The Neolithic Revolution, occurring roughly between 8500 and 3000 B.C.E., was the transition of a hunting and gathering lifestyle to one of agriculture. To analyze how much of a turning point the Neolithic revolution was, one must consider the effects it had on society. The Neolithic Revolution introduced the possibility of permanent settlement, whereas hunter-gatherers we're constantly on the move. Furthermore, it presented a new method of providing food. Thus, the Neolithic Revolution was a significant turning point in world history. The Neolithic Revolution created a reason for permanent settlement. Because of farming and agriculture, nomadic peoples would no longer have to worry about constantly traveling in search of food, and could now settle. With settlement comes permanent housing. Houses, such as those in Çatal Hüyük, were often made of mud bricks set in timber framework. Nomads would never consider such “expensive” housing like this; …show more content…
Once able to plant and farm their own crops, civilizations could then focus on simplifying the ways they farm. Domesticating animals greatly helped agriculture. Not only could these animals be used as a source of milk, hides, furs, and meats, but also as a way to increase farming productivity. New technologies were created, such as animal plows. Large animals, such as oxen or bulls, could be attached to plows and, when directed to, walk through fields, plowing them along the way. Some settlements engaged in trade with surrounding hunting peoples, and eventually larger civilizations. This set the stage for new crops in foreign areas. For example, the Huang He River Valley civilization engaged in trade with India and the Middle East. Now crops like rice were thousands of miles away from where they originate. Not only did this stimulate the economy, but it helped spread the idea of agriculture, which only spread the effects of the Neolithic
The Neolithic Period was a shift to a more civilized man. The people had new ideas and were changing their environment making life easier. The adaptation of agriculture in the Neolithic Era was valuable because it created a stable life rather than a nomadic one. In Neolithic village life they grew crops and indulged
“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.
The farmers were accustomed to a daily routine. Their activities revolved around farming. The farmers used traditional methods that were created by their ancestors. Many of the traditions of small villages were abandoned and they were introduced to new things. This helped the villages to become more advanced. Abandoning traditions allowed the small villages also become familiar to new technology. New features were introduced to Britain, such as the cultivation of turnips and potatoes. Two of the contributors to agriculture were Jethro Tull and Lord Towenshend. Those men made the importance of root crops important to agriculture. In addition to the innovations helping villages, they could also hurt them. These changes were very complex for the farmers. Learning new techniques could be confusing and could also destroy their crops, which would definitely hurt the farmers.
New technologies not only allowed farming to become more efficient, but made the process of shipping crops west much easier. The most important innovation in farming itself was the horse-drawn combine, which required many horses to operate, but allowed wheat, a popular crop to grow in the west, to be harvested en masse. (Document D) However, railroads were also incredibly important for farmers, as they allowed Wheat, cotton, and corn to be transported across the country
The Neolithic Revolution was the period in time where agriculture was created. Many people question whether the transition from nomads to settlements was a positive or negative impact in human history. The transition brought upon; population increases, lack of crucial vitamins, various diseases and even deforestation. I believe that the Neolithic Revolution was a negative impact on humans because of all the risks that came with it. Before the Revolution people were happily living a nomadic lifestyle. They painted, had dedicated faith, sang, told stories, and had more time to bond with their families. The transition increased health risks, warfare and the laziness of people. It brought on social classes which lead people to only think about
Farming is the main supply for a country back then. The crops that farmers produce basically was the only food supply. That makes famers a very important part of society. Farmers back t...
...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.
...made farming more profitable and easier to run as a business. “The tractor was modern compared to the horse. The farmer did not have to pay as many hired men. There was more leisure time. But the tractor changed the social structure of rural life. The key position that farming held in American life vanished” (Carlson).
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...
There were major shifts in human development over different times of human existence, two of
One of the most significant inventions was introduced during the Neolithic period. It was the shift from hunting animals and gathering plants to the production of food. People no longer had to travel long distances to search for water and food because they learned how to grow
The Neolithic Revolution made government more important for three reasons; property ownership, public works, and a military. Property ownership caused people to argue over who owned certain land and without any laws put in place to distinguish people owned. As civilizations grew, there was a high demand for public works for the people, so the government created them. Before civilizations and forms of government, there were not any active and organized militaries leaving people to fight for themselves against others, so government created a military.
Early crops in East Asia included millet, rice and soybeans. The ancient Mesopotamian cultures - the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Chaldeans -developed an increasingly complex and rich agricultural system that freed many people from farming. Ancient farming is clearly recorded in Egypt, where it flourished along the Nile River. Egyptian farmers developed drainage and irrigation
Farming has been an occupation since 8,500 B.C. On that year in the Fertile Crescent farming first began when people grew plants instead of picking them in the wild. Then nearly 5,000 years later oxen, horses, pigs, and dogs were domesticated. During the middle ages, the nobles divide their land into three fields. The reasoning for this was to plant two and leave one to recover. This was the start of crop rotation which is a big part of farming today. Burning down forest and then moving to another area is a farming technique used by the Mayans called Slash and burn. Mayan farmers also were able to drain swampy areas to farm them buy building canals. In 1701 Jethro Tull invented the seed drill and a horse drawn how that tilled the land. In Denmark they would plant turnips in the previously unplanted field. The turnips help restore the nutrients in the ground thus crop rotation is born. In England people began moving there fields closer to each other for a more efficient way of planting. Later in the 18th century selective breeding was introduce which made bigger, stronger, and more milk producing livestock. In the mid 1800’s a steam plough was invented. By the 1950 tractors, milking machines, and combines were used by almost farmers. The latest f...