The Neolithic Era and the Transition to Agriculture

- vast majority of human population is not hunters and gatherers

The Origins of Agriculture
Neolithic Era
- new stone age
- renements in tool-making technique
- polished stone tools and not chipped implements
- early stages of agricultural society
- resorted to infanticide to control their numbers
- most likely women started farming
- agriculture transition ! leading from Paleolithic experiments to agriculture
Independent Inventions of Agriculture
- earliest evidence of farming found in 9000BCE southwest Asia
- sheep, goats, pigs, cattle, wheat, barley
- 9000/7000BCE sub-Saharan west Africa
- yams, okra, black-eyed peas
- 6500BCE East Asia yellow river
- rice, pigs, chickens, etc later
- 4000 BCE Mesoamerica
- corn, maize, beans, peppers, squashes, tomatoes
The Early Spread of Agriculture
- slash-and-burn cultivation, involved frequent movement of farmers
- helped spread agriculture
- involved clearing land, preparing elds, planting seeds, pulling weeds,
harvesting crops
- spent about 4 hours working for necessities through hunting and gathering

Early Agricultural Society
- human population grew at an amazing pace

Emergence of Villages and Towns
- people moved over to villages and towns
- one of the earliest ! Jericho
- 2000 people about
- trade (salt, obsidian)
Specialization of Labor
- concentration of people ! encouragement of specialization of labor
- common in Catal huyuk
- about 5000 people
- became prominent due to its large obsidian deposits
- 3 early craft industries ! pottery, metallurgy, and textile production
Pottery
- paleolithic hunters did not need pots
- neolithic people discovered processes that transformed clay into pottery
Metalworking
- earliest metal ! copper
- copper was much more workable
- became a technological foundation
Textile Production
- one of the most important enterprises in agricultural society
Social Distinctions
- permanent settlements/specialization of labor ! accumulating considerable
wealth
- ownership of land carried enormous economic power

Neolithic Culture
- agriculture affected culture
Religious Values
- Neolithic religion reected interest in fertility, but it celebrated particularly the
rhythms that governed agriculture society,
- birth, growth, death, and regenerated life
- sometimes associated goddesses with animals such as frogs or butteries that
dramatically changed form during the course of their lives
- young male gods were associated with bulls/goats representing energy and
virility that participates in the creation of life

The Origins of Urban Life
Emergence of Cities
- neolithic villages grew into cities over time
- Professional managers appeared (governors, administrators, military
strategists, tax collectors)
- cities were different from villages two ways
- more complex and larger than villages
- inuenced the political, economic, and cultural life of large regions