Transcript Neolithic Revolution Powerpoint
The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0393317552.03.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
Farming: The 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?
Paleolithic Era The Pre-Farming Era
• Definition: the time before people started doing agriculture • 2 million BCE – about 10,000 BCE • Literal Meaning: “Old Stone Age” – use of stone tools
Life of Paleolithic Humans
The Neolithic Revolution What is this?
Where did it happen?
When did it happen?
WHY did it happen?
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 Catal – Hyuk: A stone-age village in modern Turkey
Where?
“Fertile Crescent” (modern day Iraq) Tigris and Euphrates Rivers •End of Last Ice Age • Warming Climate •Wild grasses abundant The area around these rivers is known to history as
Mesopotamia
~Wild Grasses closest to domesticated varieties
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 calories=Humans actively chose these – Wheat
Location
Southwest Asia (Fertile Crescent) China Saharan and Sub Saharan Africa Highland New Guinea Andes region Mesoamerica
Where & When?
Dates (B.C.E) Plants
9000-7000 6500-5000 3000-2000 7000-4000 3000-2000 3000-2000 Barley, wheat, lentils, figs Rice, millet, soybeans Sorghum, millet, yams, teff Taro, bananas, yams, sugarcane
Animals
Goats, sheep, cattle, pigs Pigs, chickens, water buffalo Cattle (perhaps 8000 B.C.E) Potatoes, quinoa, manioc Llamas, alpaca, guinea pig Maize, squash (perhaps 7000 B.C.E), beans Turkey Eastern woodlands of North America 2000-1000 Sunflower, goosefoot, sumpweed
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?
Important Domesticated Animals
• Horse • Cow • Pig • Sheep • Goat • Chicken • Ox • Indian Elephant • All from Eurasia
What was in the Americas?
Only the guinea pig, turkey, and… llamasong.flv
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
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)
Did Everyone Switch?
NO!
• Who Didn’t? • Why Not?
River Valley Civilizations: Called that for a reason!
Eurasian Steppe (grasslands)