Farming, Herding and the Neolithic Revolution
OVERVIEW 2.1 Pre-agricultural Society Characteristics
Time Period/Place→
Food Sources→
Buildings & Artifacts→
Lifestyle & Family →
15,000 B.C.E.; Middle East
nuts (acorns, almonds, pistachios), nut flours,
small & large mammals (fox, rabbit, gazelle),
wild grasses, edible seeds
nuts (acorns, chestnuts), fish, small animals
wood, stone dwellings, jewelry
made from animal bones, teeth
foraging, semi-sedentary; extended
families, clans, permanent villages
caves, pit houses, wood houses;
decorated pottery, chipped &
ground stone tools
skilled hunters & fishermen, semisedendary
10,000 B.C.E. Egypt (Nabta animals (hare, gazelles); sorghum & millet; 40
Playa)
other plant species, cattle herders
pit houses, tombs, megaliths, stone
circles; simple ceramic vessels,
hearths, pit-ovens, wells
initially, a ceremonial site for migratory
peoples, then small village community
10,000 B.C.E. Turkey
(Gobelki Tepi)
stone, mud-plaster houses, carved
columns depicting animals &
humans
families, clans in permanent villages
13,000 B.C.E., Central
Japan
animals (birds, oxen, snakes, wild boar, fox) &
wild plants (including wheat)
OVERVIEW 2.2: Foragers and Farmers: Comparisons
Foragers ↓
Farmers ↓
Advantages
Disadvantages
Hunting, gathering—few tools, mobile lifestyle
dependence on seasonal abundance of animals & plants—unpredictable
Little environmental impact, population stability
limited capacity for population growth
Stable, low-density, less overall labor required
occasional famines and droughts lead to small decline in overall populations
Low density minimizes epidemic disease, mobility accelerates trade
small scale conflicts, banditry
Advantages
Disadvantages
Husbandry—breeding animals, cultivating crops → more complex tools
massive impact on environment
Increased food supply → growth of population
crop failures, plagues, droughts, epidemic disease → population crashes
Larger population → social complexity → labor specialization
surplus food → wealth accumulation → class system → social inequality
New Technology & tools → higher productivity
new weaponry → large scale conflict, war
OVERVIEW 2.3: Characteristics of Herding and Agricultural Societies
Type of Husbandry
Environment
Region
Time Period
Animals or Crops
Herding
tundra, evergreen forests;
grasslands, steppe regions
Scandinavia, North America,
Eurasian & African grasslands
5,000 B.C.E.
reindeer, seal, walrus, horses, sheep, cattle
Agriculture
small-scale alluvial plains
Jericho on River Jordan,
Catalhuyuk in Anatolia
8,000-7000 B.C.E.
einkorn, wheat, pulses (peas, beans), fruits, nuts
Agriculture
large alluvial plains
5,000 B.C.E.
grains, pulses, rice, millet, fruits, nuts
Agriculture
uplands
Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Indus
& Yangtse River valleys
Andes, Peru; Mexico; Old
World (Eurasia, Africa)
12, 000-5,000 B.C.E.
maize (Mexico), beans, squash (Mexico) potatoes, quinoa (Andes);
tef, rye, barley (Old World)
Agriculture
swamps
Yangtse Valley, Ganges
Valley,. S.E. Asia; West
Africa; Amazon
9,000-1,500 years ago
rice (China, S.E. Asia, Ganges Valley); yams, oil palm dates (West
Africa); bitter manioc (Amazon)