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=The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies (10,000 BCE - 600 BCE)=

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 * This page discusses the Neolithic Revolution and the resulting changes from hunter-gatherer to agrarian societies that profoundly altered patterns of human civilization. **


 * [[image:rotating gif.gif width="62" height="62"]] For more on the impact of agriculture on the development of early societies, see **
 * ** Massachusetts Curriculum Framework 7.4 **
 * ** Massachusetts Curriculum Framework 7.5 **

=**//What were the long-term demographic, social, political, and economic effects of the Neolithic Revolution? //**= The societies that were founded in the Neolithic Revolution were the foundation of the River Valley civilizations.

//**How did pastoral societies resemble or differ from early agricultural societies? **// Where did pastoralism persist even after the Neolithic Revolution? Differences: Similarities: Pastoralism persisted in areas that could not sustain long-term agricultural pursuits, such as areas with unfavorable climates and unreliable sources of pastures, food sources, and water.
 * Pastoral societies were smaller and more mobile than early agricultural societies
 * Pastoralism focused more on hunting and gathering, while early agricultural societies depended more on the same soil…
 * Pastoral societies adapted far better to their environment as they could move
 * Both developed animal husbandry

* Click here [] for the beginning Neolithic Age and here for the comparison between Paleolithic Age and Neolithic Age []

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/birth-agriculture-neolithic-revolution/v/origins-of-agriculture [|Khan Academy - Neolithic Revolution]
 * Summary of Neolithic Revolution in Broad Historical and Geological Context (Khan Academy)**

Summarizes major contributions of Neolithic Era - agricultural revolutions - that enabled massive stabilization of human populations, which enabled human population increase on scales previously impossible in the hunter-gatherer Paleolithic Era. More settled agricultural settlements allow for more entrenched communities with specialization and revolutionary patterns in human settlement (ie the emergence of early city-states). This agricultural development meant domestication of certain animal species and plant species that marked a huge turning point in early human history. The video also includes a nice summary of areas where archaeologists believe agriculture first emerged in different parts of the world (as shown in the screenshot below): This video is part of a 9-part lesson plan by Khan Academy that goes into detail on different parts of the Neolithic Era, focusing specifically on the agricultural revolution. Useful online resource that can be accessed by anyone for self-paced study and review.

//**Why did the Neolithic Revolution start ? **// There are many theories regarding the origin of Neolithic societies.
 * need for a long-term reliable source of food to nourish a rapidly growing society
 * rose because people experimented with plants out of their own free time
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the need for political and social organization
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by accident

<span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 11pt;"> Identify the statement that best begins an explanation of the Neolithic Revolution. <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 11pt;">A. In Northern Europe, nomadic hunters began to produce more complex stone tools. <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 11pt;">B. In East Asia, early settlers began using markings on turtle shells and bones as an early form of record keeping. <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 11pt;">C. In the Middle East, people began to settle in small communities and practice agriculture. <span style="font-family: &#39;Times New Roman&#39;; font-size: 11pt;">D. In Mesoamerica, agricultural settlements saw an expansion of their populations and the beginning of more complex governments. CORRECT ANSWER: C

I. Beginning about 10,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution led to the development of new and more complex economic and social systems
//**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How did the Neolithic Revolution affect human societies economically & socially? **// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Neolithic Revolution began the era of permanent societies. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">· Due to the closed nature of society, the demographic of farmers was less diverse than of the demographic of herders as they mostly mated within their population <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">· Gender roles became more prevalent <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">· The reliance on the limited amount of land they had gave way to political organization <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">· Less variety in terms of food which affected the overall health of the farming society’s citizens <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">· Political organization caused social organization which was divided by amount of property and power.

====**A. Possibly as a response to climatic change, permanent agricultural villages emerged first in the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. Agriculture emerged at different times in Mesopotamia, the Nile River Valley and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indus River Valley, the Yellow River or Huang He Valley, Papua New Guinea, Mesoamerica, and the Andes.**====

//**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Where did the Neolithic Revolution first transform human populations? **//
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Asia – east of the Zagros Mountains, Middle East regions. Click here for information on [|Indus Valley Civilization]
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Americas –[| high Andes to Amazon River Basin]
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Africa - Egypt, the Nile River Valley. Click here for information on [|Nile River Valley civilization].
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pacific Islands – New Guinea
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Europe - Northern Europe

[|The Agricultural Revolution: Crash Course World History #1]

Bridging World History Unit 4 webpage/[|readings]/video on [|Agricultural and Urban Revolutions]

Peter Stearns' Teaching Company world history course annotated by video [|here]and [|here]

For background, go to [|Neolithic Revolution] from the Oswego (New York) City School District.

