The Neolithic Revolution

1. The Neolithic Revolution

2. Pre-history • Pre-history is a time before written records How can we study pre-history if there are no written records? Archaeological evidence

3. Early humans • Earliest humans originated in East Africa, then migrated to Europe and Asia

4. Hominids in order of development • Australopithecines • Homo Habilis • Homo Erectus • Neanderthal • Cro-Magnon

5. Paleolithic Age • Paleolithic = Old Stone Age • Paleolithic Age- time before 10,000 BCE • Earth’s climate was very cold • People adapted by inventing clothing and learning to build fire for warmth • Humans used very simple tools made of stone • Stone arrowheads for hunting • Pots for cooking • Baskets for gathering • Language developed

6. Paleolithic Age • Food came from hunting and gathering • Hunting and fishing for meat, gathering berries, fruits, and wild plants • Men hunted, women and children gathered

7. Paleolithic Age • People were nomadic-moved around, following the movement of herds and ripening plants with no permanent home • Lived in groups of 20-30 in caves and rocky overhangs • Created records of their existence in pictures found on cave walls- animals they followed, etc.

8. What is a Revolution? • A radical and pervasive change in society • A sudden, complete or marked change in something The Neolithic Revolution is also called the Agricultural Revolution- what changed?

9. Setting the scene… • 10,000 BCE (ish) • Ice Age was ending • Climate became more stable- longer growing period, dryer land • Game became more scarce

10. Where it all began • Agriculture developed over 2,000-3,000 years • Occurred spontaneously • Not all groups of people evolved into farming- some continued hunting and gathering, others herded • Hunter/gatherers, herders, and farmers co-existed • Agriculture first emerged in Southern Asia, China, and the Americas independently • Then spread to Greece and Egypt

11. Neolithic Revolution • Change from hunting/gathering to farming/herding • Planting crops and domesticating animals • Some domesticated animals in closed pens, others herded them to green pastures (pastoralism) • Allowed for a surplus of food to accumulate • Change from nomadic migration to settling in one area and building permanent homes • Became sedentary- no longer had to chase food • Villages become established

12. Types of Agriculture • Dry farming • First kind of farming developed • Dependent on amount of rainfall • Slash and burn • Clear forest/grassland (ash fertilized the ground) • Clear, farm, harvest, leave • Irrigation • Used rivers to water fields- trenches, ditches, etc. • Required lots of people and organization

13. Effects of the Neolithic Revolution • Surplus of food • Steady source of food increased surplus • Led to: • Improved health • Longer human lifespan • Population increase • New technologies for farming-plows, metal working, etc.

14. Effects of the Neolithic Revolution • Change in work patterns • Division of labor-women take care of the home, men farm and take care of animals • Status of women declines as patriarchal society develops • Specialization • Villages are established, turn into cities • Led to the development of civilizations • Trade and interaction between settlements • Accumulation of possessions • Led to class systems- social status based on abilities and wealth