From Foraging to Farming
250,000+ Years of History
Mrs. Priscilla Zenn
This Fleeting World (reference)
How did we go from small groups of
foragers to large populations of farmers?
What the Evidence Tells Us
• Scientists look at three
types of evidence to
understand the history of
this era
– Physical remains from past
societies
• Bones, relics, stones, etc
– Modern foraging
communities
• Learn basic patterns of life
– Genetics
• Determine the age of our
species and the dates when
different populations were
separated by ancient
migrations
(remember, no written records!)
Three Eras of Human History
Era 1: Foraging
250,000 – 8,000 BCE
Most of human history;
small communities; global
migrations megafaunal
extinctions slow
population growth
Era 2: Agrarian
8,000 BCE – 1750 CE
Intensification; rapid
population growth; cities,
states, empires; writing;
different histories in
different world zones
Era 3: Modern
1750 – Present
Single, global system rapid
growth in energy use;
increasing rate of
extinctions; increased life
expectancies
Three Significant Changes During the
First Era of Human History
• The physical development of human beings
• The human populating of most major
regions of the earth
• The Agricultural Revolution
Foragers
• Symbolic Language
– Communication was key
• People shared
information and
knowledge began to
accumulate
• Each generation inherits
the accumulated
knowledge and could use
it to adapt to the
environment in new ways
By the Numbers…
• Foragers needed a large area
to support themselves
• Foraging groups were typically
small – how did they stay that
way?
– Birth control
– Population control (kill old and
young)
• Groups probably encouraged
marriage outside of their
group
– creating ties
– Linguistic overlapping
– Created network to trade
goods, people, and ideas
• In some areas the people were more sedentary
– those with abundant resources
• Stay in one place longer before moving; these
are referred to as the affluent foragers
Migration/Movement
• As groups moved, they had
to adapt to the new region
• Impacts on the environment
(as technological change
accelerated, early peoples
created new landscapes)
– Firestick farming (brought
new growth/more animals)
– Animal
extinctions/megafuanal
extinctions – large animals
(appear to coincide exactly
w/the appearance of humans
in areas)
Key Events in the Foraging Era
300,000 –
200,000 BCE
Modern human beings appear in Africa
250,000 BCE
Stone tool technology becomes more sophisticated
200,000 BCE
Humans begin spreading across Africa
100,000 BCE
Humans begin migrating out of Africa to Eurasia
50,000 BCE
Development of more sophisticated technologies accelerates
50,000 –
40,000 BCE
Australia is settled
30,000 BCE
Siberia is settled
30,000 –
20,000 BCE
More sophisticated tools such as the bow and arrow are invented
13,000 BCE
Humans arrive in the Americas
10,000 BCE
The foraging era ends with the development of agriculture
All dates are approximate
Population Grows
• As humans spread over
more and more of the
Earth, numbers surely
increased
• Technological creativity
accelerated
Doubling Time – Population Growth
Y ear
H u m a n P o p u la tio n
3 0 0 0 B .C .E .
1 4 M illio n
2 0 0 0 B .C .E .
2 7 M illio n
1 0 0 0 B .C .E .
5 0 M illio n
5 0 0 B .C .E
1 0 0 M illio n
• Growth rate 0.01% (if you had 11 people in your village
and wanted to have a soccer game, you’d have to wait
9,000 years to have enough people for another team!)
• Agrarian era – 1400 years
• Modern era – 85 years
Change Comes Slowly
• During this 250,000
year period change
slowly accelerated
• Foraging techniques
were improving and
eventually people
learned to exploit their
surroundings – the 1st
step towards agriculture
Agrarian Era – 10,000 years
• Eventually people began to
harvest yams, fruits, and
grains
• Change began to occur, little
by little (imperceptible, not
like today)
• Humans learned to
communicate and live
successfully in new
environments
• Agrarian communities grew
into large civilizations
Earliest records indicate that agriculture
developed some 10,000 years ago in the Fertile
Crescent
Agriculture developed later in other regions
Each region developed particular crops
Two Dramatic Developments
• The rise and interaction
among early agricultural-based
(river valley) civilizations
• The growth of larger pastoral
communities
• The interactions:
– Allowed agricultural techniques
to spread
– Created long distance trade
systems
– Encouraged the growth of
militaristic attitudes among
communities in Eurasia and
Africa
The Quest for Order
• With the end of a nomadic
lifestyle, rapid increases in
population occurred
• Populations became
concentrated in urban areas
• Work specialization and social
distinctions increased, and
people began to accumulate
wealth
• Larger, denser communities
created new problems which
were solved by forming the large,
hierarchical structures we call
states
The “Agricultural Revolution / Transition”
• Early Agricultural Society
•
•
•
•
•
Emergence of Villages and Towns
Specialization of Labor
Metal Working
Textile Production
Social Distinctions
– Neolithic Culture
• Religious Values
– The Origins of Urban Life
• Emergence of Cities
*The growth of agriculture provided not only new sources of
food, but also greater social complexity
The Neolithic Era & the Transition to Agriculture
Origins & Early Spread of Agriculture
Significant Changes During This Time
• Civilizations begin to grow
and develop
• Birth and spread of world
religions
• Populations continue to
rise and we see the
emergence of large scale
empires
– Emergence of a ruling class
(necessary for territorial or
economic expansion)
Traits of a Civilization
Rise of City-States/Empires
 Specialization of labor (from surplus of food)
 Record keeping with a written language (to
manage life for large numbers of people living
across wide areas)
 Complex institutions – government, social
hierarchy, religion
 Trade & technology
 Advanced cities
Key events in the Agrarian Era
13,000 – 11,000
BCE
Some humans begin to live in settled communities
9000 – 8000 BCE
Cattle are domesticated in the Sahara region of Africa
8000 BCE
Grain crops are cultivated in Mesopotamia/Yams are cultivated in West
Africa
7000 BCE
Grains and rice are cultivated in n/s China. Yams and taro are cultivated in
Papua New Guinea. Squash is cultivated in Mesoamerica
4000 BCE
The secondary products revolution takes lace in parts of Afro-Eurasia
3000 BCE
Plants are cultivated in the Andes. Cities and states appear in
Mesopotamia and Egypt
2500 BCE
Cities and states appear in India, Pakistan, and N. China
2000 BCE
Eurasian trade networks develop
1000 BCE
Cities and states appear in Mesoamerica and the Andes
500 BCE – 1000
CE
New cities and states emerge, population increases, and
interregional trade networks develop
500 – 1200 CE
Many of the Pacific islands are settled
1500 CE
All major world regions are linked through migration and trade
1750 CE
The agrarian era ends with the appearance and spread of
industrialization