Features of geography:
• Resources (plants, animals, water, etc.)
• Climate
• Physical obstacles and natural barriers
• Rivers and other aids to transportation
How was geography important to
prehistoric man?
Is it still important today? If so, how?
Climate change leads to the
Neolithic Revolution…
• Herd animals move north; less available
• Less water locked up in ice; More rain
• Warmer weather, longer growing seasons
• More emphasis on “gathering” gradually
leads to the domestication of plants
• Domestication = purposeful planting +
genetic alteration through (un)natural
selection
From Dandelion to
Puffball to spread
its seeds…
But how
does Corn
spread its
seeds?
Mr. Kagan
has to open
the ear, cut
the kernals,
plow the
ground,
fertilize the
soil, then
plant.
Dandelion Corn
Which is a better plant for
success in the wild?
Which is a better plant for an
agriculturalist?
Why?
Key changes of the Neolithic
Revolution
• Domestication of plants
– Wheat, Rice, Barley, Maize, Potatoes
– Planting and Mutation
• Domestication (taming) of Livestock
– Goats, Sheep, Pigs, Cows, Horses
– Creation of Herds
• At first, the Plants (Women) - Animals
(Men) division of labor remains
… but Neolithic doesn’t happen
everywhere…
• Only possible where the geographic
conditions are favorable
• Grains don’t grow in Sub-Saharan Africa
and tse-tse fly kills off livestock
• Too short a growing season in North Asia
… and Neolithic doesn’t happen at
the same time everywhere
• Northern Europe is cold and the soil is too
thick for plowing.
• Lack of domesticatable animals and fewer
good crops slows Neolithic in Americas
Corn and its predecessor crop Teosinte
… and Neolithic doesn’t happen at
the same time everywhere
• Northern Europe is cold and the soil is too
thick for plowing.
• Lack of domesticatable animals and fewer
good crops slows Neolithic in Americas
• Eurasia goes East-West; while Africa and
the Americas go North-South - why does
this matter?
Primary zone for early settlements
How did geography affect settlement
distribution?
Look for:
• Climate suitable for wheat, rice and other
productive grains
• Advances in one region can spread if there
is a similar climate or growing season
• Cold season (winter) reduces bugs that
transmit disease and kill livestock
“Consequences” Questions for Groups:
1. We’ve decided we liked gatherer-hunter
life better. What obstacles exist to going
back?
2. We never switched to settlement in the
first place. Why is our traditional way of
life still imperiled?
3. There’s not enough good crop land here
for all these people. What happens now?