Question

What event marks the change between the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras?

Answer 1

One of the main differences between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods was in the main methods people used to acquire food. In the Palaeolithic, anatomically modern humans and their ancestors were mainly nomadic hunter gatherers. By the Neolithic people had developed farming, allowing them to live in settlements such as villages and towns. Diet also changed as a result of people eating more cereals and other farmed crops.

Compared to the Neolithic, the Palaeolithic people had a far less complex technology. They used basic stone, bone and antler tools and developments such as art and other forms of "higher culture" only occur in the later stages of the Palaeolithic. Neolithic people mastered the use of many more types of raw material, notably clays to make pottery and the beginnings of metalworking. Exchange and trade networks were also comparatively more developed.