Lecture 7- Civilization and Domestication

8/3/2019 Lecture 7- Civilization and Domestication

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LECTURE 8- CIVILIZATION AND

DOMESTICATIONANT 210


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TRANSITION

Through the Paleolithic, all peoplewere hunting and gathering.

Around 12kya there was a major

climate shift:

Glaciers began melting (shrinking) Frozen tundra began thawing and turning

into forests

Large herd animals began to disappear

This is due to several factors

y 1) They ate those tundra grasses that are

now gone!

y 2) People were still hunting them, and

there are more people now!

y 3) Animals with thick, woolly coats dont

do well in warmer climates!


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y Peoples diet shifted to more plant

foods, fish, small game, etc. This required new technology

y Large mammoth hunting spears dont

work well for fishing, catching rabbits,

etc.

y We start seeing small tools called

microliths. These were attached to

arrows, harpoons, etc.

y People became more sedentary.

Instead of travelling from North Carolina

to Florida during the course of a year,

they were only traveling from Western

North Carolina to Eastern NorthCarolina, or just around different parts

of the Carolinas.

This means they could stay in one place

longer ( a few months instead of a few

weeks)


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THE NEOLITHIC

Between 10 and 12 kya we see the beginning of anew time period- the Neolithic.

The Neolithic is characterized by food production

y We are no longer just gathering food, we are

producingit!y This switch to agriculture at this time is called the

Neolithic RevolutionNeolithic Revolution

It is a revolution because it fundamentally changed human

life and culture.

Go to http://www.ditext.com/diamond/mistake.html and

read this short article.(Youll have to copy and paste the

link into your browser)


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NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION

The first area to start moving to agriculture wasSouthwest Asia (the Middle East) in an areacalled the Fertile Crescent.

By 10kya we find domesticated animals in Israel,Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq and Iran.


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DOMESTICATION

Agriculture requires domestication DomesticationDomestication is the modification of the genetic

makeup of a population so that it is unable to

survive or reproduce without human assistance.

y Some examples:

Without humans, how would modern chickens protect

themselves from predators?

Without human assistance (artificial insemination) many

cows and pigs would be unable to reproduce (they are just

too big).


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Both plants and animals were domesticated.

Everything you eat today (except for foods youhunted and killed and some fish) is domesticated,

but used to be wild!

Unfortunately, the wild versions of these foods

were not suitable for feeding large populations.

y The animals had horns, tusks, sharp teeth, and bad

tempers and the plants had thorns, toxins, tough

shells, and a tendency to fall apart if you touched

them or the wind blew too hard.

So, we (humans) selectively reproduced plants

and animals to get rid of these undesirable

traits and to encourage larger, tastier parts that

are easier to access.


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Example:y You read in Hobby Farm magazine that you could

make a lot of money raising sheep, by selling wool

and meat. To do this, you need sheep that are big andmeaty and have lots of wool. You take the money thatyour grandmother left you in her will and by a smallpiece of land. You have just enough left over to buysome sheep, but you dont know much about sheep.So, you take half the money you have left and go to alivestock auction where you pick up 6 sheep. Thesesheep come back to your farm and do what sheep do:eat, get out of their fences and reproduce. You noticethat some of the baby sheep are not very woolly orvery fat (meaty). So you decide to sell those and justkeep the woolly and fat ones. These woolly, fat onesare the ones you let breed next year. At this yearsauction, you know a little bit more about sheep andare able to pick up some woollier, fatter sheep to add

to your flock. After a few years of selling off thescrawny, not woolly ones and only breeding thewoolly fat ones, you have a flock of sheep that areperfect for selling both wool and meat!

y You have selectively reproduced the animals to getthe characteristics you wanted: woolly and fat.


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DOMESTICATION

Domestication occurred in different parts of the

world and different plants and animals weredomesticated in different places.

Here are a couple of domesticates and the places

in which they were domesticated.

Youll notice that some things (like dogs) were

domesticated in several different areas.