See also [|The Neolithic Revolution and the Birth of Civilization] from Longman Publishers. Click here for a [|short overview of the Neolithic Revolution].

**B. Pastoralism developed at various sites in the grasslands of Afro-Eurasia.**
[|Pastoralism]defined from Palomar College.

**C. Different crops or animals were domesticated in the various core regions, depending on available local flora and fauna.**
//**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What various crops & animals were developed or domesticated during the Neolithic Revolution? **//
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The trinity: maize, beans, and squash
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rye, wheat, barley
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Potato
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Teff
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rice
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Quinoa
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Various marine animals, snails
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sheep, goats, yaks, llamas

**D. Agricultural communities had to work cooperatively to clear land and create the water control systems needed for crop production.**
====**E. These agricultural practices drastically impacted environmental diversity. Pastoralists also affected the environment by grazing large numbers of animals on fragile grasslands, leading to erosion when overgrazed.**====
 * //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What were the environmental effects of the Neolithic Revolution? //**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Soil was overused.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Deforestation occurred to make more land available for agriculture
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Overgrazing
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Animals became more suited to human needs due to animal husbandry

II. Agriculture and pastoralism began to transform human societies.
Click here for a [|short overview of the Neolithic Revolution].

For more on the impact of agriculture, see Massachusetts Curriculum Framework 7.5

Click here for a short overview describing the [|shortcomings of the so-called Three Age System] (Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age).

**A. Pastoralism and agriculture led to more reliable and abundant food supplies, which increased the population.**
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At first the food supply was unreliable due to a lot of energy devoted to crop production
 * //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What effects did pastoralism & agriculture have on the food supply? //**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The food supply slowly became more reliable and created surplus
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In certain regions of the world, food options were limited

//**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What were the social effects of the increased food supply caused by increase of agriculture? **//
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Created class distinctions, the people with more land and therefore more food were on the higher end of the social hierarchy
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Increased population
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">More leisure time
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Feasting increased loyalty to leadership

**B. Surpluses of food and other goods led to specialization of labor, including new classes of artisans and warriors, and the development of elites.**

 * //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What labor adjustments did humans make in order to facilitate the Neolithic Revolution? //**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Increased reliance on female labor
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Had to produce more crops to make up for the energy used for farming

**C. Technological innovations led to improvements in agricultural production, trade, and transportation.**
//**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What technological innovations are associated with the growth of agriculture? **//
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Preservation of food surplus, created granaries and store houses
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Irrigation
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">City planning
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Domestication/animal husbandry

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">See Special Topic Page on Metallic Advancements Through the Ages

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Lesson plan for development of written language in Neolithic period.


 * [__Required__ examples of //__improvements in agricultural production, trade, and transportation__:// Pottery, Plows, Woven textiles, Metallurgy, and Wheels and wheeled vehicles]**

**D. In both pastoralist and agrarian societies, elite groups accumulated wealth, creating more hierarchical social structures and promoting patriarchal forms of social organization.**

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Due to the nomadic nature of early people, societies were beginning to limit their families by regulating who could mate with whom because large families were unsuitable for their pastoral lifestyle.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">As nomadic societies began fighting over land and resources, the role of men became enhanced as they not only fought over land but also over mating partners. At the same time, due to this, <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">women were also becoming more valuable in society as more men were being sent off to war.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">On the whole, male domination was becoming the norm in society. It could have been due to several things including hunting and food distribution, which only males would do. This also created a type of work specialization, since women were almost forced to gather while men hunted.


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">As societies slowly began to focus more on agriculture rather than hunting and gathering, social classes began to develop and solidify, which can be seen through the inequalities in burials during this time. Lower classes often has simple burials with very little in the way of ornamentation while the elites and higher classes had elaborate burials with jewels, carvings and other “expensive” pieces.