Men hunted wild animals, an activity that often took them far from camp.
Because both men and women played important roles in providing for the band’s survival, many scientists believe that rough equality existed between men and women.
Indeed, some speculate that both men and women made the decisions that affected the activities of the Paleolithic band. Some groups of Paleolithic people found shelter in caves, but over time, they also created new types of shelter.
Men hunted wild animals, an activity that often took them far from camp.
Because both men and women played important roles in providing for the band’s survival, many scientists believe that rough equality existed between men and women.
Indeed, some speculate that both men and women made the decisions that affected the activities of the Paleolithic band. Some groups of Paleolithic people found shelter in caves, but over time, they also created new types of shelter.
The biggest change was the shift from gathering plants and hunting animals for sustenance to producing food by systematic agriculture.
Larger animals could also be used as beasts of burden. The growing of crops and the taming of food-producing animals created a new relationship between humans and nature.
The growing of crops on a regular basis gave rise to more permanent settlements, which historians refer to as Neolithic farming villages or towns.
One of the oldest and most extensive agricultural villages was Çatal Hu ̈yu ̈k, located in modern-day Turkey.
Once people settled in villages or towns, they built houses for protection and other structures for the storage of goods. As organized communities stored food and accumulated material goods, they began to engage in trade. In the course of the Neolithic Age, many of the food plants still in use today began to be cultivated. The change to systematic agriculture in the Neolithic Age also had consequences for the relationship between men and women.
Men assumed the primary responsibility for working in the fields and herding animals, jobs that kept them away from the home.
Although women also worked in the fields, many remained close to home, caring for the children, weaving cloth, and performing other household tasks.
\