Africa Middle East Europe Asia N. Amer. S. Amer.

millet barley dogs rice squash potatos

sorghum wheat goats millet gourds chili peppers

rice sheep horse water chestnuts maize (corn) llama

goats goats cattle chickens turkeys alpaca

cats pigs sheep horse sunflowers maize

cattle cattle barley camels dogs ducks

yams donkeys dogs bees squash

sheep camels pigs peppers cotton

lentils cattle beans beans

dogs gourds

guinea pigs


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What evidence do we have fordomestication?

y

The archaeological remains show us thatthere was:An increase in the size of edible parts

Loss of natural seed dispersal (this means thewheat holds on to its grains when the windblows, instead of sending the grains flying

everywhere) Loss of husks

Loss of delayed seed germination ( we can getour domesticated plants to grow in greenhousesyear round, but wild plants will only grow whenthe weather tells them to)


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Loss of tusks, horns and sharp teeth

Check out some of these comparisons between domesticated

organisms and their wild relatives.

domesticatedwild


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domesticated wild


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wild

domesticated


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On this side,

teosinte, the

wild grassthat was the

beginning of

corn.

On this side, maize

(corn).

In the middle,

a hybrid cross

of the two.


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How did domestication happen? What made

people decide to switch to agriculture?

We know what didntdidnt cause it:y It was not the result of discoveries

Hunters and gatherers know more about plant and animal

behavior, habitat, growth, etc., than even farmers do!

y It was not to have easier work

Hunters and gatherers spend far less time working to getfood than farmers do and farming is HARD!

y It was not forfood security

In order to get enough of one crop to feed multiple people,

you have to spend all of your time and resources on very few

crops, so if you have a drought, late freeze, early frost,flooding, locusts or crop disease, you are in trouble!

Example: the reason the Irish Potato Famine killed so

many people (over a million people!) was because the

potato was their main crop and food source. When the

crop was wiped out, there was no food.


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SO, WHY?

Oasis theoryOasis theory

y First proposed by V. Gordon Childe

y

Says that as the glaciers retreated (melted) the rainpatterns shifted.

Previously wet areas became very dry.

People gathered at oases for water.

Food was scarce here, so people collected wild grasses andseeds that were growing around the oases.

They began to cultivate these grasses and seeds to provideenough food for the community.

Hungry animals cam to graze on these new grain fields anddrink the water.

People fattened up the animals to eat them, too.

y Not a bad theory but it has some problems.


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Demographic theoriesDemographic theories

y Proposed by Sauer, Binford and Flannery

y

Says that people began to settle down more The population grew as large as the environment would

support (it reached carrying capacity)

They needed more food, so they started gathering it,

planting it, and raising it.

y Also suggests several social and economic factors

encouraged this.

The Feasting ModelThe Feasting Model

y Proposed by Hayden

y Suggests people threw big feasts to display, and gain,

power These feasts needed large amounts of food

So, they started producing it


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We dont really know which of these theories, if

any, are correct.

It may be that different things caused agricultureto develop in different areas.

y Perhaps in the Middle East, the Oasis Theory

explains it, while in Asia the Feasting Model is the

best explanation and in Central America the

Demographic theories are correct, or vice versa. What we DO know is when it happened and

where.

y People had domesticated

rye in the Fertile Crescent by 13kya

Squash in S. America by 10 kya

Rice in Thailand/ Korea by 8-5 kya


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We also know the effects andconsequences of

this switch to agriculture.

y

Population sizes started increasing Was this because we could feed more people or because we

needed more people to work the fields, or both?

y People began having severe nutritional deficiencies

When you only eat one or two main foods, your body doesnt

get the nutrients it needs.

We see this in their bones:

Rickets, scurvy, and other bone disease are caused by not

getting enough of certain vitamins, minerals, etc.

Linear enamel hypoplasias are caused by episodes of

malnutrition during childhood. Linear enamel hypoplasia- the lines seenhere


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y Increased amounts of dental decay

The main crops people were growing (corn, grains, etc) werecausing cavities, which since they werent treated, became

abscesses, which cause large portions of bone to be eaten

away. This can lead to sepsis, infection getting into your

blood stream and killing you.

