Stone Age to Neolithic Revolution
Reading Review Questions:
1.What are some features of a hunting and gathering society?
•They didn’t build permanent shelters.
•At the mercy of nature and climate.
•Small groups of people who travelled from place to place in search of food.
2.What determines the migratory patterns of hunting and gathering people?
•Climate
•Availability of food.
3.What were some important changes brought about by the development of
agriculture?
•People began to settle in one place.
•Food surplus – one person can farm the second can do something else, say, become a tool maker or dig an
irrigation ditch.
4.How did agriculture impact the environment?
•Farming villages altered the lay of the land by building irrigation ditches.
•Clearing land for agriculture, chopping down trees for materials, or slash and burn agriculture.
•Stones were unearthed and cut for houses and monuments.
•Animals no longer used only for food and clothing – domesticated to pull plows.
•As a result farmers fields could be bigger as they didn’t have to turn the soil by hand.
5.What were the basic stages and consequences of metallurgy?
•People began experimenting with copper but this was superseded by bronze – hence Bronze Age
•Make superior metal tools which made farming easier, also weapons etc.
Characteristics of Early Human Development
Briefly explain what the following early human societies did:
Nomads:
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Follow the Food.
Really early people, hadn’t made any settlements yet, didn’t know how to farm. Sole focus
in life was their basic needs: food and shelter.
Foraging Societies:
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Small groups who move from place to place as climate and availability of plants and
animals dictated. Women and men basically equal.
Pastoral Societies:
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Taming the animals.
Domestication of animals. Moved constantly to look for new grazing areas.
As they domesticated more animals, they experimented with finding a more dependable
food supply through the cultivation of plants. Women and men basically equal
Agricultural Societies:
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Hunt and Gather.
This is my land.
Groups of people moved from nomadic lifestyles to agricultural lifestyles and settlements.
This is called the Neolithic or Agricultural Revolution. We are not talking about full blown
civilizations yet.
Food surplus = specialization of labour.
Men become the dominant gender – working in the fields, hunting, etc. women are
relegated more to domestic chores.
Consequences of Agriculture
Emotional and psychological
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Nomadic people moved from place to place – so people shared the land.
When people settled in one place they started to think of a particular piece of land
as home – their home.
If someone comes and drinks or fishes in their river or builds a house on their hill,
they might come to think of newcomers as intruders.
When nomads started to interfere with sedentary societies through trade and
conflict – things started to get complicated.
Innovations as a result of a food surplus
Think of dominos – More food meant a need for storage – better storage facilities
were developed – people are needed to arrange and make decisions for the
storage and protection of food – leadership and army begins to develop.
Influence of agriculture on Gender
Roles
Role of women during Old Stone Age
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Gathered berries
Tended to children
Shared equal responsibility for food
Many religious female gods as well as male
How did things change during the Neolithic Age?
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Men have harder jobs: they plow and hunt
Man = military
Women have more and more children
Rise of patriarchy (society based on males)
Men own and inherit property
Begin to regulate women’s sexual behavior
Early idea of marriage
Religion stressed more male gods, less females
Overtime, women’s status declines and they lose rights
The Emergence of Civilization
• What characteristics are needed for a settlement
to become a civilization?
Large population, crop surplus, trade, a middle class, some kind of leadership
(a non-farming elite)
Rank them in order of importance:
1 = Surplus of food.
WHY???
• At its most basic element, civilization is based on the food supply. Uncivilized
man lives at the mercy of the land and weather. He does not provide for times
of need.
• Three meals a day area a highly advanced institution. Savages gorge
themselves or fast. People lived at extremes: life was either a feast or a
famine. There was little thought of providing enough food for the next day.
• Compared to noncivilised societies, what are
the major drawbacks of civilisation?
– Reliance on sedentary agriculture.
– The inability to react to drought or flood.
– Civilisations form political organisations that
people become dependent on.
– Contiagious diseases spread more easily.
