Chapter Two: First Farmers The Revolutions of Agriculture

10,000 BCE – 3000 BCE

Neolithic Era (New Stone Age)

10000 BCE – 3000 BCEWarmer and wetter climate and New Plants

The Fertile

Crescent

The Cradle of

Civilization

Why the fertile crescent?

Environment and ResourcesNot all food is equal (plants and animals)

2 Parts

Neolithic Revolution(~9000 BCE – 3000 BCE)

1. Systematic Agriculture (female led?)

2. Animal Domestication (male led?)

Wild

Systematic Agriculture

Domesticated

Wild

banana watermelon eggplant carrot

The Agricultural Revolution marked a decisive turning point in human history. What

evidence might you offer to support this claim, and how might you argue against it?

What caused the Agricultural Revolution?

•Accident (the bathroom theory)

•Necessity (resource scarcity, climate change, animal migration, etc.)

•Population pressures (supply vs numbers)

Agricultural origins around the globeNot everywhere at the same time1. 9000-7000 BCE2. 6500-5000 BCE3. 3000-2000 BCE4. 3000-2000 BCE5. 3000-2000 BCE6. 2000-1000 BCE

Southwest AsiaChina

Sub-Saharan AfricaMesoamericaAndes RegionEast. N. America

Commonalities Variations

First domestications - Fertile CrescentPlants

• Wheat– Self pollinating and

easy to store

• Barley• Lentils• Chickpeas• Flax• Figs

Rice (China) 6500-5000 yahigh yields, but requires lots of human involvement

First domestications - Fertile CrescentAnimals• Dogs•Goats• Sheep• Cattle• Pigs

What can animals do for you?

Horse 1st domesticated 4000-3500 BCE

New Diseases From Animals

Small PoxInfluenza Measles

The Axis Theorywhy is horizontal spread more effective?

Americas lacked Afro-Eurasian cereal grainsTeosinte vs. Maize/Corn

Humanity’s first genetic engineered crop

Wild wheat not that different from domesticated

Independent Development and Global Diffusionsome resisted, some conflict between groups

Why did some Neolithic peoples (Americas) advance slower than

others (Afro-Eurasia)?

It is always nice to have “better stuff” and be connected to others

***Some resisted, and some conflict between groups

Horse vs. Llama

The Axis Theorywhy is horizontal spread more effective?

Have you ever heard of the Silk Roads?

What is the “Silk Road” of the Americas called?

Cultural Diffusion

Ethnocentrism(The Dark Side of Cultural Diffusion)

Belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group

Using your culture to draw conclusions about others

Why could this be bad?

“the result was a long series of

collisions between the

haves and have nots of history”

Example:The Bantu

3000BCE

absorbed, killed,

infected, or displaced as they spread

Neolithic Cultures

Pastoral Societies (Herders)

Agricultural Village Societies

Agricultural Chiefdoms

Characteristics ofPastoral Societies

Characteristics ofAgriculture Village Societies

Çatal Hüyük (Turkey) 7500-5700 BCE

Skara Brae (Scotland) 3180 BCE–2500 BCEEurope's most complete Neolithic village

Characteristics ofAgricultural Chiefdoms

Cahokia 1100 CE, near modern St. Louis, Missouri

Effects of the Neolithic Revolution• Food surpluses• Population Increase– Hunter Gatherers = avg kids every 5 years (infanticide)– Domesticated = avg every 2 years

• Specialization of labor (effects?)• Class divisions and formation of Govt–What does government do? What do they take?

• Shorter life expectancy (all eggs in one basket)

• Impact on the environment

We have become dependent on this specialization of labor (for better or worse)

What happens when crops fail? How many of you could survive?

2 Final Famous Neolithic Examples

Ötzi The Iceman ~3300 BCEDiscovered In 1991 In The Alps

Stonehenge Megalith ~2500

Was the Agricultural Revolution inevitable?

Why did it occur so late in the story of humankind?