Human Origins and Early Human Societies: Paleolithic to Neolithic Era

1. Human Origins and Early Human Societies: Paleolithic to Neolithic Era 4.5 Million Years Ago – 3000 BCE

2. Human Origins • Important Considerations : • Creation Stories Vs. Evolution • Religious Foundations of Creation • Darwinism

3. Timeline of Human Development • 4.5 Million: Emergence of Bipedalism • 2 Million: Bipedalism perfected (Homo erectus), hunter-gather cultures, production of stone tools • 500,000: Rapid brain development • 200,000: 1st forms of homo sapiens early speech, human migration • 40,000: Emergence of homo sapiens sapiens, fully developed brains and speech, complex tools • 25,000: Cave art in Europe, migration from Asia to America

4. Global Migration

5. Hunter-Gatherer Societies • Groups consisted of 20-30 people • Lived in areas suitable for hunting and gathering • 80 square miles of unproductive land for survival • 8 square miles of productive land for survival • Societies were egalitarian 1. Men hunted and fished 2. Women gathered

6. The Neolithic Era Background • Seen as a dramatic change in people’s lifestyles as DOMESTIC AGRICULTURE became the norm • Was a shift away from hunting & gathering societies in many areas of the world – shift to more sedentary lifestyle • Not really a “revolution” in that the process was a slow one – more of a gradual transition Rendition of a Neolithic Era Village – represents the first time humans gathered & settled permanently in large numbers

7. The Neolithic Era Background • Settlements emerged out of agricultural practices designed to give a more stable food supply • The practice of sustained agriculture (growing crops over multiple seasons in the same area) was likely discovered by females – experimentation w/ seeds & knowledge of the life-cycle of plants gained as “gatherers” during the Paleolithic Era

8. The Neolithic Era The Agricultural Revolution • Began approximately 9000 BCE in Southwest Asia (present-day Iraq & Syria) but emerged in other global regions at different time-frames • Also was a gradual process evolving over several thousand years in different regions • “Agriculture” includes BOTH the process of cultivating crops AND domesticating animals • The ability to create surpluses of food and control animals provided a radical transformation of all aspects of human life across global regions Many of the practices developed in the Neolithic Era are still in existence today

9. The Spread of Neolithic Farming Techniques – SW Asia to Europe

10. Neolithic Agricultural Techniques • As civilizations settled they began to undertake systematic agricultural practices – the main technique for agriculture was Slash & Burn Cultivation – stripping trees of their bark, then burning the dead trees to create a fertile patch of land • Problem = the fields were only fertile for a few seasons thus forcing migration of the community and/or expansion of the civilization to new areas • Result = agriculture and its practices spread throughout the eastern & western hemispheres Above – Slash Below - Burn

11. Global Agricultural Revolutions • Approx 9000 BCE – Southwest Asia (Iraq, Turkey, Syria) began growing wheat & barley as well as domesticating sheep, goats, pigs, cattle • Approx 7000 BCE – Regions in Africa (Sudan – Sahara, Nigeria – Sub-Saharan Africa) began growing sorghum & domesticating goats & sheep • Approx. 6500 BCE – East Asia (China) began growing Rice along the Yangzi River; along the Yellow River civilizations cultivated millet & soybeans; both areas began domesticating chickens, pigs & buffalo

12. Global Agricultural Revolutions • Approx. 4000 BCE – Mesoamerica (Mexico & Central America) began to cultivate corn, beans, pepper & squash – they domesticated far fewer animals due to the lack of large mammals – most were killed off during the Paleolithic Era • Approx. 3000 BCE – Andean Region (Western South America) began cultivating potatoes, maize, beans – domesticated llamas & alpacas – fewer animals than other regions for same reasons • Approx. 3000 BCE – Southeast Asia began cultivating coconuts, bananas & citrus fruits along w/ chickens & buffalos

13. Origins of Agriculture

14. Spread of Agriculture – Neolithic Era • Merchants, traders, migrants & other travelers also brought knowledge of new foods & techniques to various regions • Wheat – originated in SW Asia & spread to Iran & N. India after 5000 BCE & to China by 3000 BCE • Rice – originated in China & spread to SE Asia by 3000 BCE & to the Ganges River Valley in India by 1500 BCE • African sorghum reached India by 2000 BCE

15. Review: Paleolithic Age2 million to 8,000 BCE

16. Neolithic Revolution • Around 10000 BCE, two discoveries revolutionized human society • Farming (1st crops were wheat & barley) • Herding (1st domesticated animals were goats, pigs, & cattle) • Domesticated animals produced a new type of society called Pastoralists • Farming & herding allowed for urban development • 1st cities emerged in Middle East (Turkey & Jordan) • Jericho and Catal Huyuk

