Paleolithic Age: Early Human Society

Study Notes

Nomadic Hunters and Food Gatherers lived in this era, driven by primitive needs of existence, such as food, water, good climate, and shelter.
They were always on the move, searching for these needs, resulting in no permanent shelter.
Food supply was obtained through hunting, fishing, and food gathering, with men hunting and women gathering edible food.
Hunting weapons were made from rocks and stone, such as axes and spears.
Social and Spiritual Beliefs started to develop during this period.
The Cave was a natural dwelling, with the most common type being an underground space enough for a human.
Examples of caves include Rock Shelters, Grottos, and Sea Caves, such as the Lascaux Caves in France.
Archeologists regard the cave as the most primitive type of habitat, found in different spots around the globe.

Simple and Available materials were used, such as wooden logs, branches, leaves, and animal skins.
Construction techniques were primitive, including digging holes, tying tree branches, and covering them with animal skins.
Huts were oval and round shaped structures, built with hay stakes and stones as supporters.
Posts were used to support the main structure, and floors were furnished with animal skins.
Huts were often built near the sea shore.
Types of Huts include:
- Molodova: a more developed form of huts, made from mammoth bones and tree leaves as foundation, covered with animal skins.
- Leantos: built against one cave wall, based on stone, with animal skins curtain draped over wooden posts.
- Tents: wooden posts driven into earth, covered with skins, providing more security and flexibility.

Semi-permanent human settlements emerged, with houses aligning in rows and having more regular plans.
Dwellings became more durable, suiting human needs more than the Palcolithic period.
Structures were mostly made of plants, such as bamboo, and huts were trapezoidal in form with different sizes.
Huts were built near water supply, and main posts supporting the building were reinforced with stones.

People stopped wandering and settled down in permanent settlements due to agriculture development.
Introduction of basic social organization of society marked the start of civilization.
Skills were developed, including domestication of animals, farming, growing crops, making pottery, and weaving cloth.
The most common materials used during this period included thick timber posts, reeds, clay, stone, and tree trunks.
Tendencies to understand the forces of nature led to the introduction of religion and the concept of life after death.
The huts were circular, ranging from 3m to 9m diameter, taking a beehive form, constructed of reeds and supported on posts.
Huts had stone paved floors, wall finished with lime stone, and were dug into the bank of a nearby lake, providing a water supply.
Walls were surrounding the settlement, made of mud bricks, and some houses had lofts supported on stone pillars to be used as workshops, house chores, and storages.