Lesson 2: The Neolithic Revolution

Topic 1: Origins of Civilization (Prehistory - 300 B.C.E.)

BELLWORKThe Neolithic Revolution:

Read the quotation from archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon about the discoveries that led to the world's first revolution. Then write a few sentences to answer the question.

“For hundreds of thousands of years, [man] had lived on wild foods, as a hunter and gatherer. . . The revolutionary step forward was the discovery that wild grains could be cultivated and made more productive, and wild animals herded and their products made constantly available. With this discovery, the growth of fixed settlements became possible. . . From this, all civilisation is derived.”

—Kathleen Kenyon, archaeologistQUESTION:

Why does Kenyon consider the development of farming by Stone Age people to be “revolutionary”?

Old Stone AgePrehistory has been divided into two ages

The earliest period of human history - the Old Stone Age, or the Paleolithic Period

This period dates from the time that the ancestors of early humans began to make tools—about 2 million years ago—up to about 12,000 years ago

New Stone AgeThe second period as the New Stone Age, or Neolithic Period

This age began about 12,000 years ago and ended with the development of writing about 5,000 years ago

During both periods of time, people made and used stone tools

DifferenceDuring the New Stone Age some people developed new skills and technologies

Led to dramatic changes in their way of life

Over tens of thousands of years, people developed various skills that affected daily life

Most Useful Skills LearnedLearning to control fire was a huge advance

Allowed early humans to:-Cook food-Keep animals away at night -Stay warm

Paleolithic PeoplePaleolithic people were nomads

Lived in small hunting and food-gathering bands, numbering about 20 or 30 people

Men hunted or fished

Women and children gathered berries, fruits, nuts, wild grains, roots, or even shellfish

SurvivalDepended on their environment for survival

Adapted to their surroundings to meet their basic needs

Simple tools and weapons - digging sticks, spears, and axes - made from materials at hand—stone, bone, or wood

Society and CommunityDeveloped spoken languages, which let them communicate

By about 40,000 years ago rafts or canoes were created Crossing large bodies of water becomes possible

These migrating groups still faced crossing up to 40 miles of open ocean in some places

Early Religious BeliefsEnd of the Old Stone Age belief in a spiritual world and religious rituals began

Believed the world was full of spirits, such as the spirits of the animals and natural objects, or dreams

The belief that spirits inhabit plants, animals, or other natural objects, is known as animism

Early Religious BeliefsEurope, Australia, and Africa, cave or rock paintings portray deer, horses, and buffalo, and sometimes stick people

The paintings often lie deep in caves, far from a hunting band’s living quarters

May have been part of religious rituals

Early Religious BeliefsAbout 100,000 years ago, some people began burying their dead with great care, showing a belief in life after death

May have believed the afterlife would be similar to life in this world so they provided the dead with tools, weapons, and other needed goods

Burial customs like these survived in many places into modern times

Farming Begins a New Stone AgeAbout 12,000 years ago, bands of nomadic people learned to farm

Produced their own food crops

Could remain in one place

Slowly settled into permanent villages

Developed a whole new range of skills and tools

This change ushered in the New Stone Age

The Neolithic RevolutionNo one knows exactly how or when people began to plant seeds for food or raise certain animals

Earliest evidence of farming has been found in the Middle East

The change had such dramatic effects that historians call it the Neolithic Revolution

The change in human societies from hunting and gathering to a more settled way of life

The Domestication of Plants and AnimalsEarly food gatherers were the first humans to domesticate plants and animals

The domestication of plants began with food gatherers who noticed that if seeds were scattered on the ground they produced new plants the next year

People began to select and plant the best plants, which led to larger fruits or better grains

The Domestication of Plants and AnimalsNew Stone Age people learned to domesticate some of the animals they had hunted

Hunters rounded up and enclosed some wild animals rather than allow them to migrate

Kept the animals in rough enclosures or herded them to good grasslands

Used these animals as they always had—for food or skins— other benefits, such as milk or eggs

A few animals were even used for pulling plows in farming

The Domestication of Plants and AnimalsDogs were probably the first animals people domesticated, perhaps as early as 20,000 years ago

They became guard dogs and companions to humans

About 10,000 years ago people in parts of Asia and North Africa domesticated goats, sheep, pigs, and cattle

Dramatic Change with the Neolithic RevolutionThe Neolithic Revolution enabled people to become food producers

Growth in population

More interaction among human communities

Relied more on the food they grew than on their hunting and gathering efforts

As they developed better seeds and produced better harvests, their numbers grew, and they settled into the first farming villages

Establishing the Earliest Villages Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of Neolithic villages

The oldest Neolithic settlements consisted of a handful of huts

A Neolithic village that grew over time was Jericho, located in the Jordan River valley in the Middle East

The village was tiny, only a few thousand people lived in it

Establishing the Earliest Villages About 10,000 years ago, a huge stone wall was built around the village with a deep ditch beyond the wall

The wall was built to protect the village from attack or from floods

The size of the wall suggests that Jericho had a strong leader or government able to organize a large building project

Establishing the Earliest Villages A larger Neolithic site is Çatalhüyük in modern-day Turkey

It dates back to about 7,200 B.C.E. and may have had a population of 6,500 people

The village included hundreds of rectangular mud-brick houses, all connected and all about the same size

Settled People Change Their Way of LifeEarly farmers divided up the work by gender and age - this changes over time

Men dominated family, economic, and political life, and the status of women declined

These changes did not mean that women lost their influence, village life was reshaping the roles of both men and women

Settled People Change Their Way of LifeIn villages, heads of families formed a council of elders who were responsible for important decisions such as when to plant and harvest

When food was scarce, warfare increased and some men gained prestige as warriors

Settled people accumulated more personal property than their nomadic ancestors

As Neolithic families began to have more possessions than their neighbors, differences in wealth began to appear

New TechnologiesTo farm successfully, people had to develop new technologies

Find ways to protect their crops

Measure out enough seed for the next year’s harvest,

Measure time accurately to know when to plant and harvest

People developed systems of measurement and created the first calendars

New TechnologiesLearned to use animals like oxen or water buffalo to plow the fields

Learned to weave cloth from animal hair or plant fibers

Turned clay into pots for cooking and storage

Village workshops made much better tools and weapons than their ancestors

New TechnologiesInventions and new technologies did not take place everywhere at the same time

Technologies might travel slowly from one area to another, taking thousands of years to spread across continents

Other technologies were invented separately in different parts of the world

The Neolithic ImpactThe Neolithic Revolution marked a major turning point - the greatest revolution in human history

The development of agriculture and the domestication of animals created a reliable food supply

Allowed people to settle in permanent villages and

many new technologies that changed their way of life

Villages organized governments

Farmers began to irrigate, or water, their crops by digging ditches to carry water from rivers or springs

The Neolithic ImpactAs farming improved, people produced a food surplus

These surpluses fed growing populations and allowed food to be stored for future use

The Neolithic Revolution still shapes our lives

None of the recorded events we study in world history would have taken place without the Neolithic Revolution

EXIT TICKETPaleolithic Versus Neolithic

Use the Venn diagram to compare and contrast life during the Paleolithic Period and the Neolithic Period.

Use the overlapping portion of the diagram to list characteristics common to both periods.