The Birth of Civilization: Chapter 1 : The Birth of Civilization: Chapter 1
1. What role did women have in the Neolithic [Farming] Revolution? : 1. What role did women have in the Neolithic [Farming] Revolution? 1. Women took the first important steps
2. Women picked the seeds and berries while men hunted
3. Women probably understood relationship between seeds and plants
4. But as long as humans were nomadic, there was no point in cultivating plants that couldn't be harvested
2. What is the approximate date of the beginning of deliberate farming? : 2. What is the approximate date of the beginning of deliberate farming? 1. about 7000 BCE
3. Where did the breakthrough to deliberate farming occur? : 3. Where did the breakthrough to deliberate farming occur? 1. Middle East
2. probably the rain watered hillsides of Iraq, Syria, or Turkey
4. What was the fundamental "trick" to cultivating seed-bearing grasses? : 4. What was the fundamental "trick" to cultivating seed-bearing grasses? 1. to make wheat and barley grow where they did not normally grow
2. Need to plant seeds where there are no natural competitors--> "weeds"
3. Learned to prepare fields in forested land by "slash and burn" methods
5. What is slash-and-burn farming? How does it work? : 5. What is slash-and-burn farming? How does it work? 1. Forest floor deprived of sunlight by tree canopy, but fertile ground from annual tree fall
2. Takes too much labor to chop down tress
3. Possible to kill the tree canopy by cutting ring of bark around existing trees
4. Once the soil loses fertility, trees can be burned to replenish soil
6. How did humans domesticate wild grasses? : 6. How did humans domesticate wild grasses? 1. wild grasses have easily dislodged, light seeds for maximum reproduction
2. through isolation and accident, humans favored disadvantaged tight, heavy seeds-->still remain on plant and drop near parent plant
3. wild grasses gradually become our "wheat"-->can't reproduce without humans to replant and tend
4. wheat depends on humans-->but humans also depend on wheat!
5. So who domesticated whom?
7. What new kinds of stone tools were necessary for farming? : 7. What new kinds of stone tools were necessary for farming? 1. Special sickles for cutting down stalks of grain
2. Stone axes for cutting off bark and trees--> used polished basalt
3. Slow, patient grinding necessary-->ax would last several lifetimes with re-sharpening
4. Stone ax very efficient--> nearly as fast as steel axes
8. How quickly did humans switch to a farming lifestyle after they discovered secret of farming? : 8. How quickly did humans switch to a farming lifestyle after they discovered secret of farming? 1. Islands of farming surrounded by hunter-gatherers
2. Farming supported larger number of people-->growing population puts intense pressure on wildlife for meat diet
3. Stocks of wild game hunted to extinction very quickly-->people must depend on grain for survival
9. How did humans domesticate wild animals? : 9. How did humans domesticate wild animals? 1. Some herds could be tamed-->sheep, goats, cattle
2. Animals used for perennial resources-->milk, fur, hair, labor
3. Domesticated animals, like plants, change so that they could not survive in the same numbers without human protection
10. How did a settled, or sedentary, lifestyle change human life? : 10. How did a settled, or sedentary, lifestyle change human life? 1. Made it worthwhile to build solid, permanent houses of mud or stone
2. Furnish house with storage pottery for grains and liquids
3. Supply of animal hair allowed for greater variety and complexity of clothing-->spinning wool into cloth
4. simple furniture for use and comfort
11. What new relationships grew up between farmers and herdsmen? : 11. What new relationships grew up between farmers and herdsmen? 1. Farmers more numerous, but herdsmen better organized for fighting
2. Larger villages built walls with communal labor for protection from raids
3. Occasional trading-->herdsmen bring animal products in exchange for grains of farmers' craftsmanship
4. Farmers always vulnerable after harvest-->more warlike hunters or herdsmen swoop down on farming villages to steal grain
12. Why did the accurate measurement of time become so important to farmers? : 12. Why did the accurate measurement of time become so important to farmers? 1. Farmers need to know when to plant seeds-->dangers of planting too soon or too late
13. How did early humans learn to measure time? : 13. How did early humans learn to measure time? 1. Cycles of moons used to count "months"
2. But lunar cycles don't precisely match true solar year which determines the seasons--> new months added
3. The year, not the day, became fundamental unit of time for farmers
14. Who were the first "time-keepers"? Why? : 14. Who were the first "time-keepers"? Why? 1. the village priests devised way of keeping track of lunar cycles
2. began to get some sense of solar and lunar years
3. Sun and moon were worshipped as gods with power over fertility of plants, animals, and women
4. The Earth worshipped a s a Great Mother, giving birth to all living things
15. How did ideas about birth and death of living things influence human ideas of afterlife? : 15. How did ideas about birth and death of living things influence human ideas of afterlife? 1. If seeds planted in ground (burial) came to life in the spring, why not human beings?
2. Dream visions of departed family members gave sense of continued life
3. Afterlife a shadowy world, not as real as this life
16. Why was the invention of the plow such an important breakthrough for the first farmers? : 16. Why was the invention of the plow such an important breakthrough for the first farmers? 1. Population growth fostered by farming began to exceed available resources-->fields farmed out
2. Plowing kept down the weeds-->eliminates plant competition
3. Plowing enabled humans to cultivate far greater area than could be cultivated by hand
4. Discovery of rotating fallow fields enabled farmers to continue indefinitely in one place
17. How did plough agriculture change most human societies? : 17. How did plough agriculture change most human societies? 1. United the world of animals with the world of plants
2. Made men--the tenders of animals--main cultivators-->women tend small animals and children, collect plants
3. Allowed farmers to settle down permanently into small villages that have remained the backbone of human life until today
4. Opened up the possibility of empire-->farmers who do not move can be taxed and controlled by others
5. In other words--CIVILIZATION became a possibility
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