You can see where cavities have eaten away at the tooth

and then the jaw bones themselves


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Warfare increases

y Not all land is good for growing crops, so people

had to defend their land from other people who

wanted it.

y People also needed access to water.

y Control of good land and water = powerpower

Sanitationy Large numbers of people are being pushed

together in small areas without running water

or sewer systems.

y Many diseases and problems are caused by

this!y Imagine living in a large city, in a large

apartment building with lots of people in it,

with no running water or sewers. Stuff piles

up.


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Infectious Diseases

y When people are in close contact (as they are in

cities) illnesses spread rapidly.y Why do more people get sick in the Winter?

Not because it is cold, but because everyone is inside and

when one person gets the flu, sneezes into their hands and

reaches for a door handle, those flu germs are now on the

door handle. Every person who comes along and touches

that door handle picks up those flu germs, then rubs their

eyes, nose or mouth and gives themselves the flu!

y Also, sexually transmitted disease become more

prevalent.

When people settle down into cities, villages, etc., there will

be travellers passing through who will spread whateverthey picked up in the last village to the new village, where

it is then spread through the population.


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Disease from animals

y In cold or harsh weather conditions, if your

families survival depends on the survival ofyour two cows, you arent going to leavethem out to die, you bring them indoors.You dont have a barn, so they just come onin to the house. Since most livestock is nothouse-trained, they will mess in your

house. This spreads disease. Also, if theyhave an airborne illness and they sneeze inyour house, you will all get that illness, too!

y From animals we got a lot of our currentdiseases: From cattle: we got measles, tuberculosis, and

smallpox From pigs: we got the flu and whooping cough

From dogs: we got another version of whoopingcough

From ducks: we got another version of the flu


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OTHER CHANGES IN THE NEOLITHIC

New toolsy We now need tools for harvesting and working with

crops.

New tools were made of wood or bone handles with blades

inserted.

We now created scythes, pitchforks, hoes, plows and mortar

and pestles.


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Potteryy You dont find pottery before people started settling

down.

If you have to pick up everything you own every few weeks

to walk somewhere else, heavy pottery is NOT going to be

something you spend any time or effort creating- youd justhave to carry it with you!

Pottery can be used for transporting and storing food, water

and other stuff.

We also made pipes, ladles and lamps out of clay.


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Housing

y Now we need more permanent houses

y So, we make them out of wood, stone, birck andbranches.


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Clothing

y We start seeing more clothes made from woven

textiles, not just animal skins.y Unfortunately, these rarely survive in the

archaeological record because they decay rapidly.

y We only have a few surviving examples of these.

shoe

capeClothes found on the Iceman


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Social Structure

y During the early parts of

the Neolithic, society was

egalitarian- this means

that everyone was seen as

social equals- no one had

more money, power or

status than anyone else.

y There was also little

division of labor at this

time- both men and

women did whatever

needed to be done- there

was no mens work andwomens work.

y People began gathering to

live in villages.


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Not everyone switched over toagriculture!

Some people kept on hunting

and gathering.y There are still a few groups today

that do this.

Other people started practicingpastoralismy This is the practice of keeping

animals. Sort of like ranchers.

y The people got most of their foodproducts from the animals: milk,cheeses, yogurt, butters, etc.

y They didnt often kill the animalsfor meat because once you kill ananimal you cant get anything elsefrom it, but you can milk it everyday for most of its life! If they did kill it, they used every

part of the animal, not just thesteaks.


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Still others took up horticulture

y This blends small scale gardening with

hunting and gathering.

y Some people have set territories and theymove to specific areas at specific times of the

year.

y Others have permanent villages with

permanent gardens, but they still hunt and

gather.y They usually have a garden plot at one place

that they come back to year after year at the

same time.

y They only use hand tools (like digging sticks)

and do not use fertilizer or irrigation.

y Example: Some Amazonian groups still

practice this. They plant a yam garden in one

spot and will come back next year to the

same place to dig up the yams and plant new

ones, then take off again.


