The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies

1
The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural
Societies
http//images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0393317552.03
.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
2
FarmingThe Biggest Mistake???

• Food production Hard Work!
• It often led to
• poorer health
• shorter lifespan
• harder labor for the majority of people

So Why Did People Switch From Hunting and
Gathering To Farming?
3
The NeolithicRevolution
What is this? Where did it happen? When did it
happen? WHY did it happen?
4
Neolithic Era After 10,000 BCE

• What?
• Agricultural Revolution domestication of
  plants animals
• Literal Meaning New Stone Age
• The first permanent human settlements emerged
• Still used stone tools
• Pottery appears

Çatalhöyük A reconstructed stone-age village in
modern Turkey
5
Where?Fertile Crescent (modern day Iraq)
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers The area around
these rivers is known to history as Mesopotamia

• End of Last Ice Age
• Warming Climate
• Wild grasses abundant

6
Why Mesopotamia First?
7
How did Agriculture Develop?

• Availability of calories determines how people
  get food
• End of ice age ? Plants thriving
• Humans began helping plants along and selecting
  for traits, to increase calories gathered
• Certain plants were abundant and provided many
  caloriesHumans actively chose these

8
Where When?
Location Dates (B.C.E) Plants Animals
Southwest Asia (Fertile Crescent) 9000-7000 Barley, wheat, lentils, figs Goats, sheep, cattle, pigs
China 6500-5000 Rice, millet, soybeans Pigs, chickens, water buffalo
Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa 3000-2000 Sorghum, millet, yams, teff Cattle (perhaps 8000 B.C.E)
Highland New Guinea 7000-4000 Taro, bananas, yams, sugarcane
Andes region 3000-2000 Potatoes, quinoa, manioc Llamas, alpaca, guinea pig
Mesoamerica 3000-2000 Maize, squash (perhaps 7000 B.C.E), beans Turkey
Eastern woodlands of North America 2000-1000 Sunflower, goosefoot, sumpweed
9
What else is needed for a Neolithic Revolution?

• Animal Domestication what is it?
• An animal will breed where and when we want it to
  and often. It will come to us for food. It is
  not aggressive.
• Examples?

10
Important Domesticated AnimalsWrite Down 3!

• Horse
• Cow
• Pig
• Sheep
• Goat
• Chicken
• Ox
• Indian Elephant
• All from Eurasia

11
What was in the Americas?Only the guinea pig,
turkey, andllamasong.flv
12
So What?

• What does the Neolithic Revolution allow?
• A sedentary lifestyle
• The need for cooperation and group effort
• Job specialization
• Social Hierarchies (Social classes)
• Patriarchy (Rule by males)
• Population Growth

13
Results for Agricultural Society

• Now that you have possessions, what do you have
  to do?
• Kings- to direct
• Militaries to protect
• Priests to protect and record
• Bureaucrats- scribes and writing to protect and
  keep accounts
• Artisans- make storage vessels (pottery)

14
Did Everyone Switch?

• NO!
• Who Didnt?
• Why Not?

15
Did Everyone Switch?

• Write down at least 2 examples why!!!

16
River Valley CivilizationsCalled that for a
reason!
17
Eurasian Steppe (grasslands)
18
African Savannah
19
Inuit Lands
20
Back by popular demand! llamasong.flv