mesolithic 1. began approximately 12,000 years ago 2. warmer, drier climate with disappearance of...
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Mesolithic
1. Began approximately 12,000 years ago
2. Warmer, drier climate with disappearance of large herd animals such as mammoths and wooly rhinoceros.
3. Greater reliance on small game, wild plants, fishing
4. Stone tool technology changes: microliths, smoothly ground stone axes, harpoons
5. Natufians in Southwest Asia (Fertile Crescent)
a.Villagers living in small towns such as Jericho
b.They were Hunters and gatherers
c. Used Storage pits for grains
6. Transition from:
a. Nomadic Hunting and Gathering way of life
b. to Settled Agricultural lifestyle.
The Neolithic
1. The Neolithic means the new Stone Age.
2. However what's really important is
a. the domestication of plants and animals and
b. the development of sedentary communities.
3. This happened 10,500 years ago in Southwest Asia.
4. And 8000 years ago in southeast Asia, Mexico, Peru.
Characteristics of Domesticated Plants
1. Increased size of edible parts, for example, wheat and corn.
2. Loss or reduction of husk, for example, teosinte to corn.
3. The development of tough stems, e.g., wheat, so seeds can be harvested easily
Major Cultigens (Plant Domesticates)
1. Southwest Asia: wheat, barley, flax, lentil, rye
2. Southeast Asia: millet, rice, taro
3. Africa: sorghum, yams
4. Melanesia: yams
5. Mesoamerica: corn, beans, squash, cotton, chili,
avocado, amaranth
6. Highland South America: potato, quinoa
7. Tropical South America: manioc , peanuts
Characteristics of Domesticated Animals
1. Reduction or loss of horns, sheep.
2. Greater number of woolly follicles,
sheep.
3. Reduction in the size of teeth, pigs
Identification of domesticated animals in the
archaeological record
1. higher percentage of remains of male or
young animals. Why?
a. Butchering of male sheep only in Iraq.
b. High newborn mortality due to diseases in
corrals, llamas in Peru
Some Animal Domesticates
• Southwest Asia: sheep, goats, cattle, dogs,
camels, horses, ducks.
• Southeast Asia: silk worm, pigs, water
buffalo, ducks, geese, chickens.
• South America: guinea pig, llama, alpaca
• Mexico: turkey, dog, honey bee
• Egypt: cat
The Oasis Theory by V. Gordon Childe; 1950s
1. A type of environmental determinism.
2. Southwest Asia became drier 12 to 15,000
years ago.
3. People congregated around oases.
4. People collected the seeds of wild grasses
5. This led to plant cultivation.
6. Cultivation of plants attracted wild cattle,
sheep, and goats.
7. This led to animal domestication.
8. Problem with the Oasis Theory:
-- Domestication did not occur first at oases
Population Growth By Cohen
1. Hunting, fishing, and gathering were very
productive
2. So productive, that population grew.
3. More people needed more food
4. People in marginal areas decided to
domesticate animals and plants to
provide new food
Problems with Population Growth Theory
1. Domestication is gradual and would not
provide people with more food in the short
term.
2. Assumes domestication was intentional.
However, people cannot predict which
plants or animals can be domesticated.
Seasonal Stress Theory
of Plant Domestication
1. by McCorriston and Hole
2. For South West Asia only
3. The earliest plant domestication took
place around the margins of evaporating
lakes. For example, the Jordan River
Valley.
4. Beginning in the Mesolithic, the climate became
warmer with seasonal droughts (these are
seasonal stresses.)
5. Annuals are best adapted to this environment,
a. wild cereal grains produce abundant seeds
and
b. survive for long periods of drought.
6. People collected wild plants, for example,
wheat, barley, and rye
7. They used sickles, which meant that plants with
tough stems and seeds were the most likely to
be carried back to settlements.
8. Some lost seeds germinated at disturbed sites
such as latrines, garbage pits, and burned over
areas.
9. People began to promote growth of these
annuals.
The Hilly Flanks Theory Of Animal Domestication by Hole
1. For South West Asia, only
2. Wild sheep and goats were domesticated in the hilly
flanks (foothills) of the Zargos Mountains in present
day Iraq and Iran
3. Wild sheep and goats migrated up and down
mountains due to the seasonal availability of grasses.
4. Sheep and goats grazed in the lowlands during the
winter and in the high pastures in the summer.
4. People followed these animals, and became very
familiar with their behavior and habits
5. By 11,000 years ago, the percentage of male lamb
remains increased.
6. Females were spared for breeding and people
were feasting on ram lambs.
7. This indicates the presence of herd management
8. By 8000 years ago, domesticated sheep and goats
were being kept at villages like Jericho.
An example of Neolithic life; Jericho in the Jordan
River Valley.
1. 10,350 years before present, Jericho was first
settled by hunters and gatherers.
2. 8000 years before present, the farmers were
raising animals, and cultivating plants.
3. Wheat, barley, sheep, goats.
4. 400 to 900 people –
5. egalitarian, centralized cemetery
6. Massive stone walls to prevent flooding7. Mud brick houses with courtyards8. Storage rooms9. Stone Tower10. Obsidian, turquoise, and shells traded
with other villages11. Tools included:
a. Polished Stone, Wood, Bone, Hornb. Scythes, Forks, Hoes, Plowc. Mortar And Pestled. Pottery
Neolithic Health
1. There were waterborne diseases and
gastrointestinal diseases due to poor
sanitation.
2. Airborne diseases.
3. Carbohydrate-related diseases.
4. Periodic epidemics and food shortages led to
malnutrition and stunted growth.
a) Harris lines in long bones,
b) Enamel hypoplasias
5. Zoonoses such as smallpox and chickenpox --
transmitted from domesticated animals.
6. Sickle cell anemia, malaria, and farming