Chapter 1 Before History

0.2 - The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution

THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION AND EARLY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES

In response to warming climates at the end of the last Ice Age, from about 10,000 years ago, some groups adapted to the environment in new ways, while others remained hunter-foragers. Settled agriculture appeared in several different parts of the world. The switch to agriculture created a more reliable, but not necessarily more diversified, food supply. Agriculturalists also had a massive impact on the environment through intensive cultivation of selected plants to the exclusion of others, through the construction of irrigation systems, and through the use of domesticated animals for food and for labor. Populations increased; family groups gave way to village life and, later, to urban life with all its complexity. Patriarchy and forced labor systems developed, giving elite men concentrated power over most of the other people in their societies. Pastoralism emerged in parts of Africa and Eurasia. Pastoral peoples domesticated animals and led their herds around grazing ranges. Like agriculturalists, pastoralists tended to be more socially stratified than hunter-foragers. Because pastoralists were mobile, they rarely accumulated large amounts of material possessions, which would have been a hindrance when they changed grazing areas. The pastoralists’ mobility allowed them to become an important conduit for technological change as they interacted with settled populations.

SURPLUS OF FOOD

• If you don't have to worry about your next meal, you have time to do other things
• People were able to specialize in jobs

Job Specialization

GOVERNMENT

• Ensure the surplus exists
• Oversee irrigation systems
• Military
• Protect Property / Trade Routes / Cities

ARTISANS

• Artwork
• Pottery
• Architecture

Trade

• The need developed for more resources
• Improved methods of transportation
• Sailing ships
• Wheel
• Boats / Rafts
• Animal Caravans

Writing

• Hieroglyphs
• Cuneiform
• Pictograms
• Creation Story
• Development of Myths
• Accounting

Social Classes

• Men / Women (Patriarchy)
• Upper class / Lower class

Complex Religion

• Can be same as political leader in some instances
• Must maintain relationship to spirit world to ensure surplus