Nomadic Hunter-Gatherers

Hunter-Gatherers

Early Paleolithic People had not learned to farm, yet
Domestication of animals hadn't occurred, yet
Instead, early humans gathered wild edible plants and hunted animals for food
Hunter-Gatherer groups traveled in small groups of no more than 30 people
Women and children gathered edible fruits, plants, and nuts
Men hunted, herding animals into traps or pushing them over cliffs
Archaeologists have learned a lot about these early people from the Iceman (more information on the next image and caption)

The Iceman is an early Paleolithic man whose frozen body was found in the European Alps in 1991 by hikers (he lived about 5,000 years ago)
Scientists learned so much about early Paleolithic people by studying the contents in the Iceman's stomach, his clothes, and his tools

As animals moved with the seasons, hunter-gatherers followed their food source
They were constantly on the move
They did not travel with many possessions, only what they needed (tools and clothing)

As nomads moved out of Africa, they entered colder climates
These Hunter-Gatherers found shelter in caves and/or made wood, bone, and animal skin shelters

To take down large megafauna (prehistoric large mammals, like the wooly mammoth), early humans had to work in teams to successfully hunt them down
Paleolithic people developed deadly new weapons, including barbed harpoons, spear-throwers, and bows and arrows
With these weapons, they were able to kill from a distance
These weapons made it safer and easier to hunt successfully
A woolly mammoth could feed the hunter-gatherer nomadic group for months

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