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“With the introduction of agriculture mankind entered upon a long period of meanness,

misery, and madness, from which they are only now being freed from by the beneficent operation

of the machine.”

Bertrand Russell

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The Neolithic Revolution

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Beginning around 12,000 years ago Domestication of plants and animals Growing populations Permanent settlements New diseases from close proximity to animals Cities, states, and sometimes empires Increased impact on environment More food and resources from much smaller

areas of land

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Global warming that began 16,000 years ago Around 11,000 years ago, Ice Age was over Migration of Homo sapiens across planet New conditions for agriculture - Natural flourishing of wild plants,

especially cereal grasses - Extinction of some large mammals

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Locations: occurring separately and independently

Fertile Crescent Present-day Iraq, Syria, Israel, and southern

Turkey Variety of plants and animals for domestication After 9,000 BCE, figs, wheat, barley, rye, peas,

lentils, sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle domesticated

Use of sun-dried mud bricks and more sophisticated tools

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Eastern part of Sahara, present-day Sudan Between 10,000 and 5,000 years ago, Sahara

desert did not exist Cattle domesticated Donkey domesticated Sub-Saharan Africa experienced widely

scattered farming practices - Sorghum, teff, yams, oil palm trees, okra,

and kola nuts Scattered locations of domestication

generated less productive agriculture

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Americas Coastal Andean regions, Mesoamerica,

Mississippi Valley, Amazon basin Absence of animals that could be domesticated Only one (llama/alpaca) large mammal could

be domesticated Lacked sources of protein, manure, and power

that domesticated animals provided Lacked rich cereal grains Had maize or corn, first domesticated in

southern Mexico by 4000 to 3000 BCE North/South Orientation of Americas impacted

progress of Agricultural Revolution Distinct climatic and vegetation zones Agricultural practices had to adapt

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Globalization of Agriculture Extension of farming in two ways: Gradual spread of agricultural techniques

without extensive movement of agricultural people

Slow colonization or migration of agricultural peoples

- Conquest, absorption, or displacement of earlier gatherers and hunters

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Agriculture spread from Southwest Asia into Europe, Central Asia, Egypt, and North Africa between 6500 and 4000 BCE

Indo-European languages, probably originated in Turkey and widely spoken from India to Europe

Movement of culture associated with spread of agriculture

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In what is now southern Nigeria or Cameroon around 3000 BCE, Bantu-speaking people moved east and south

- Spread agriculture, cattle-raising, later iron-working skills, and languages

Austronesian-speaking people, from Southern China, to Philippines and Indonesia

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The Culture of Agriculture An increase in human population Greater productivity of agriculture supported

more people - Example: agricultural settlement uncovered

near Jericho in present-day Israel had approximately 2,000 people

Living close to animals subjected humans to new diseases

Smallpox, flu, measles, chicken pox, malaria, tuberculosis, rabies

Permanent settlements An explosion of technological innovation

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Secondary products revolution” - Beginning around 4000 BCE - Involved new uses for domesticated

animals - Milk their animals, harvest their wool,

enrich their soil with manure Growing impact on the environment Soil erosion and deforestation in some areas New social hierarchies Class divisions and patriarchal systems

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Variations Pastoral Societies - Depend far more extensively on animals - Herders Agricultural Village Societies - Retained equality and freedom - Without kings or aristocraciesExample: Catalhoyuk, an early agricultural village

in southern Turkey, was home to several thousand people but had few signs of inherited social inequality

- Organized around kinship groups Chiefdoms - Inherited positions of power and privilege

introduced a more distinct element of inequality - Chiefs could seldom use force to compel

obedience

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Strayer Questions What accounts for the emergence of

agriculture after countless millennia of human life without it?

In what different ways did the Agricultural Revolution take shape in various parts of the world?

In what ways did agriculture spread? Where and why was it sometimes resisted?

What was revolutionary about the Agricultural Revolution?

What different kinds of societies emerged out of the Agricultural Revolution?

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World Historians recognize three distinct phases in the human journey:

The Paleolithic Era:• Literally means “Old Stone Age”• Gathering and hunting way of life• Represents over 95% of the human journey

The Neolithic Era:• About 12,000 years ago, agriculture was introduced into some communities• Permanent settlements and specialization

developed

The Industrial Era:• Beginning in England around 1750 • The mechanization of agriculture and industry

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Questions: Why is it important to consider Cosmic

History when studying the human journey? What are three critical phases of the human

journey? What were the beneficial aspects of

gathering and hunting societies? How did the introduction of agriculture

transform societies? Why did agriculture spread if it was

associated with obvious disadvantages? Assess the impact of industrialization. Why

has industrialization spread despite its disadvantages?

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