Period 1 – Technological and Environmental Transformations, c. 8000 BCE to c. 600 BCE
In response to warming climates at the end of the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, some groups adapted to the environment in new ways, while others remained hunter-foragers. Settled agriculture appeared in several different parts of the world. The switch to agriculture created a more reliable, but not necessarily more diversified, food supply. Farmers also affected the environment through cultivation of selected plants to the exclusion of others, the construction of irrigation systems, and the use of domesticated animals for food and labor. Populations increased; village life developed, followed by urban life with all its complexity. Patriarchy and forced-labor systems developed, giving elite men concentrated power. Pastoralism emerged in parts of Africa and Eurasia. Like agriculturalists, pastoralists tended to be more socially stratified than hunter-foragers. Pastoralists’ mobility facilitated technology transfers through their interaction with settled populations.
I. The Neolithic Revolution led to the development of more complex economic and social systems.
A. Possibly as a response to climatic change, permanent agricultural villages emerged first in the lands of the eastern Mediterranean. Agriculture emerged independently in Mesopotamia, the Nile River Valley, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indus River Valley, the Yellow River (or Huang He) Valley, Papua New Guinea, Mesoamerica, and the Andes.
B. People in each region domesticated locally available plants and animals.
C. Pastoralism developed in Afro–Eurasian grasslands, affecting the environment in a variety of ways.
D. Agricultural communities had to work cooperatively to clear land and create the water control systems needed for crop production, drastically affecting environmental diversity.
The Neolithic Revolution [HotW #2]
Mankind: The Story of All of Us: Birth of Farming | History
Ancient Mesopotamia 101 | National Geographic
Ancient Egypt 101 | National Geographic
Indus Valley Civilization: Crash Course World History #2
Yellow River - Wild China - BBC
II. Agriculture and pastoralism began to transform human societies.
A. Pastoralism and agriculture led to more reliable and abundant food supplies, which increased the population and led to specialization of labor, including new classes of artisans and warriors and the development of elites.
B. Technological innovations led to improvements in agricultural production, trade, and transportation.
C. Patriarchal forms of social organization developed in both pastoralist and agrarian societies.
Neolithic Revolution
AKA the First Agricultural Revolution. This was a long and drawn out historical process that began taking place around 10,000 BCE. Over the course of hundreds of years, human societies began to develop new farming techniques. Before this started taking place, humans were primarily hunter-gathers, spending all of their time and energy on finding food and on basic survival. But with new farming techniques, food was easier to come by. So, people began to settle down, form civilizations, and imagine more complex understandings of the world around them (new ideas about science, religion, etc.).
Illustrative examples, technological innovations:
Aspects of Archaeology: Pottery
Waterstone Faucets History of the Wheel