The revolutionary evolution of culture can be analyzed through a shift in complexity of social organization. Population growth triggered a need for cohesion, resource surplus, distribution and regulations of surplus implicating widespread population trade networks. These causal factors of the Neolithic Revolution incorporate other potential causal factors that implies through these three pathways a sociopolitical transformation developed, Urbanization. By identifying the Neolithic revolutionary factors this paper will be able to directly correlate the urbanization aspect in a generalized cause and effect description.
12,000-6,500 years ago, the Neolithic period laid down a sociopolitical foundation that through various entities and cultural factors developed into a rapid and revolutionary sociopolitical system. Subsequently, because the complexity of Urbanization is multifaceted and multivariable in its genesis I choose to focus my efforts on Ancient Near East Pre-Pottery Neolithic in turn narrowing the perspective to key causal factors, population growth, ritual beliefs, and trade, which in my opinion are the base elements of social complexities (Overlay in population growth resulting in new technology, and social developments, as well as religion being a technology of control through administration of surplus agricultural assets, economics and new technology are enhanced through trade—the process of Neolithic to urban revolution is succinctly intertwined.), also linking urbanization factors to their potential Neolithic effect.
There is no doubt that population growth played a significant role in the transition from bands and chiefdoms to state-level societies. “Population was at once the cause and effect of this shift in civ...
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...ssumption that seemingly all the points are the result of sedentism—or population increase.
Mesopotamia, during the Neolithic revolution was primed for domestication and agriculture. The shift is environmental temperatures gave way to the ability to create permanent settlements. It is through these permanent settlements and technology of agriculture that inequality was created. In order to control the growing population and expanding foodways a social complexity was needed. There had to be someone to dictate who does what and when, power, was then established, and upheld through religious connotations and exclusivity propaganda. It is through writing this paper that I completely agree that, “Neolithic revolution was a technological breakthrough” (Acemoglu 2009:2). Technology adds complexity; it was a natural progression into the origins of permanent inequality.
As farming procedures improved and therefore allowed for surplus, the Sumerian civilization began to grow not only in numbers, but also in the complexity of how it functioned on every level; its religious leaders became more powerful, its degree of specialization more complex and inventions and discoveries came fast...
12,000 years ago, the discovery of agriculture triggered such a change in society and the way in which people lived that we now call this important era in time the “Neolithic Revolution.” Traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles were cast away in favor of more permanent settlements and a reliable food supply. Agriculture helped form cities and civilizations, and because crops and animals could now be farmed to meet growing demand, populations skyrocketed from around five million people 10,000 years ago, to more the more than seven billion people that walk this earth today.1
Stephen Shennan's concern with how non-state agrarian societies have been characterized by archaeological studies in the past is well founded. Characterizing (and categorizing) non-state societies as stepping-stones evolving into future states is an outdated approach to these studies. The approach he proposed would focus on our understanding the archaeological record as the remains of social practices, rather than generalized social institutions. He refers to Bourdieu's theory of practice, and stresses the need to ground social archaeology in the micro-scale of day-to-day activities in our analyses. The study of long-term change, patterns of inequality, domination and resistance can be investigated through statistical analysis of the distributions of outcomes.
c. 8000 B.C.E. was the beginnings of agriculture also known as the Neolithic or Agricultural Revolution. Agricultural Revolution transformed human life across the planet. This event demonstrates KC 1.2: I.A because this led to cultivation of plants and domestication of animals that caused creating abundant amount of food supplies. It illustrates the interaction between human and environment, development of technology, settling patterns, and how natural resources gave some lands advantages over others. Agriculture developed independently at different times in different regions. Historians believe that the Agricultural Revolution might have originated from Middle East (ME), although they are not fully sure.
The book tells the history of human civilization through the development of our food production and culture. A highly relevant book to present although food is a special type of natural resource or products hereof and history is a wider subject than conflict. The gradual transition towards hierarchical social order is described. Especially the significance of irrigation is compelling.
“The development of agriculture was a radical change in humans’ way of life.” (Stearns, 2) It set the basis for faster change in human societies. Metalworking allowed farmers to work more efficiently. The development of languages increased the chances of civilizations because people were able to communicate with each other. Record keeping and innovated technology also brought people together because they began discovering new things about the society.
Leading up to 600 CE, East Asia and the Middle East had several similarities. For instance, they both were starting to develop their civilization during the Neolithic Revolution.This is when human beings in some places discovered agriculture and began to settle in permanent communities. The switch from hunting-foraging to agriculture created a more reliable source of food, which in turn fostered population growth and more complex economic and social systems. Throughout Periods 1 and 2, East asia and the Middle East shared and divided their ways of development through the way of codification of religious and philosophical traditions. These developments were seen to made happen by the use of a patriarchal society,governmental politics , and the spreading of religion.
