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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 tool-making and artistic expression
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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 tool-making 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 hunter-gatherers
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.)