– Social inequality.
• Gender inequality
• Racism
• Uneven distribution of wealth.
– Conflict with other civilisations or barbarians
• What advantages does an agriculturally based
society have over a hunter-gather society?
– More stability and opportunity for growth.
– Food is more readily available.
– This allows for time for the society grow beyond
simple food collection.
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Technological innovations
Leadership and planning
Organized religion.
Writing systems
Specialization of labour
Long distance trade
Cultural advancements; language, philosophy, art, etc.
Problems with the term Civilization
• As discussed above, "civilization" has a number of meanings, and its use
can lead to confusion and misunderstanding.
• However, "civilization" can be a highly connotative word. It might bring to
mind qualities such as superiority, humaneness, and refinement. Indeed,
many members of civilized societies have seen themselves as superior to
the "barbarians" outside their civilization.
• Many argue that the division of societies into 'civilized' and 'uncivilized' is
meaningless. On a basic level, they say there is no difference between
civilizations and tribal societies; that each simply does what it can with the
resources it has.
• In this view, the concept of "civilization" has merely been the justification
for colonialism, imperialism, genocide, and coercive acculturation.
• For all of the above reasons, many scholars today avoid using the term
"civilization" as a stand-alone term; they prefer to use urban society or
intensive agricultural society, which are much less ambiguous, more
neutral-sounding terms.
• "Civilization" however remains in common academic use when describing
specific societies, such as "Mayan Civilization".
Themes
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The course examines World History using five overarching themes as described in the AP
World History Course Description to identify the broad patterns and processes that explain
change and continuity over time.
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Interactions between humans and the environment
– e.g – how geography and climate affected the migration of early humans.
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Development and interaction of cultures
– e.g trading through the Silk Road lead to the spread if ideas - cultural diffusion.
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State-building, expansion, and conflict
– e.g – the World Wars
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Creation, expansion, and interactions of economic systems
– e.g – interregional trading
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Development and transformation of social structures
– e.g – gender roles.
Homework Review
Aim: How did the Sumerians
develop a civilization?
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5.
Mesopotamia
Means the land between two rivers
It is in between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Located in the Fertile Crescent
The rivers in this area are violent and
unpredictable
6. Many famous civilizations formed in this area
like the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Persians
7. These famous civilizations were located in
present day Iran & Iraq
II. Sumerian Civilization
1. 3000 BC the first city-states were Ur, Uruk,
and Kish
2. The Cities were individual city-states
3. They all shared common characteristics
4. They constantly competed against each other
Sumerian Government, Religion &
Society
• Government was a theocracy. Theocracy is
when priests or religious rulers govern society.
• The ancient Sumerians were polytheistic
• They had 3000 gods
• Each city-state had its own god and were very
superstitious.
• They believed the afterlife to be a grim place
• Priests had political power
Social Structure:
–Ruler
–Nobles
–Priests
–Commoners
–Farmers
–Slaves
IV. Sumerian Jobs & Achievements
• Job specialization was irrigation, merchants, artisans, and
most importantly scribes
• Created a number system based on 60. 60 minute hours,
and 360 degree circle.
• Developed astronomy, algebra & geometry
• Created the wheel which helped farming and trade
• First schools were created with strict discipline & went
from sunrise to sunset
• Early medicine used plants for cures
• The Sumerians were responsible for many achievements
like cuneiform.
• Cuneiform was the earliest form of writing
V. Arts & Architecture
1. The Epic of Gilgamesh
2. Created Ziggurats
3. Ziggurats are temples built for the gods to bring
the people closer to the gods & the gods closer
to the people
Hammurabi
• Severe punishments which were vengeful. “An
eye for an eye” Why?
• What can we infer from H.C about the status
of women in Babylonia?
• Protection of property rights.
• Written law = universal acceptance. Nobody
can claim ignorance.
• Prevents the rule of the Jungle.
• Government tries to protect its citizens.