomad. These times molded the lives of future people in order to continue to constantly refine the way that old and new inventions were made, and how this enhancement brought new ages to life. The tools that we use today weren’t always there, they were upgraded throughout the thousands of years that helped make each age unique. Some of these inventions are a vital part in knowing our history and past of our world. Without these ideas our infrastructure and way of life may have been dramatically changed. The different ages have different tools that were used and make their culture diverse. The Paleolithic including more bones, stone, and wood that make up the tools, whereas the Neolithic used metals such as ivory, metals, and bones to compromise their utensils out of. The migration of these people also made an impact as to how the age developed and progressed to what we know it as today. This migration was affected by temperature, food, and just the overall quality of life of the people living in these times. I will expand on the ideas of inventions, migration, and other characteristics presented throughout the age to give a better understanding of how these eras are still a vital part in understanding the inventions and objects that are seen as important for our world today.

First off, the Paleolithic age is known today as the old Stone Age. The era occurred in the more Eastern continents including Europe, Africa, and Asia but, it ultimately began in Africa from which then people began to move and migrate North. This time period began about 2.6 million years ago and maybe even before that, but to our understanding it is around that many years ago. The reason for its name is due to the fact that the resources they used for the inventions created weren’t as modern as the ones used in the Neolithic period or some of the materials used today. Their tools were mainly made of bone, stone, and wood, which would chip away and deplete its use very quickly. They used a process called flaking to create these inventions. These utensils were created thousands and millions of years ago by people and soon discovered the way they could implement them into their lives. The invention such as the hand ax was created in the paleolithic time period and has certainly evolved from where it was. There was also the spear, was a sharpened piece of stone tied to a stick and used to hunt the animals in the area. From using things such as stones, shells, and other simple things found in nature, we now have the technology to make more effective types of tools/utensils using different metals. To them nature’s materials were all you needed, whatever you could find on the ground was considered a device used to build or make life easier. Not only did they use these items to build tools but incorporated it to a part of their culture through art, such as statues, paintings, and figurines. The different forms of art represented different things, such as religion, prayers, and other earthly desires that they would ask for. Since the people of the Paleolithic age did not live together in colonies or groups the movement of people was very important. Through the migration of these people, especially coming from colder environments allowed new knowledge to be spread and bring about change in the way of their lives that was desperately needed to help maintain health and a stable economy. They would follow where the food was no matter where it was, their main goal was to survive and provide. Given the lack of knowledge compared to today, they needed to help each other to build, craft, and spread their ideas with other people around them to eventually evolve not only their culture, but the culture of the entire world. The European area was a big help is spreading and growing the idea of tool making and the thought of making art. This time period continued to progress and flourish eventually leading into the Mesolithic Age also known as the middle Stone Age, and of course the new Stone Age known as the Neolithic time period. These history marker periods are spread over thousands of years eventually leading up to the world that we know today.

Next, I will expand on the idea of the Neolithic period and its comparison to the Paleolithic period. The Mesolithic period was like a bridge between these two ages, but the Neolithic Age is where the importance of agriculture and introducing new inventions become especially evident. The New Stone Age lasted around 6,000 years, but gave a great amount of intelligence to the people involved. It did not involve as much stone as a necessity but different materials were seen as more vital to their lives. Not only was the Neolithic age known for its improved versions of previous tools, it was recognized for the amount of agriculture that became intertwined into the lives of these people on a daily basis. As cultures and ways of life started to merge and combine into one big idea, productivity started to increase between the variety of people. The practice of continuously moving from one place to another, also known as being a nomad became unpopular and people started to find permanent homes. To them evolving wasn’t necessarily the things that helped build and form new objects, but the farming and hunting that went in to support their communities and families that continued to grow as new people started to settle. These different crops that they started to grow were like new inventions to them, as they planted and grew more unknown species of plants, the more they learned about the geography and nature that they lived in each day. These crops allowed them to expand their appetite as well as learn how to cook and grow new things. Hunting to them was another form of learning what was in the area, when the area was less cold the land around them was more fertile and that in turn brought more animals to their land. Not only were the animals in this land used for hunting, but they were also utilized for the purpose of moving and labor especially when it came to trade and goods. They used these creatures to create an easier way of life, even though it isn’t as evident today, it was certainly used by other people from different time periods. But besides the animals and crops, art here was very important in their lives. They did art in the form of carvings and pictures especially ones found in homes of these people and other places in nature. There were many different carvings that were produced in the life of the new Stone Age. These could be anything the people desired or hoped for, whether it was a part of their religion or just a way to show the way they felt, the art that they have provided us gives the people of today insight as to how they lived and the way they thought, acted, and were raised. The markings are a way for us to trace back and find out not only the homosapien history, but as well as the geography and the species of animals that made a roadway for us to explore this remarkable time in history that showed the world where we started.

In conclusion, the ages known as the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) and Neolithic (New Stone Age) are one of the most important of times involving our current world’s past and even our future. Without the idea of utilizing the resources that nature provides for us to make the complicated, simple, we would certainly be in a different position in regards to economy, lifestyle, health, demographics, and other important factors that make up the life today; not only involving the Eastern continents but the whole world. Our decisions in the past are the overall consequences that make up the future, whether good or bad. It shows how far we have come as a species going from a relatively new concept to mastering the art of inventing and creating new ideas that may help mold our world into what we want it to become. Our history is a way to look at the past mistakes, ideas, and actions, so that we are able to build off of them and refine everything we can for an overall better life. It is great to see the change and evolution of our world and species become greater so that we may help others, as the people of the different Stone Ages helped us. The impact of these ages is truly inspiring and beneficial not only to our present day lives but for centuries, and other movements to come. Because of ages like this, it gives us the vision of progression we want to see for the future as we continue to enhance the lives of the people in our world.