Stephanie Guerin-Yodice

Throughout the course of history, the human condition has prevailed because of people’s ability to adapt to changing environments. As early as the Paleolithic Period (Old Stone), evidence shows that stones were used as primitive tools by hunter-gatherers. Without permanent dwellings as places to store their goods, people cast aside these tools after hunting or after using them to provide food, shelter, and clothing. Over the span of centuries, primitive technology advanced from disposable tools to more permanent tools that combined items found in nature such as bone and wood. As societies advanced, the period of Old Stone technology evolved into the Neolithic Period (New Stone), which continued to shift the use of stone technology away from hunting and gathering and toward agricultural societies.

The Neolithic Period denotes a technology transition that helped to further advance the human experience through cultural and intellectual diffusion. The success of those emerging cultures and societies depended on were people were located, the type of natural resources that were available, and how the society could adapt and advance technologically. If the adaptation of these items proved effective, knowledge was disseminated, assimilated, and adapted from generation to generation, changing the fundamental structure of society through technological innovations.