How did humans become
“civilized”?
This class is called “World Civilizations”
What were we like before “Civilization”
came around?
How did we change to become civilized?
What is a Civilization?
Two definitions
Civilizations have:
1. An urban focus – major cities
2. Political and military systems
3. Social structure based on
economic systems-upper and
lower classes
4. Development of labor
specialization
5. Distinct religious structure
6. Development of Writing
7. New and significant artistic
and intellectual activity
Advanced
Cities
System of
Writing
Advanced
Technology
Civilization
Has…
Complex
Institutions
Skilled
Workers
Food, What would we do without it?
Before farming
Foraging AKA Hunter-Gatherers
• Food sources?
• Plants are gathered in
season and stored
when possible
• Meat is hunted and
dried for food and other
uses, clothing, rope,
etc.
• Move around to take
advantage of seasonal
offerings i.e. nomadic
Hunter-Gatherers’ societies
Advantages
•
• Fit into nature (little
environmental impact)
•
• Relatively little labor
expended to get food
•
• Variety in diet
• Deep knowledge of uses
for plants and animals in
•
the region they live.
Disadvantages
Dependent upon wild
animals and plants
Nature can only support
small groups and cultures
Must travel around to find
food, so no permanent
building structures
No animals to help with
labor
What changed?
• Hunter Gatherer type
societies had survived
for thousands of years.
• After the last ice age
ended in 10,000 B.C.E.,
humans began selecting
dependable plants for
food
What tastes makes a good food
plant?
• Tastes good (not bitter) • The first crops that met
with humans’ approval
• Large (larger fruit or
were
cereals
and
pulses.
seeds)
• Easy to pick
• Grow fast or with lots
of fruit/seeds. (High
Yields)
• Grow Annually
Domestication!
• The process of humans selecting plants for
more useful characteristics is called
Domestication
• It was also used with animals.
First domesticated plants
Geographical Area
• Middle East
aka Fertile Crescent
• China
•
• India
•
• Mesoamerica
•
• Andes/Amazonia
•
•
Crops domesticated
Wheat, barley, peas, lentils,
chickpea, flax, muskmelon
Millet, rice?, soybean, adzuki
bean, mung bean, hemp
Rice?, hyacinth bean, cotton,
cucumber
Corn, common bean, yucca,
jicama, squashes
Potato, quinoa, lima bean, peanut
Lentil Stew ala Clay Ball
- by: Ruth Tringham
Prep time: 3-4 hours (includes gathering wild herbs, processing
bones for grease, gathering wood/dung for fire)
You'll need:
•lentils, soaked in water
•wild herbs
•goat grease
•wood/dung for fire
•water-tight basket
1.Fill basket with water. Soak for 1 hour. (Basket will absorb
water and expand the fibers, making it water-tight. This also
prevents scorching.)
2.Heat clay balls in a dung or wood fire. (For complete
instructions, see Clay Ball Heating section.)
3.Put soaked lentils in the cooking basket with water, goat
grease, and wild herbs.
4.Put hot clay balls in the cooking basket, stirring constantly. As
balls cool, replace them with hot ones.
What makes a useful animal?
Humans have used
animals for…
•Meat
•Milk
•Fertilizer
•Transportation
•Military Assault
•Plowing fields
•and unknowingly Germs
Good
characteristics
Bad
characteristics
• But not too big
• Big
• Easy to control • Bad temper
• Herbivore or • Carnivore
omnivore
• Multiple uses
• Short
childhoods
Approximate dates and locations for
Domestication of Large Mammal Species
Species
Dates (B.C.E.)
Dog
10,000
Sheep
Goat
Pig
Cow
Horse
Donkey
Water buffalo
Llama/alpaca
Bactrian camel
Arabian camel
8,000
8,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
4,000
4,000
3,500
2,500
2,500
From Guns, Germs, and Steel pg. 167
Place
Middle East, China,
North America
Middle East
Middle East
China, Middle East
India, Middle East
Ukraine
Egypt
China?
Andes (South America)
Central Asia (the stans)
Arabia
The Fertile Crescent