17. Pastoral Societies • Nomadic peoples who herd domesticated animals • Move in search of food for their animals • Traditionally more stable than hunter-gatherer societies • Develop on marginal land apart from areas suitable for agriculture, often semi-arid regions • Interact with agricultural societies

18. Pastoral Societies • Many pastoral nomads lived in kin-related bands numbering up to 100 • Tribal membership was defined by recognizing a common ancestry among kinship groups • Often called Courage Cultures • Warlike males bound to each other by ties of personal loyalty tended to dominate these societies • Violence between kinship groups limited the ability of clans and tribes to cooperate • Most practice a form of animism or shamanism

19. Early Villages • Earliest villages located in the Middle East • Population of early villages evolved from the hundreds to the thousands • Probably declined due to environmental degradation Top: Artist rendering of the early village of Catal Huyuk; Bottom: statue of a goddess from Catal Huyuk

20. Life in Early Villages • Full-time political and religious figures emerge as community leaders • Specialized workers such as toolmakers, miners, and merchants • Despite specialization, well-defined social stratification did not exist • Farming & specialization of labor led to a decline in the role of women • Farming & specialized labor led to increase in technology • Pottery, the plow, irrigation, woven textiles, wheeled vehicles

21. World Population Growth Intensive agriculture caused human population to jump from 5-8 million to 60 to 70 million in 5,000 years

22. Social & Cultural effects of agriculture

23. Social & Cultural Effects of Agriculture • The major global effect was a dramatic rise in population • Village/City life provided greater overall stability, decreased danger (increased security), less need for rapid mobility and a steady food supply • Approx. 5000 BCE the world’s population was approx. 5 million people, by 1000 BCE it was approx. 50 million

24. Social & Cultural Effects of Agriculture • Specialization of Labor – development of a SURPLUS of food allowed some people to concentrate on activities other than farming – examples include: blacksmiths, manufacture of pottery, baskets & textiles, brewers, traders, priests, metallurgy • Specialized labor allowed some to provide goods & services in exchange for foodstuffs provided by famers • Specialization also began the creation of SOCIAL CLASSES & DIVISIONS between the rich & poor – due to the ability to trade surplus foods or manufactures • Agriculture also brought about the private ownership of land – though the date this practice began is unknown

25. Social & Cultural Results of Agriculture • Private ownership of land created wealthy & poor classes and would define “wealth” into the 17thCentury CE • Land ownership established lineal ownership patterns (goods passed on across generations) • Ownership also had a dominant role in create “gender roles” as specific tasks & rights of ownership became increasingly dependent upon gender – most societies developed patriarchal patterns of ownership • Wealth rapidly developed into political status & power

26. Social & Cultural Results of Agriculture • Gender Roles also developed during the Neolithic Era & the Agricultural Revolution • Men – worked fields & animals, which required them to be outside the home most of the day • Women – undertook more domestic tasks of taking care of the home & the children; weaving cloth, making cheese from milk and other tasks inside the home • Eventually work outside the home was seen as “more important” and solidified a patriarchal society in most parts of the world

27. Neolithic Inventions • Pottery was one of the first non-agricultural inventions of the Neolithic Era • Metallurgy followed soon thereafter – copper was turned into jewelry & simple tools • By 6000 BCE humans had learned to heat copper to make it more manageable – turned into knives, swords, armor, shields • This provided the means by which later metals would be utilized – bronze, gold, iron Neolithic Tools Made from Copper

28. Neolithic Inventions • The Wheel – its exact origins are unknown – but it likely developed with the domestication of large animals (“beasts of burden”) capable of pulling carts w/ large loads • The Sumerians are seen as one of the first civilizations to utilize the wheel sometime around 3200 BCE • The wheeled cart & use of the wheel spread rapidly & quickly became the standard mode of transport • Mesoamerican & South American civilizations never utilized the wheel due to the lack of large “beasts of burden” capable of hauling large loads

29. Other Lifestyles in the Neolithic Era • Pastoral Nomadism – • civilizations which depended on large herds of animals rather than sedentary farming – used for food &/or trade • had to find steppe or grasslands for their herds to graze (steppe = tall grasses which required little water) • Lifestyle was largely determined by geography – areas w/ little rainfall incapable of supporting large-scale agriculture (many along the fringes of the Sahara Desert or mountainous highlands) • There was often interaction between pastoral nomads & settled civilizations which shaped the era

30. Rise of Civilization4th Millennium BCE • New discoveries transformed permanent settlements into civilizations • Bronze • Writing • First civilization emerged in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) c. 3500 BCE