Creating Communities

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4. Establishing Communities

​The ability to raise food by farming allowed people to settle in permanent shelters. These structures, in turn, enabled people to form larger communities. In Paleolithic times, small bands of 20 to 60 people wandered from place to place in search of food. As people began growing food, they settled down near their farms. As a result, towns and villages grew up. Towns grew at Jericho (in present-day Israel) and Catal Hoyuk (Turkey).

​Catal Hoyuk

Multiple Choice

How did the size of human communities change from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic age?

• They remained small bands of 20 to 60 people

• They decreased in size as people spread out

• They grew into towns and villages

• They merged into single, large cities

Multiple Choice

Which of the following towns mentioned in the text grew as a result of the shift to farming and settling?

• Jericho

• Cairo

• Athens

• Rome

Living in communities made it possible for people to organize themselves more efficiently. They could divide up the work of producing food and other things they needed. While some people grew crops, others built houses and made tools.

Multiple Choice

How did living in communities benefit the organization of work?

• Everyone did all tasks without specialization

• They could divide up the work more efficiently

• It made work more strenuous and complex

• Only a few people worked while others rested

Multiple Choice

If one person in the community was responsible for growing crops, what might another person do?

• Wander to find more communities

• Wait for the crops to grow

• Write a history of the village

• Build houses or make tools

Village dwellers also learned to cooperate to do a task more quickly. For example, toolmakers could share the work of making stone axes and knife blades. By working together, they could make more tools in the same amount of time.

Multiple Choice

Why was cooperation beneficial for village dwellers?

• It allowed for more leisure time

• It decreased the number of tools they could produce

• It enabled them to complete tasks more quickly

• It ensured everyone worked alone

Multiple Choice

What was one advantage of toolmakers working together?

• They could create a wider variety of tools

• They could produce more tools in the same amount of time

• They needed fewer materials

• The quality of the tools decreased

With many of their basic needs now met, people had more time and energy for other activities. They could invent new ways of making their lives more comfortable and safer. Larger communities could defend themselves more easily against their enemies. For example, strong stone walls protected the Neolithic town of Jericho. All of these changes in farming villages led to growing populations.

​​Ancient Jericho: the first walled city in history

Multiple Choice

What did having their basic needs met allow people to do?

• Have more time and energy for other activities

• Focus solely on farming

• Reduce their community sizes

• Build wooden fences

Multiple Choice

Why were larger communities more advantageous in terms of defense?

• They were harder to find

• They could defend themselves more easily against enemies

• They had more resources for trading

• They were quieter and less noticeable

Multiple Choice

What type of defense did the Neolithic town of Jericho have?

• Moats

• Guard towers

• Strong stone walls

• Underground bunkers

Multiple Choice

As a direct result of the changes in farming villages, what happened to the population?

• it remained the same

• it grew

• it decreased

• it fluctuated