INVENTION OF AGRICULTURE
• First people to engage in agriculture were from the Middle East
– Began around 7000 BC – Wheat and barley – Sheep and goats
• Agriculture then gradually spread from Middle East to Europe, Africa, and elsewhere
THE FIRST FARMER
• Probably a woman – Did most grain-collecting as part of their general food gathering duties – Noticed that that stored wild grain could be grown on purpose
• Domestication of animals probably came from the keeping of pets or from the temporary retention of animals after a hunt
RESULTS OF AGRICULTURE
• Required intensification of group organization
– Neolithic farmers lived in settlements which had populations that ranged from 150 (Jarmo) to 2000 (Jericho)
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
• Settlements originally ruled by a council of elders but, over time, authority became vested in a single chieftain • Individual independence was limited – Inhabitants worked together collectively in a very closeknit society – Communal granaries, communal ovens, and communal fields abound in Neolithic sites – Private property limited to an individual’s personal possessions
POSSESSIONS
• Needs of agriculture and stability and relative prosperity provided by agriculture increased human possessions – Clay pottery – Woven baskets – Woolen and linen clothing – Sophisticated tools and weapons – Metallic ornaments – Carts and wagons with solid wheels – Plow
OUTSIDE CONTACTS
• Neolithic communities had links to larger world
• Existence of walls indicates that they were sometimes fearful of these contacts • Other contacts were more peaceful – Obsidian and turquoise items in Jericho came from at least several hundred miles away • Either gifts or received in exchange for grain
Jericho
Agriculture appeared in China and Greece around 5000 BC
BIG POINT
There was no universal transition point between Paleolithic and Neolithic Spread of Agriculture Agriculture did not Ages into the rest of Europe appear in Germany until was gradual and It was a slow—due touneven 100-200 AD harsher climate and process with some regions widespread forests adopting agriculture very early and other regions adopting it much later
DIFFERENCES IN LIFESTYLE
• Determined by the region where men settled and the environmental factors they had to deal with
• Lake houses in Switzerland, long houses along Danube, stone huts in Britain, reed lean-tos in Egypt, and clay brick huts in Middle East
• Tools and weapons also varied, as did social and political organization and even ideas – Broad language groups appeared • Semitic, Indo-European, etc.
CIVILIZATION I
• THE PRESENCE OF FIRMLY ORGANIZED STATES WHICH HAVE DEFINITE BOUNDARIES AND SYSTEMATIC POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS (LED BY CLEARLY IDENTIFIED POLITICAL OR RELIGIOUS LEADERS)
• THE DISTINCTIONS OF SOCIAL CLASSES
– THE EXISTENCE OF A SOCIAL HIERARCHY WITH PEOPLE RANKED IN SOCIAL GROUPS, ONE ABOVE THE OTHER
CIVILIZATION II
• ECONOMIC SPECIALIZATION – DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONS SUCH AS FARMER, CRAFTSMAN, MERCHANT, PRIEST, WARRIOR, ETC. • ALL INTERDEPENDENT • CONSCIOUS DEVELOPMENT OF ARTS AND INTELLECTUAL ATTITUDES – RISE OF MONUMENTAL ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE – USE OF WRITING TO KEEP RECORDS OR COMMUNICATE FAMOUS DEEDS – ELABORATION OF THEOLOGY • EXPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS VIEWS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE GODS, THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH MEN, AND ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD
CIVILIZATION III
• USUALLY CONNECTED TO CITIES BUT CITIES ARE NOT AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT TO CIVILIZATION
– NEOLITHIC JERICHO COULD BE CONSIDERED A CITY BUT IT WAS NOT A CIVILIZATION – CIVILIZATION DEVELOPED FIRST IN EGYPT WITHOUT CITIES – CITIES AND CIVILIZATION DID DEVELOP TOGETHER IN MESOPOTAMIA
UNIQUENESS OF CIVILIZATION
• Civilization was not simply the next inevitable step from the Neolithic Age – Many people in the world remained at the simple foodraising stage for thousands of years—without developing any sort of civilization • Only three locations in the world developed civilizations entirely on their own – China – Central America and Peru – Mesopotamia/Egypt
MESOPOTAMIA
In north, rivers are far apart and separated by hills and numerous tributaries Means “Land Between Two Rivers” Euphrates In south, rivers are closer together and Variously this is where called Sumer, civilization Tigris Akkad, and would Babylonia emerge
MESOPOTAMIAN GEOGRAPHY
Southern region is one of dried mud flats, stagnant pools, and reed swamps
Little incentive for men to settle there—except for the fact that its soil was fertile, light, and easy to cultivate and the rivers provided a reliable source of water
No natural building Normally very hot and materials and dry with temperatures Seldom rained but, no metallic approaching 120 when it did, itthe deposits—with degrees in came in torrential downpours thesummer exception of clay
GEOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES
Continual movement of new people into region constantly exposed Mesopotamia to new influences and also allowed it to spread its influence more widely throughout the Middle East
Tribes also Arabian Desert periodically to south and wandered into the west supported region from the nomadic foothills and population of mountains of SemiticArmenia and Iran speaking people who periodically This is where the wandered into Sumerians Mesopotamia probably first came from