Topic > The Neolithic Revolution and Social Change

The Neolithic Revolution is so called because it marked the transition from small nomadic hunter-gatherers to larger, more permanent horticultural settlements. It all began about 10,000 years ago, when people learned to grow crops instead of relying solely on nature to provide them with everything they needed. They also began to raise certain types of animals for food and domestication. There is no exact factor that led to the Neolithic Revolution. There are some theories as to why it started, these factors may also have varied from country to country. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The revolution began after the last ice age, so many scientists thought it started because of climate change. In areas such as the Fertile Crescent, wild wheat and barley began to grow, and the people who lived there consumed these grains. It has also been theorized that developments in the human brain have led them to stabilize. Archaeologists have found religious artifacts and artistic images created by some of the early Neolithic people. These finds would be considered "ancestors" of human civilization. The Neolithic era began when humans completely abandoned the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to engage in agriculture. It started with small vegetable gardens to feed families, but grew into large crops to feed not only themselves but also other villagers. People didn't just settle by the dozen; they were able to settle in groups of hundreds by storing harvest surpluses in objects such as clay pots. This is because they have accumulated a lot of knowledge about plants over the many years of living exploiting natural vegetation. They also created a range of advanced stone tools. The transition from vagabonds to settlers led them to cooperate with each other to care for the land (weed, irrigate, etc.), store agricultural products, and raise children. The Neolithic Revolution not only caused agricultural change, but also caused social change. People relied more on each other and created new social patterns. Which was expressed in narratives, myths, ceremonies and rituals. Social class and any authoritarian state remained absent in the years 4000 BC and 3000 BC. Furthermore, there was no evidence of male supremacy. Indeed, there were statues of women that suggested high status to them. One development that did not go unnoticed was that weapons for warfare and hunting became more developed. The land on which people worked was not privately owned, each family or lineage (a group of people related by blood or marriage). he was responsible for some areas but owned the entire village. At that time private property didn't really exist. Everyone was expected to share food; this was to ensure that no one died of hunger. Especially those with many small children. “Prestige did not derive from individual consumption, but from the ability to help compensate for the shortcomings of others.” In other words, no one starves unless everyone does. Families with fewer mouths to feed provided assistance to families with many mouths to feed, especially if they had young children. Just like today, children represented the future workforce, so families with the greatest number of children were the ones most protected from extinction. Typically, a woman could not afford to have more than one child at a time. He might have another one when everyone else has started walking. Birth rates werespaced every 3 or 4 years. Populations grew steadily and quadrupled over the course of 2 millennia. The Neolithic era began with about ten million and grew to about 200 million. Controversies faced by earlier hunter-gatherers were resolved by group cutting or abandonment of individuals. In a stable community, there was a threat to food supplies that were more likely to be plundered by other villages. War was now a problem faced by people. This led to a sort of council composed of senior figures from each lineage. Once agriculture was established throughout the world, trade began. They discovered that it could radically improve their lives. Fish, game, animal skins, fabrics, or drinks were commonly exchanged for others. Animal husbandry and herding became increasingly popular. These changes led to one final social change: the early development of social ranks. “Chiefs” arose when some groups or individuals enjoyed greater status than others. However, it is not like the upper classes as we know them today. A leader must oversee the surplus of food, tools, weapons, and other goods. They must also provide everything families or individuals need. These leaders had to work harder than anyone else to keep the village happy and healthy. The effects of the Neolithic revolution that remain today are the domestication of certain plants. In the Fertile Crescent, wheat and barley were the first, but they were also responsible for lentils, chickpeas, peas and flax. Domestication also led to genetic manipulation, of both plants and animals. This allowed farmers to select more desirable traits. This is quite clear when you look at an animal or plant today and then look at its ancestors. For example, wheat falls and shatters when it is ripe. Early humans bred it to remain on the stem for easier harvesting. Around the same time, people in Asia began growing rice and millet. Scientists have discovered archaeological fragments of Stone Age rice paddies in Chinese swamps dating back at least 7,700 years. In Mexico, squash cultivation began about 10,000 years ago, and maize/maize crops emerged about 9,000 years ago. The first livestock were domesticated from animals that Neolithic humans used to hunt for meat. For example, domestic pigs were raised from wild boars. Early farm animals also included sheep and cattle. These originated in Mesopotamia between 10,000 and 13,000 years ago. The water buffalo and yak were domesticated shortly thereafter in China, India, and Tibet. Oxen, donkeys and camels appeared much later, around 4,000 BC, when humans developed trade routes to transport goods. Due to population growth and natural events such as droughts, floods or frosts, people had to resort to different methods to maintain their populations. screw. The first was to invade other villages and the second was to create more intensive and productive forms of agriculture. Such as the invention and use of the plow, the reclamation of swamps and the digging of wells. This increased the division of labor between males and females as women could not perform labor-intensive jobs while breastfeeding or giving birth to a child. It also created a gap between those who did the work and those who supervised it. Those they oversaw distributed the surplus and gained a sense of power over the rest of society. This could only be achieved through the obedience and praise of the people. Which was received since these "supervisors" had all the food. Warehouses turned into temples and supervisors into.