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CIVILIZATION

= a society in which large numbers of people live

incities, experience social stratification, are

governed by a ruling elite and have a

centrally organizedpolitical system.

y Not possible until after the switch to agriculture. You

have to be able to grow and store enough food to feedlarge numbers of people.

y The US is a good example:

Large numbers of people live in cities

We have social stratification= classes- there is an upper

class, a middle class and a lower class.

We are governed by a ruling elite POLITICIANS that we

hope will do what we have asked them to do.

Our political system is centrally organized- we have county

seats, state capitals and the US capital- this is where our

ruling elite make their decisions.


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The first civilizations arose between 6 and 4.5

kya.

y

The first civilizations were in Mesopotamia (Iraq),Egypt, the Indus Valley, China and Peru.

Note that these were also the earliest areas to have

agriculture!


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Since civilizations require cities, whatmakes something a city?

y It must exhibit organized planning

This means they cant just throw up a bunchof houses wherever they want- there arestreets, blocks, etc.

y There must be a central authority Someone in charge, like a mayor, governor,

king, prince, something.

y They show technological innovation This could take the form of irrigation, canals,

viaducts, sewer systems, or just variousinventions that enable people to do their jobsmore efficiently (better spinning wheels,better tools, etc.)

y They also showed signs ofsocialstratification Once again, this means classes- some poor

people, some rich people, the haves and have-nots.

Biblical Jericho


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Some things are required before a village cantransition into a city.

There are 4 basic changes:y 1) There must be agricultural innovation

In order for some people to be free to do other things, theremust be some new techniques or inventions that allowfewer people to get more work done.

This could be irrigation, better plows, fertilizers, etc.

This means that not everyone has to be a farmer, somepeople can do other things and there will still be enoughfood for everyone.

y 2) There must be diversification of labor This means that people are doing different things, not

everyone is a farmer.

Some people will make pottery, some will make tools, somewill make clothes, some will grind grains into flour, etc.

This allows the farmer to just farm, not have to worry aboutmaking his own clothes, tools, flour, etc., while other peoplecan just do their jobs and people can barter or trade forwhat they need.


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3) There must be a central government

y Specific people are in charge and they rule from a specific

place. 4) There must be social stratification

y Not everyone can be in charge, or nothing would get done.

y Some people are in charge, while other people do otherthings.

y The people in charge always amass wealth, either money,land or goods.

y In order for some people to have this wealth, other peoplehave to work very hard to create it.

y People who are not in charge or in positions of power do notget to make rules that are beneficial to them.

y

Remember, no politician or person in power is going tovoluntarily give up their wealth, power, etc. to otherpeople, because then those other people will have thewealth, power, etc. This has been the case since thebeginnings of cities, states and civilizations.


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Since this switch to civilizations and states was not

beneficial for most people, why was there a transition

to civilizations? Several ideas have been proposed:

y Ecological Approaches- these focus on the role of the

environment

Hydraulic theory- notes that the best farming is in the fertile

soils of river valleys if flooding is controlled. So, we needed tocontrol water.

y Trade

The idea is that if we only grow olives in our area but you grow

peaches in your area, we should set up some sort of trade so

that you can olives and we can have peaches (an example only).

y Action Theories

These focus on the fact that self-serving leaders want power.

You need lots of people in one place for you to have any real

power. Its not really power if you only control what happens on

your 2 acres of wheat. And you cant get rich that way!


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IN CONCLUSION

To sum it all up:

y The switch to agriculture cause massive, permanent

changes to human society.

y There are many consequences to the switch to

agriculture and the move to settling in cities.

y We arent really sure why people decided to startfarming or create cities and civilizations, just that

they did.

There may have been different reasons in different places.

y Once people began living in these conditions, they

cannot go back to the previous way of life- too manyfundamental changes have been made.

Documents

Lecture 7- Civilization and Domestication