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Origins of Agriculture to First Civilizations: A Journey Through Time

Explore the evolution from hunting-gathering in the Paleolithic Age to the Neolithic Revolution, marking the shift to agriculture. Discover the key elements of early civilizations and the cultural hearths that shaped the world.

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Origins of Agriculture to First Civilizations: A Journey Through Time

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  1. Chapter 1 From the origins of agriculture to the first river-valley civilizations 8000-1500 B.C.E.

  2. Before Civilization • Human life before 8000 b.c.e. • Exact date of first humans is debatable (6-8 million years ago) • Humans=bipedalism (walking on 2 legs), opposable thumbs and a large brain. • Paleolithic age (70,000 years ago to 8000 b.c.e.) • Humans inhabited all the continents (except Antarctica) • Survived by hunting and gathering • Traveled in small groups (nomads) • Did not develop a sense of property ownership • No organized government structure • Division of labor was based on sex • Use of tools and weaving of cloth (26,000 years ago) • Knowledge of natural environment (edible v. poisonous plants) • Cave art and religion based on natural phenomena

  3. The Neolithic (agricultural) Revolution • Refers to the changeover from food gathering to food producing that serves as a “marker” event to begin the foundations period. • Not a single event, but a process (probably brought about food shortage due to climate changes) • Middle east has earliest evidence of agriculture. • Agriculture spread through cultural diffusion, but also rose as an independent invention. • This revolution included the domestication of animals for food and work

  4. The Neolithic Revolution as a “Marker Event” • Agriculture brought great change: • People settled down • Private property • Division of Labor • Social Inequality (landowners v. peasant) • Gender Inequality-male superior physical strength gave them advantage. Women’s contribution was no longer central to the survival of the village. • Importance of surplus • Religious changes- from spirits to gods with human characteristics (polytheism) • 3 craft industry emerged: pottery, metallurgy, & textiles

  5. Earliest Civilizations • What are indicators of a civilization? • Cities that serve as administrative centers • A political system based on the control of a defined territory • Highly specialized occupations • Clear social class distinctions • Long-distance trade • Organized writing system • Monumental buildings and major advances in science and the arts

  6. Cultural Hearths • Areas where civilization first began that spread the ideas, innovations, and ideologies that culturally transformed the world. • Mesopotamian cultural hearth • Nile Valley cultural hearth • Indus Valley cultural hearth • East Asian cultural hearth • Cultural hearths in the Americas: • Olmec and Chavin

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