Coffin, Judith G., and Robert C. Stacey. "CHAPTER 18 PAGES 668-669." Western Civilizations: Their History & Their Culture. 16TH ed. Vol. 2. New York, NY: W. W. Norton &, 2008. N. pag. Print.
...e people began to settle in villages the beginning of social class and government were formed to maintain order and a sense of security as a community. Other technological advances were made as well including the making of bronze to form stronger weapons and permanent homes.
The Neolithic Period, which includes events from 12,000 years ago, is one of the most important revolutions to occur in history. The Neolithic lifestyle was established first in the Middle East, and then later in the Yellow river basin in China, which then spread over the years into the Western Hemisphere. During this time period, the domestication of plants and animals and the development of cities was starting to become more prominent and well known to many different civilizations across many different countries. It consisted of many changes in human cultures from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to one of farming and settlement, which supported a larger population. As civilizations expanded, so did traditions and techniques. A major technological and cultural change to modern ways of thinking and acting began in Western Europe, and from these beginning new approaches to science and law spread quickly around the world. It spread to countries, causing more people to become aware of when and where to properly irrigate a crop, which type of area had the best security, and other common living strategies. Surely enough, many years later, traditions are the same as they were thousands of years ago. Although traditions may not have changed, the way people think about their God and religions have changed from culture to culture. Throughout the years, men and women from the Middle West completely changed their relationship from nature, to a more independent lifestyle; human beings learned to have more control over their lives.
The blessing and curse of the Agricultural Revolution is advocated with its augmentation and dissemination. Taking the stipulative definition of “blessing” and “curse” from the original premise, one can only superimpose the layman’s terms of “negative” and “positive”. Upon examination of the two classifications within the Neolithic Period and ancient Mesopotamian civilization one can confirm the premise. Therefore, the agriculture revolution was a blessing and a curse for humanity. Human society began to emerge in the Neolithic Period or the New Stone Age. This new age began around 9,000 B.C.E. by the development of agriculture in the region surrounding the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and what is commonly referred to as “The Fertile Crescent” located in West Asia.1 The very development of agriculture had benefited humans by no longer having to move about in search of wild game and plants. Unencumbered by nomadic life humans found little need to limit family size and possessions and settled in a single location for many years. One negative aspect of this settling is that the population increased so much so that wild food sources were no longer sufficient to support large groups. Forced to survive by any means necessary they discovered using seeds of the most productive plants and clearing weeds enhanced their yield.2 This also lead humans to develop a wider array of tools far superior to the tools previously used in the Paleolithic Period or Old Stone Age. The spread of the Agricultural Revolution in the Neolithic Period also cultivated positive aspects by creating connections with other cultures and societies. Through these connections they exchanged knowledge, goods, and ideas on herding and farming.3 Another major positive aspec...
A History of World Societies, Volume 1: To 1600 [VitalSouce bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781457665363/id/L5-2-1
The separation of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages mark a great divide in the lives and cultures of prehistoric peoples. Many aspects of everyday life were modified to suit a new standard of living. Society, Economy, and Technology were greatly affected by the "Agricultural Revolution" that spawned the Neolithic Age.
Establishing an adequate supply of food is historically one of the fundamental challenges facing mankind. The modern food infrastructure employed by contemporary society is rooted in the creation and innovation of food production. Its effective utilization decreases the level of societal labor contribution required and discourages food shortage trepidation amongst individuals. It is hard to fathom given the current status of our society massive agricultural-industrial complex that the hunter-gatherer organization of society dominated for more than 99 percent of our existence (Fagan 2007: 126). The hunter-gatherer population was characterized by their primary subsistence method, which involved the direct procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild. The primary methods employed were foraging and hunting, which were conducted without any significant recourse to the domestication of either food source (Fagan 2007: 129). Food production is presumed to have emerged approximately 12,000 years ago as a system of “deliberate cultivation of cereal grasses, edible root plants, and animal domestication” (Fagan 2007: 126). The pronounced change from hunting and gathering to agriculture and domestication can be simplistically designated the Agricultural or Neolithic Revolution (Pringle 1998). The catalytic developments of the Neolithic Revolution mark a major turning point in the history of humankind. The resulting animal and plant domestication established the foundation on which modern civilization was built.
McKay, J/P/, Hill, B.D., Buckler, J., Ebrey, P.B., Beck, R.B., Crowston, C.H., & Wiesner-Hanks, M.E. (2008). A History of World Societies, Volume A: From Antiquity to 1500. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin's