The Neolithic Revolution The Rise of Agricultural Societies
- Slides: 8
The Neolithic Revolution The Rise of Agricultural Societies in the New Stone Age (c. 8000 -3000 B. C. )
From Old to New • By 8000 B. C. , humans (modern Homo sapiens) had achieved several important advances in toolmaking and artistic expression • Tools included knives, fish hooks, needles, spears, and other implements that made hunting and fishing easier and enabled the creation of clothing from animal hides • Paleolithic artists created cave paintings (such as those at Lascaux and Altamira), jewelry, and simple sculptures • However, humans were still limited by the need to pursue their food sources wherever they could be found – they lived as nomadic huntergatherers
Hunter-Gatherer Societies Social roles in such societies were often clearly defined: * men were the hunters and protectors * women were the gatherers and nurturers * still true to a large extent in present-day nomadic societies Depiction of Neolithic Hunter-Gatherers The San “Bushmen” of Southern Africa
Human Migration and the End of the Ice Age • By around 8000 B. C. , the last Ice Age ended, submerging major land bridges between the continents (such as Beringia) and effectively isolating the peoples of the Americas and Australia
The Agricultural Revolution • Rising temperatures created the climate conditions necessary for the cultivation of wild grasses (such as wheat and barley) and other crops (rice, olives, and grapes in Asia and Europe) • -- More food = larger population • -- Farming provided a steady source of food for growing communities • Slash-and-burn farming cleared fields and fertilized soil but meant that communities had to move every couple of years • Domestication of animals (such as cattle, pigs, and horses) provided a reliable food source and a source of power for plowing • Pastoral nomads (herders) based their entire way of life on the domestication of some animals such as camels and sheep
The First Villages Emerged in the Middle East c. 8000 -6000 B. C. as a result of the right climate, vegetation, and environmental conditions Jarmo Site (in eastern Iraq), established c. 7000 B. C. Depiction of Jericho (c. 5000 B. C. )
Catal Huyuk: Images of a Neolithic Village
What is this? What was its purpose?
