Paleolithic & Neolithic Societies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Paleolithic & Neolithic Societies - Essay Example They had no domesticated herds. They fished along the streams just as it is today. Since this mode of securing food was not sufficient for these people, they organized themselves in bands of 20 to 25 people and nomadically kept cattle. The Paleolithic communities had a legal headman who held the band together based on the hunting skills and the culture of blessings by the world of spirits. Therefore, their thorough hunting ability had a link to the spiritual powers. The different members of the band took different roles depending on the gender and responsiveness. The Paleolithic people had a mystical attitude towards life. They viewed the religion world as animism. They less valued the outer appearance of things but valued more the inner working of the unseen spirit. They respected a lot those who displayed the spiritual; powers like the Shamans and the Witchdoctors. They held that these people possessed special magical powers that worked for the good or bad of the community2. They e ngaged in rituals like wars, dances, hunting races and rain dances. These activities, they believed had power to predispose the behavior of the unseen spirits to assure the forthcoming favorable outcome. ... This age marked the first agricultural revolution and had wide scale transition of many cultures from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to a settle agricultural life. These ancient ancestors began to sow seeds in order to produce more in the harvest. They also began domesticating animals, which formed a major source of meat for the communities. The introduction of agriculture permitted the growth of the human population hence growth of villages and towns subsequently. The Neolithic persons had total respect over the sexual acts as they termed them very sacred. They also worshipped some vibrant Great Goddess. The idea of personal and private property ownership began to spread even more during this period. The concept of money began to emerge at this time. Societies began to keep slaves as well. The emergence of polis The term polis originated from the ancient Greek city-states, which developed during the archaic period and persisted during the roman times. Polis was not like other primordial ancient city-states, which had a king or a small oligarchy, but was rather a political entity ruled by a body of citizens. The origin of polis had an origin in the appearance of urbanization at the excavation sites during the traditional archeologists view3. The term polis which in archaic Greek meant city suddenly changed with the development of the of the governance center in the city. The emergence of citizenship notion in the landowners came to describe the entire body of citizens, which came as the most important meaning of the term polis in ancient Greece. Conflicts between Greece and its neighbors Ancient Macedonia and Greece descended in several migratory waves and bounder conflicts. The Greeks and Turks had outstanding conflicts in 1982 due to boundary conflicts.