The Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Revolution Setting the scene

10,000 years ago: ice age was ending

Climate became stable Game became more scarce

Agriculture first emerged in Southwest Asia, China, and the Americas, independently

Agriculture then spread to Greece, Egypt

In Europe, agriculture spread from SE to NW between 6000 and 3000 BC

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Mesoamerica

Andes Amazonia

Eastern North America

New Guinea

China

Ethiopia

WestAfrica

Fertile Crescent

Between about 12,000 and 1,000 BCE, farmingappeared INDEPENDENTLY in a number of places,

possibly in all of the places marked in red on the map.

Nile valley

Steps to an Agricultural Society• Hunter Gatherers (H-G):

how man had lived for millions of years– Follow herds of wild animals– Gather food from wild plants

• Short step from H-G to herding domesticated animals– Type of animals depended on

location: sheep, pigs, even reindeer!

– More stable than H-G: why?– Also hunted, gathered food

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This shift from hunting and gathering to farming, and the

eventual settlement of people in to civilizations is known as the:

NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION

Agricultural Society• Grow your own food• Crops grown depended on

where people lived• Hunting and herding

supplemented agriculture• Result = food surplus• Implications of farming?

– Man settled down in one place

– Food surplus led to larger families

– Food surplus led to communities

Did the steps happen at the same pace, everywhere?

• NO!!!– Some people never got past

herding– Others skipped herding and

went right to farming– Still others stayed as H-G

• Farming developed over 2-3000 years– Occurred spontaneously– H-G / herders / farmers co-

existed, sometimes with conflict

Types of Agriculture• Dry farming

– First kind of farming developed– Dependent on amount of rainfall

only– Subsistence farming (little surplus)

• Slash and burn– Burn forest / grassland– Ash fertilized ground– Subsistence farming

• Irrigation– Used rivers to water fields– Dug trenches, ditches & control

systems for flow of water– Required lots of people and

organization– BUT allowed for food surplus

Civilization• Characteristics of Civilization

– Advanced cities• Large population in small area;

challenges?• Concentration of people became

center of trade for region

– Specialized workers• Most people worked as farmers• B/c of food surplus, some workers

became skilled in specific area of work

• If not farming, you had better be producing something important!

– Complex institutions (Government)

• Government arose to organize farmers to maintain irrigation systems

Civilization• Characteristics (continued)

– Religion• Religion arose to explain the

world

– Record keeping• Government needed to keep

track of taxes, laws• Religion maintained calendar,

stories of gods / goddesses• Trade kept track of debts,

transactions

– Advanced technology• Agriculture led to ox drawn plows• Metallurgy (using metal for tools,

instead of stone, bone or wood)

– Social Classes

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Domestication of Plants and Animals

Farming

Surplus Food SpecializationPopulation

Intensification

Complex Society,also known asCIVILIZATION

Catal Huyuk

• One of the world’s very first permanent settlements– Populated 7500-5700 BCE

• Located in what is now Turkey• Population of approximately 6,500 people

– 1,000 dwellings crammed together like a honeycomb– No streets – people climbed out through ladders in their ceilings

• Supported by agriculture and animal domestication– Barley, peas, wheat– Cattle, sheep

• Famous because it is so well-preserved• Jericho (in modern-day Israel) also existed around this time

Catal Huyuk

Typical Catal Huyuk interior (restoration).

Mother goddess from Catal Huyuk.

Wall mural of Catal Huyuk.

Why Live in a Settled Community?

Pros• Common culture expressed• Mutual protection• Near farms• Grain and seed storage

Cons• Disease spreads more rapidly among a

dense population• Grain stores were tempting to raiders• Permanent settlements suffered from

natural disasters (drought, fire, floods)