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The Neolithic Revolution World History: Libertyville HS. 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
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The Neolithic Revolution World History: Libertyville HS
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 • Agriculture then spread to Greece, Egypt • In Europe, agriculture spread from SE to NW between 6000 and 3000 BC
Steps to an Agricultural Society • Hunter Gatherers: how man had lived for millions of years • Follow herds of wild animals • Gather food from wild plants • Herders: domesticating herds of animals • Short step from H-G to herding • Animals depended on location: sheep, pigs, even reindeer! • More stable than H-G • Still hunted, gathered food
Agricultural Society • Grow your own food • Crops grown depended on where people lived • Hunting and herding supplemented agriculture • Result = food surplus • Implications of farming? • 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 • Dependent on amount of rainfall only • Subsistence farming • Slash and burn • Burn forest / grassland • Fertilizes ground • Subsistence farming • Irrigation • Used rivers to water fields • Dig trenches, ditches, control systems for flow of water • Required lots of people and organization • BUT allowed for food surplus
Irrigation in SW Asia • Mesopotamia (“Land Between Two Rivers”) • Irrigation developed around 4000 BC • Population pressure in hills led to people moving into river valley • Irrigated agriculture led to Civilization!
Civilization • Characteristics of Civilization (pg. 20 of book) • Advanced cities • Large population in small area • Concentration of people became center of trade for region • Specialized workers • Most people worked as farmers • Workers became skilled in specific area of work • If not farming, you had better be producing something important! • Complex institutions • Government arose to organize farmers to maintain irrigation systems
Civilization • Characteristics (continued) • Complex institutions • 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)