Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Revolution-Brief Review

1) Hunting and Gathering

    - Human origins to Paleolithic (“Old Stone Age”)

2) Use of Wild Grains

    - Transition to agriculture: 11,000-8500 BCE

    - Long period, complex transition

    - Role of climate change: end of Ice Age, dryer climate

3) Neolithic (Agricultural) Revolution

    - “New Stone Age”

    - Farming as main food source: 8500 BCE (Near East)

    - First domestic animals: dog, sheep, goat

    - Wide-ranging social, cultural consequences

1) Food Raising

    - Agriculture, domestic animals

2) Settled Life

    - Villagesà townsà first cities

3) New Technologies

    - Pottery, textiles, baskets

4) Social Organization

    - Hierarchy, warfare, state formation

The Neolithic Worldwide

n  Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia)

     - 8500 BCE: wheat, millet, spelt; dog, sheep, goat

n  South Asia (Indus River valley)

     - 7000 BCE: wheat, millet, spelt; dog, sheep, cattle

n  East Asia (China: Yellow and Yangtze rivers)

n   - 6000 BCE: millet (Yellow), rice (Yangtze); dog, pig, sheep, cattle

n  Central America (Valley of Mexico)

     - 6000 BCE: Corn, squash, beans; dog, but no other animals

n  Many other regions had independent Neolithics

     - Egypt, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Peru, South American rainforests…

     - Many diverse first domesticates (esp. plants)

     - Some unique domestic animals: llama, zebu…

The First Settlements (Villages)

n  Rise of settled villages parallels origin of agriculture

n  Some places get both, some get one or the other

n  Settlement allows new survival strategies: food storage, having more babies (don’t need to carry them)

n  Settlement also brings problems, esp. disease (smallpox, measles, malaria, tuberculosis, influenza)

CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY

Improvements in agriculture, trade, and transportation

• Pottery
• Why is this important?
• Plows
• Woven textiles
• This loom is similar to ones used in Egypt c. 4400 B.C.E.
• Metallurgy
• The Bronze Age doesn’t come about until later, but there is evidence that people were experimenting with early metals at Catal Huyuk.
• Wheels and wheeled vehicles
• The wheel comes about later in this time period.
• How would it change life?

·       Demographic Changes

• Food production supports higher populations
•     - Families can produce surplus
•     - Sedentary lifestyle allows more children
• However, sedentary life increases disease
•     - Diseases contracted from animals
•     - More people in one spot à infection
•     - Staying in the same place is dirty
• Population growth prevents return to gathering
• Social Transformation
• Increasing Organization
•      - Families
•      - “Big man”societies
•      - Chiefdoms
•      - States
• Social Stratification/Hierarchy
•      - Food producers support “non-productive”elites
•      - Craft specialization
•      - Religious elites (priesthoods)
•      - Hereditary rulers (kings)
•      - Slavery
•      - Gender discrimination
• Warfare Between Large Groups Begins

·       The First States

• From Chiefdom to State
•     - Chiefdom: ranked society
•     - State: class society
•     - Competition among chiefdoms drives state formation
•     - Warfare and trade as basic to emergence of state
• Functions of the State
•     - Law: suppress internal disorder
•     - Defense against external threats
•     - Redistribute resources from producers to consumers (elites)
•     - Appease the gods to maintain harvests

·       Basic Elements of Civilization

• Political (territory-based) institutions
• Organized religion
• Urban/administrative centers
• Hierarchical system of classes
• Taxation (far from universal)
• Division, specialization of labor
• Further technological development
• Trade (but note Paleolithic luxury trade)
• Writing (a late step!)