CIVILIZATION Paleolithic/Neolithic Periods Time Period P: Generally accepted to start around 2 Million years ago and ended at Neolithic?s start N: Began About 12,000 Yrs ago (10,000BCE), ended at the start of the river valley civilizations Geographic Description P: There were shifts in the Earth?s climate which at time included ice ages. Early people began to migrate in search of food (followed wild herds);nomads hunted and gathered food N: Ice sheets rescinded and in the more temperate zones, domestication of plants and animals occurred with the 1st area being the Middle East; farming spread along similar line of latitude Political: P: