Hunter to Trader

Hunter to Trader

Early Trade and Exploration

The world looked very different 20,000 years ago. Great glaciers, caused by an ice age, covered much of the land. The people who lived at this time were hunters and gatherers, and they were always on the move. They followed herds of animals; gathered wild nuts, berries, plants and shellfish; and fished the rivers. They traveled long distances for things they valued, such as flint for making tools and weapons.

Gradually, they drifted across much of Europe and Asia, and crossed into North America. At the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 BC, the glacier thawed and lush forest grew. As the climate changed, so did the way humans lived. Many continued to hunt and gather food, but people in the Middle East planted crops and bred animals. They made pots, wove cloth, and used metals such as gold. Soon they started to trade with other villages for goods they could not produce themselves.

On the move

A group of hunters and gatherers in North America follows a herd of caribou as they migrate between summer and winter pastures. The people carry all their possessions as well as their flint-tipped spears and arrows for hunting.

Past Reflections

People made utensils and tools from obsidian, a black volcanic glass that was highly valued. Almost 9,000 years ago, women at Catai Huyuk in Turkey used obsidian mirrors such as this to put on their make-up.

Flint Ax

Hunters used bone or wood to chip flint stones into tools with sharp edges.

Survival Tools

Hunters and gatherers caught they prey with weapons such as wooden daggers with deer-horn points, harpoons made from wood (middle) and spearheads made from deer bone with flint set in carved grovers.

Nature. Photo by Elena.

Golden Bull

This bull made of gold came from Bulgaria. People often traded for precious metals, such as gold.

Working the Land

Early farmers in the Middle East made the first plows and harnessed oxen to them. Thousands of years later, this farmer in central India users similar tools to plow his land.

Village Life

The town of Catal Huyuk, in southern Turkey, is one of the oldest towns in the world. People built these mud-brick houses, which were joined together and entered through the roofs, in 7000 BC. Some of the houses were special shrines, decorated with will paintings, for worshiping the gods. The people herded cattle; grew wheat, barley and peas; and were skilled cloth-makers. They had plenty of obsidian and exchanged it for goods from other areas. Catal Huyuk soon became a busy trading center.