Early Trade and Exploration

Early Trade and Exploration of the Nature

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 with 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 glaciers 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

Groups of hunters and gatherers in North-America followed herds of caribous as they migrated between summer and winter pastures. The people carried 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 gass tha was highly valued. Almost 9,000 years ago, women at Catal Huyuk in Turkey used obsidian mirrors to put on their make-up.

Fur trade was very popular. Photo by Elena.

Flint Ax

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

Survival Tools

Hunters and gatherers caught their prey with weapons such as wooden daggers with deer-horn points, harpoons made from wood and spearheads made from deer bone with flint set in carved grooves.

Golden Bull

Golden bulls were made of gold in 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 uses 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 mud-brick houses, which were joined together and entered through the roofs, in 7000 BC. Some of the houses were special shrines, decorated with wall paintings, for worshipping the gods. The people herded cattle; grew wheat, barley and peas; and were skilled clothmakers. They had plenty of obsidian and exchanged it for goods from other areas. Catal Huyul soon become a busy trading center.