The Birth of Farming

1
Neolithic Revolution

• The Birth of Farming

2
Paleolithic Age

• Paleolithic Era Old Stone Age (2.6 million
  years ago 10,000 BCE)
• Hunter/Gatherer societies
• Nomadic Moved from place to place in search for
  food. Humans populated the world this way
• Men hunted
• Women gathered fruits, nuts, grains, etc.
• Way of Life
• Cave paintings
• Stone tools and pottery
• Domesticated dogs

3
Neolithic Age

• Neolithic Era New Stone Age (10,000 BCE -
  3,000 BCE)
• Farming Neolithic Revolution
• People could remain in one place
• Herding of animals goats, sheep, cattle
• Community
• Council of Elders/Chief made important
  decisions
• Warrior class needed to protect land
• Kept possessions

4
Neolithic Revolution - Farming

• Causes and Effects

• Causes
• Food-gathering women notice seeds grow into new
  plants
• Food-gathering women notice that thinning results
  in stronger plants
• Game animals become scarce
• Agriculture Begins
• Immediate Effects
• Abandon nomadic way of life and settle in
  villages
• Acquire more possessions
• Develop new technologies
• Develop calendars

• Long-Term Effect/Immediate Cause
• Growth in population
• Immediate Effects
• More interaction among communities
• Increased warfare
• Long-Term Effects
• Women lose status

5
Neolithic Revolution

• Çatalhöyük
• The largest and best preserved Neolithic
  settlement found to date
• Existed from 7500 BCE to 5700 BCE

• Revolution in Agriculture domestication of
  plants and animals
• The first permanent human settlements emerged
• Stone tools were still used by became polished
  and made sharper by grinding
• Pottery first began to appear

6
Fertile Crescent

• End of the Last Ice Age
• Warming Climate
• Wild grasses abundant
• Wild Grasses closest to domesticated varieties

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers The area around
these rivers is known to history as Mesopotamia
7
How did Agriculture Develop

• Availability of calories determines how people
  get food
• End of ice age ? Plants thriving
• Humans began helping plants along and selecting
  for traits, to increase calories gathered
• Certain plants were abundant and provided many
  caloriesHumans actively chose these
• Wheat

8
Where and When
Location Dates (B.C.E) Plants Animals
Southwest Asia (Fertile Crescent) 9000-7000 Barley, wheat, lentils, figs Goats, sheep, cattle, pigs
China 6500-5000 Rice, millet, soybeans Pigs, chickens, water buffalo
Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa 3000-2000 Sorghum, millet, yams, teff Cattle (perhaps 8000 B.C.E)
Highland New Guinea 7000-4000 Taro, bananas, yams, sugarcane
Andes region 3000-2000 Potatoes, quinoa, manioc Llamas, alpaca, guinea pig
Mesoamerica 3000-2000 Maize, squash (perhaps 7000 B.C.E), beans Turkey
Eastern woodlands of North America 2000-1000 Sunflower, goosefoot, sumpweed
9
Origins of Agriculture
10
What does the Neolithic Revolution allow?

• A sedentary lifestyle
• The need for cooperation and group effort
• Job specialization
• Social Hierarchies (Social classes)
• Patriarchy (Rule by males)
• Population Growth

11
Results for Agricultural Society

• Now that you have possessions, what do you have
  to do?
• Kings- to direct
• Militaries to protect
• Priests to protect and record (BUREAUCRATS)
• Scribes and writing to protect and keep
  accounts
• Artisans- make storage vessels (pottery)