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Neolithic Times
(A New Discovery About Neolithic Times)
From hunting and gathering to a dependable food supply (February 22, 2010)
Yesterday, archaeologists discovered something new about Neolithic times. They already knew much about the Paleolithic times, when the people obtained food by hunting wild animals and gathering plants. After living in one place for a long time though, wild plants and animals would grow scarce, so the food supply wasn’t very stable and dependable. Hunting was also dangerous because many hunters could easily be injured or killed. When it got to the Neolithic age, people eventually learned how to domesticate animals and used them for their own purposes. Some of these animals are goats, sheep, cattle and mules. The archaeologists found various items that led them to this conclusion, such as cave paintings with herdsmen and cattle and domesticated animals carved on pottery. In addition, the archaeologists also found out that the Neolithic people planted seeds and harvested crops instead of having to go about looking for wild plants. This creation of agriculture was one of the most important advances in history.
-Reporter MELISA 
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How agriculture led to having permanent shelters (February 25, 2010)
A few days after the amazing discovery of Neolithic agriculture, another great archaeologist found remains of a permanent shelter, quite different from the caves or rough “tent-like structures” that Paleolithic people lived in. After learning that Neolithic people finally learned how to get food in a quick, efficient way, this led many scientists to believe that the Neolithic people eventually built permanent shelters because they needed to watch their crops. Paleolithic people, on the other hand, had temporary shelters because they were hunters and gatherers and they had to move to find food. The homes of the Neolithic people were made out of packed mud bricks and the houses were round or rectangular. Some houses had stones and tree branches to strengthen the walls. There were several rooms in the house and many food storage areas were built underground below the floor. This development of permanent shelters helped to protect the Neolithic people from wild animals and harsh weather. There were also new ways of cooking food; best of all, life was comfortable. Finally, living in permanent shelters led people to form larger communities.
-Reporter MELISA
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One change after another – forming large communities (February 26, 2010)
Long ago, Paleolithic people lived in small groups of 20 to 60 people, consisting of hunters and gatherers. They wandered around to many places in search of food. However, in the Neolithic times, the people settled down once they started farming, and towns and villages grew. There were many advantages to living like this. First, they could organize themselves more efficiently. They divided up the work of producing food and getting other stuff they needed. There were many jobs, from making houses to growing crops. The villagers also learned how to work together to make tools. By working together, they could make much more tools than one person in a shorter amount of time. Another advantage was having spare time, because with lots of people, they had more time and energy to do other activities. With time, they later invented new ways of making their lives safer. They made their houses more comfortable. They could easily defend themselves from enemies. With all these new discoveries about Neolithic developments, some people are wondering, what is next?
-Reporter MELISA
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