INVENTION OF AGRICULTURE

1. INVENTION OF AGRICULTURE • First people to engage in agriculture were from the Middle East • Began around 7000 BC • Wheat and barley • Sheep and goats • Agriculture then gradually spread from Middle East to Europe, Africa, and elsewhere

2. THE FIRST FARMER • Probably a woman • Did most grain-collecting as part of their general food gathering duties • Noticed that that stored wild grain could be grown on purpose • Domestication of animals probably came from the keeping of pets or from the temporary retention of animals after a hunt

3. RESULTS OF AGRICULTURE • Required intensification of group organization • Neolithic farmers lived in settlements which had populations that ranged from 150 (Jarmo) to 2000 (Jericho)

4. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION • Settlements originally ruled by a council of elders but, over time, authority became vested in a single chieftain • Individual independence was limited • Inhabitants worked together collectively in a very close-knit society • Communal granaries, communal ovens, and communal fields abound in Neolithic sites • Private property limited to an individual’s personal possessions

5. POSSESSIONS • Needs of agriculture and stability and relative prosperity provided by agriculture increased human possessions • Clay pottery • Woven baskets • Woolen and linen clothing • Sophisticated tools and weapons • Metallic ornaments • Carts and wagons with solid wheels • Plow

6. OUTSIDE CONTACTS • Neolithic communities had links to larger world • Existence of walls indicates that they were sometimes fearful of these contacts • Other contacts were more peaceful • Obsidian and turquoise items in Jericho came from at least several hundred miles away • Either gifts or received in exchange for grain Jericho

7. Agriculture appeared in China and Greece around 5000 BC BIG POINT There was no universal transition point between Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages It was a gradual and uneven process with some regions adopting agriculture very early and other regions adopting it much later Spread of Agriculture into the rest of Europe was slow—due to harsher climate and widespread forests Agriculture did not appear in Germany until 100-200 AD

8. DIFFERENCES IN LIFESTYLE • Determined by the region where men settled and the environmental factors they had to deal with • Lake houses in Switzerland, long houses along Danube, stone huts in Britain, reed lean-tos in Egypt, and clay brick huts in Middle East • Tools and weapons also varied, as did social and political organization and even ideas • Broad language groups appeared • Semitic, Indo-European, etc.

9. CIVILIZATION I • THE PRESENCE OF FIRMLY ORGANIZED STATES WHICH HAVE DEFINITE BOUNDARIES AND SYSTEMATIC POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS (LED BY CLEARLY IDENTIFIED POLITICAL OR RELIGIOUS LEADERS) • THE DISTINCTIONS OF SOCIAL CLASSES • THE EXISTENCE OF A SOCIAL HIERARCHY WITH PEOPLE RANKED IN SOCIAL GROUPS, ONE ABOVE THE OTHER

10. CIVILIZATION II • ECONOMIC SPECIALIZATION • DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONS SUCH AS FARMER, CRAFTSMAN, MERCHANT, PRIEST, WARRIOR, ETC. • ALL INTERDEPENDENT • CONSCIOUS DEVELOPMENT OF ARTS AND INTELLECTUAL ATTITUDES • RISE OF MONUMENTAL ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE • USE OF WRITING TO KEEP RECORDS OR COMMUNICATE FAMOUS DEEDS • ELABORATION OF THEOLOGY • EXPRESSION OF RELIGIOUS VIEWS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE GODS, THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH MEN, AND ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD

11. CIVILIZATION III • USUALLY CONNECTED TO CITIES BUT CITIES ARE NOT AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT TO CIVILIZATION • NEOLITHIC JERICHO COULD BE CONSIDERED A CITY BUT IT WAS NOT A CIVILIZATION • CIVILIZATION DEVELOPED FIRST IN EGYPT WITHOUT CITIES • CITIES AND CIVILIZATION DID DEVELOP TOGETHER IN MESOPOTAMIA

12. UNIQUENESS OF CIVILIZATION • Civilization was not simply the next inevitable step from the Neolithic Age • Many people in the world remained at the simple food-raising stage for thousands of years—without developing any sort of civilization • Only three locations in the world developed civilizations entirely on their own • China • Central America and Peru • Mesopotamia/Egypt

13. MESOPOTAMIA In north, rivers are far apart and separated by hills and numerous tributaries In south, rivers are closer together and this is where civilization would emerge Variously called Sumer, Akkad, and Babylonia Tigris Means “Land Between Two Rivers” Euphrates

14. MESOPOTAMIAN GEOGRAPHY Southern region is one of dried mud flats, stagnant pools, and reed swamps Little incentive for men to settle there—except for the fact that its soil was fertile, light, and easy to cultivate and the rivers provided a reliable source of water No natural building materials and no metallic deposits—with the exception of clay Normally very hot and dry with temperatures approaching 120 degrees in the summer Seldom rained but, when it did, it came in torrential downpours

15. GEOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES Continual movement of new people into region constantly exposed Mesopotamia to new influences and also allowed it to spread its influence more widely throughout the Middle East Tribes also periodically wandered into the region from the foothills and mountains of Armenia and Iran This is where the Sumerians probably first came from Arabian Desert to south and west supported nomadic population of Semitic-speaking people who periodically wandered into Mesopotamia