The Neolithic Revolution

The Rise of Civilization

Between 8000 and 4000 B.C.E. , human beings evolved from hunting and gathering to growing food

and domesticating animals.

This systematic agriculture and domestication of animals created a regular food supply.

People had a supply of meat, milk and wool for clothing.

Animals could be used for work.

These changes are considered the most important development of human history, because now people had greater control over the environment.

Humans could stop their nomadic way of life and stay in one place.

That is the first and most necessary component of developing a civilization.

The ability to grow crops gave rise to permanent farming villages around the world.

The oldest and biggest were in Southwest Asia. For example, Jericho in Palestine developed before 8000 B.C.E.

Catal Huyuk in Turkey

A very large Neolithic community, this settlement included 32 acres.

Its population reached 6 thousand people between 6700 – 5700 B.C.E.

People there lived in mud brick houses, built close together and entered via holes in the roofs.

At least 12 products were grown there including fruits, nuts, and 3 kinds of wheat.

Food was kept in storerooms within homes. Residents domesticated animals but also hunted.

Cause /Effect – Because of the regular food production, people had surpluses of food.

Because of the food surpluses, not everyone was needed to farm and could develop other skills.

Some people became artisans, skilled workers who made products like weapons and jewelry.

Because artisans made these products, they began to trade with neighboring communities.

Because people traded, they learned about the larger world. This led to cultural sharing.

Cranial deformation in Meso-America

Flat head cranial deformation in China

Consequences of the Neolithic Revolution

Because people settled in villages and towns, they needed to build houses for protection, and storehouses for the surplus food and the goods they began to produce.

This organized storage of surpluses stimulated the development of trade.

Early Neolithic storage container.

Because of the trading of goods, people began to specialize in certain crafts (division of labor).

Stone tools became finer, and were adapted for farming into sickles and hoes for use in the fields.

People began to grow flax and cotton so their fibers could be used in spinning yarn and weaving cloth.

Neolithic Loom

Gender Role Consequences of the Neolithic Revolution

Change to farming and herding changed relationships between men and women.

Before the advent of farming, nomadic women maintained equality because they gathered plant food, the main diet of Paleolithic people.

Then, in the Neolithic Period, men became the primary food providers – the farmers – because the fields they cultivated were outside the villages, and the domesticated animals needed to travel to pastures to feed.

Women had to stay in the settlements to care for the children, weave cloth, make cheese and do other tasks within the village.

Women also wove cloth, made cheese and did other tasks within the village.

Neolithic women caring for Children, cooking, weaving.

Since men now took more responsibility for providing food and protecting the settlement, they became the dominant gender.

This pattern is still prevalent throughout the world

What event do historians consider the end of the Neolithic Age? Between 4000 and 3000 B.C.E., people began to use metals, smelting ores and pouring

the liquid into clay molds to form tools, weapons, and other goods.

The first metal to be used was copper.

Then craftsmen began to mix copper with tin, to create bronze, which was harder and more durable than pure copper.

This marks the end of the Neolithic, and the beginning of the Bronze Age. 3000 – 1200 B.C.E.

Bronze Age spear mold Bronze age drinking vessel Bronze Age cooking pot

After 1000 B.C.E. people began to smelt iron, which was sturdier than bronze. This was called the Iron Age.

Iron Age tools

By the end of the Neolithic Period more complex and wealthier societies had formed and some towns became cities with armies and encircling walls for protection.

These societies first developed in the river valleys of Mesopotamia (between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers), Egypt (along the Nile River), China ( on the Huang He{Yellow River}) and India (on the Indus River).

The Emergence of Civilization

Culture is a way of life that people follow. Paleolithic and Neolithic people had simple cultures.

Civilization is a complex culture. It is shared by larger groups of people.

Historians identify six characteristics that a society must have to be considered a civilization:

Cities Government Religion Social Structure Writing Art

Cities first developed in river valleys because they needed large farming to feed a big population.

Governments developed because of the need to maintain a food supply, build walls for protection, and to regulate human activity.

The first governments were monarchies (rule by a king or queen). They organized armies and made laws.

Characteristics of Civilization - continued

Religious development characterized the new urban (city) societies.

Religion developed to explain the forces of nature and the nature of existence.

Early religions were polytheistic (many gods) . The Sumerian god Marduk The

Mesopotamian god Anu

Priests performed religious rituals to please the gods and safeguard a civilization.

This gave the priests political power.

Rulers claimed their power by divine approval.

Religion became a means of exerting political and economic ($$$) control over citizens.

(Notice the size of the priest compared to the Pharaoh and his queen. What would that indicate about his power? )

Characteristics of Civilization – continued

Social Structure – based on economic ($$$) power.

Organization – Rulers, priests, government officials and warriors controlled society.

Below these people was everyone else – free farmers, artisans and craftspeople.

At the bottom were slaves. King

Tut now. King Tut then.

Characteristics of Civilization – continued

Writing is a key characteristics of a civilization.

Rulers, priests, merchants and artisans needed writing to keep records.

Later, writing was used for creative expression, which led to the development of literature

The earliest form of writing we know of is Sumerian cuneiform.

Art is another characteristic of a civilization.

Art included temples and pyramids, as well as painting and sculpture.

Early artistic works were usually about religious figures or kings. Sculpture over skull from Jericho Wall mural and

pillars at Knossos Neolithic Burial Jar