1. How did growing social and gender hierarchies and expanding networks of trade increase the complexity of human society in the Neolithic period? In the Neolithic period of human civilization, societal developments like agricultural revolution led to social ranking or "hierarchies" and patriarchal favor. The latter customs became increasingly integrated into the daily ways of men and women as plow agriculture dominated human ways of life. As This period of agricultural renaissance and trade of goods, ideas, and customs added complexity to society as it is widely responsible for the creation of a social divide between gender and class.…
The Neolithic transition brought with it the change from subsistence farming to sedentary agricultural lifestyles. The development of sedentary farming communities brought the Neolithic era an influx of new technology that makes this era a monumental marker for human history. These communities also brought new techniques for planting, fertilizing, and selecting seeds which all created larger yields and increased the reliance on sedentary cultivation. They also may be responsible for the decline of women's' social and economic positions in society that still affect people today. By 3500 B.C. people in the Middle East supported enough nonagricultural people to begin the first civilizations by using technology and tools such as digging sticks,…
1. The neolithic revolution was the period in time in which the introduction of agriculture led people to transition from the wandering nomadic lifestyle to settled life. During this time, nomads, or people who wandered from place to place in search of food, began to domesticate animals and crops so that they no longer had to follow or hunt for their food sources; because of this, these former nomads were able to create farms using the crops they domesticated and settlements and were able to use their domesticated animals, not only as a source of food, but also as a source of companionship, a tool to assist with farm labor, and for transportation. The development of farming spread to other areas of society as well, as the creation of new tools for farming, new types of shelter, and clothing among other things began to emerge. As time went on, the techniques and tools used for farming were improved and new tools to assist in the storing, sowing, planting of seeds, and measuring of time were created; these innovations caused farms to create surpluses of food, which lead to the growth of population and the…
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1997 - Van Seters, John. The Hyksos: a new investigation. Yale University press, 1966 - Cassin, Elena. The near East: the early civilizations. New York, Delacorte Press,…
From the development of agrarian society, to the origins of democracy, Chapter 2 of Patterns of World History Volume One spans a crucial era in the development of large humans civilizations or empires. First, The“Fertile Crescent” between the Tigris and Euphrates river allowed for increased agricultural success, paving the way for agrarian society. Furthermore, Mesopotamian and Egyptian government commenced with similar political structure but soon after developed into two distinct empires. The fall of the Mycenaean empire led to various reforms which ultimately resulted in the shift from rule by Kings to an Assembly style government. The modern world today has evolved directly as a result of the increased population due to means of mass food…
The Neolithic Revolution was a period in history when humans stopped hunting and gathering and begun farming, this took place over thousands of years, starting around 10,000 BC. Through the years many have argued whether or not the revolution was positive or negative for humans. These two opposing views are shown in “The Neolithic Revolution” by E. Bruggeman supporting the revolution and Jared Diamond’s “The Worst Mistake in Human History” opposing it. Although the Neolithic Revolution may have been the largest turning point in human history, it was detrimental to humans because it destroyed our bodies, our communities, and our environment. Beginning with E. Bruggemans view, that the revolution began the development of human advancements and improved our society.…
Jared Diamond’s article “The Worst Mistake in the Human Race” provides critical insight to what archaeologists and anthropologists alike have contested to be the pinnacle of human advancement. Agriculture to many people among academic settings has been mutually agreed as one of the turning points from primal to civilized (Diamond, 1999); and has been known to benefit humanity for it’s greater good. Jared Diamond challenges this point in his article. He begins by introducing a progressivist view, which is the held notion that agriculture was adopted simply because it is a means of getting more food for less work (Diamond, 1999). Diamond thoroughly explains that there are advantages to agriculture, being that of convenience and mass production…
Austin Harvard 10/9/2015 Paper 1 Neolithic vs Civilizations Qualitative and quantitative changes occurred between early agricultural societies and the First Civilizations. The largest change between the early agricultural societies and the First Civilizations was the introduction of the state. The state is a system of officials, bureaucrats, and scribes. The state helped to maintain order in cities.…
The transition from the Paleolithic Revolution to the Neolithic Revolution was a major turning point in the history of civilization. At roughly 10,000 B.C., when the last Ice Age ended, the Neolithic Revolution began and lasted until approximately 5,000 B.C. Nomads during the Paleolithic Age relied upon various methods of hunting and gathering natural foods found in the wilderness. Gradually, society revolutionized to become more dependent on agriculture. This event was considered a turning point because of its utmost influence on the lifestyles of humans. The Neolithic Revolution had a positive impact on the development of civilization because it initiated animal and plant domestication, replaced nomadic lifestyles, and enhanced on the creation…
The role of Major Rivers: The Developments of the Early Egyptian and Mesopotamian Civilisations The lands of Egypt, in northeast Africa, and Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq, were the homes to two of the earliest civilisations in human history, both of which developed around major rivers. Egypt created a prosperous empire along the thin strip of the Nile River which lasted for thousands of years. Mesopotamia was situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and saw a number of different empires emerge and disappear spanning over roughly a 4,000 year period. Both societies relied a great deal on these rivers and over time, they were able to establish effective agricultural systems.…
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of changes brought by the shift from Paleolithic to Neolithic era. The changes influenced not only the economic sector through the conversion from hunting prey and gathering food to farming plants and domesticating animals. It affected almost all of the spheres of human life including social organization and culture. The changes introduced were due to the economic factor that changing people’s core activities largely influenced their worldview, reproducing arts, culture as well as social and familial life. The transition from the appropriating economy (gathering, hunting, fishing) to generating or transforming economy (agriculture, cattle breeding) caused the emergence of new areas of material culture such as, for…
What were the key results of the Neolithic Revolution? They had a lot of agricultural products they was very big in that and art. What is diffusion in the context of societal developments? The Ten Commandments’ injunction to “honor thy mother and father” gives Judaism the greatest degree of commonality with what belief systems?…
Olszewski, Deborah I., Robert J. Wenke. 2007 Patterns in Prehistory: Humankind’s First Three Million Years. 5th ed. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom. 391-394 Hieroglyphs is a written language and although it is usually associated with Egypt, some scholars believe that it first came centuries before it was introduced in Egypt in Mesopotamia; however, it was highly modified (392).…
Civilization is considered as the most advanced stage in a human social development and organization, and consists of society, culture, and way of life. Around 10,000 BCE, people known as Nomads did not have a permanent area to settle in. They constantly traveled where their non-domesticated livestock went. Between 10,000 BCE through 550 BCE evidence of settlements began to show. Located within the Fertile Crescent, “[Sumerians were the only group that gave] evidence if settlements, systematic agriculture, developed urban life, and the use of writing” (Backman, 4).…
The Earliest civilization in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East was Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is bordered on its sides by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Mesopotamia, in fact, is Greek for “between the rivers.” The rise of Sumerian Civilization began when the first Sumerian cities began in the lower part of Mesopotamia, and Sumer became a great empire inside of Mesopotamia. The Indus River Valley Civilization is the first civilization in India.…