Do Now:
Was farming the
greatest achievement
or worst mistake in
human history?
Moon Landing
Bombing of Hiroshima
The Neolithic Revolution
Was farming the greatest
achievement or worst
mistake in human history?
What was the Neolithic Revolution?
• Date – 8,000 BC to 4,000 BC
• Neolithic Revolution – When people stopped
moving in search of food because they learned
how to grow crops. They became the first
farmers and began to build villages.
• Civilization – These are complex societies that
have cities, organized governments, art, religion,
class divisions, and a writing system.
How did farming impact our world?
How did the Neolithic Revolution
Impact the World?
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Economies
Lifestyle
Specialization of Labor
Social Class Division
Warfare
Governments and laws
Increase in population
Health
Calendar
Food Surplus
Farming As an Achievement
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Food Surplus
Creation of cities
Government
Increase in technology
Development of
Formal Education
• Increase in Personal
Property
Farming As a Mistake
One Bushman, when asked why he hadn't
[copied] neighboring tribes by adopting
agriculture, replied, “Why should we, when
there are so many mongongo nuts in the
world?"
Farming As a Mistake
• Health:
– Height decreased: Pre-Farming 5’9 for men and
5’5 for women… Post-Farming 5’5 for men and
5’0 for women.
– Life Expectancy: Pre-Farming 26 years, Post
Farming 19 years
– Malnutrition
– Disease spreads quickly in villages & cities
Farming As a Mistake
• Inequalities
– Men and Women:
Increased
pregnancies =
decline in health
– Social Class
Division: Whoever
controls the grains
controls the village
Bibliography
Diamond, Jared. “The Worst Mistake In
The History Of The Human Race.”
Discover, May 1987, pp. 64-66