Social & Political Transitions: Hunter-Gatherer to Large States A brief talk by Nathan Wichman Compiled Jan 2013 for Anthro 101 Introduction • Middle Eastern societies from huntergatherer through state-level society • Applies to cultures worldwide • note changing gender roles throughout these societal systems Early HunterGatherers • Earliest form of subsistence • Sole focus on food gathering • little free time • Smaller groups are easier to feed Hunter-Gatherers Cont. • Women gather ~70% of food • Children at 3-4 year intervals for easier movement (Nagle 2012:4) • Led by “Big Man” possibly Agricultural Revolution • Neolithic Revolution • 8000-6000 BCE • Reason for occurring not known • Settling along rivers in Mesopotamia • Starting to raise crops http://images.wikia.com/althistory/images/1/14/World_Map_Special_Cold_Wa r.png http://www.indepthinfo.com/historyancient/images/map-ofmesopotamia.jpg http://timewatch.greathistory.com/file s/2010/02/Timewatchmesopotamia2.jpg Agricultural Revolution • Not just agriculture • Pastoralism • Extensive irrigation required • Focus on cultivated land • Constant food source Social changes • Larger communities • Acquisition of material goods • Less needed of women • Increase in child frequency • Religion defines hierarchy State & Urban Revolution • Populations in thousands • Socioeconomic stratification • Large economy = writing • Temples have some influence • Constant warfare Economy in Cities • Fewer % required to gather food • More time for other endeavors • Specialties in crafts appear • Politicians appear to deal with justice • Politicians have wealth • Economic class system (includes “slaves”) • Writing evolves from large economy (Nagle 2010:7) Standard of Ur http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ355/choi/bab.htm Temples & Women • Temples held lots of land (NOT overwhelming) • Kings blessed by gods • Path for women to achieve status • “Sometimes the priestesses outlived their own dynasties becoming the only legitimating link between one dynasty and the next” (Nagle 2010:9) • Some women used manipulation of male relatives Conclusion • Hunter-gatherers • Settle and start farming • Grow into powerful city states. • • • • • • • • • • • Working Bibliography Kottak, Conrad P. 2012 Mirror for Humanity, A Concise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology 8th ed., New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Nagle, D. Brendan 2010 The Ancient World: A Social and Cultural History 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Nagle, D. Brendan 2010 The Ancient World: Readings in Social and Cultural History 4th ed. edited by Brendan D. Nagle and Stanley M Burnstien. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Babylonian Culture and Tablets, http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/classes/econ355/choi/bab.htm Accessed 23 Jan 2013 Image Bibliography: World map from: http://images.wikia.com/althistory/images/1/14/World_Map_Special_Cold_War.png Fertile crescent map from: http://timewatch.greathistory.com/files/2010/02/Timewatchmesopotamia2.jpg