The Neolithic Revolution

Background

During the Paleolithic Period, which lasts from the beginnings of human life until about 10,000 BCE, people were nomads. They lived in groups of 20 -30, and spent most of their time hunting and gathering. In these groups, work was divided between men and women, with the men hunting game animals, and women gathering fruits, berries, and other edibles. These early peoples developed simple tools such as, spears and axes made from bone, wood, and stone. Human beings lived in this manner from earliest times until about 10,000 BCE, when they started to cultivate crops and domesticate animals. This is known as the Neolithic Revolution.

The Neolithic Revolution was a fundamental change in the way people lived. The shift from hunting & gathering to agriculture led to permanent settlements, the establishment of social classes, and the eventual rise of civilizations. The Neolithic Revolution is a major turning point in human history.

Technological Innovation & Societal Change

About 10,000 BCE, humans began to cultivate crops and domesticate certain animals. This was a change from the system of hunting and gathering that had sustained humans from earliest times. As a result, permanent settlements were established. Neolithic villages continued to divide work between men and women. However, women's status declined as men took the lead in in most areas of these early societies.

Villages were usually run by a Council of Elders composed of the heads of the village's various families. Some of these villages may have had a chief elder as a single leader. When resources became scarce, warfare among villages increased. During war, some men gained stature as great warriors. This usually transferred over to village life with these warriors becoming the leaders in society. Early social class divisions developed as a result. A person's social class was usually determined by the work they did, such as farmer, craftsman, priest, and warrior. Depending on the society, priests and warriors were usually at the top, with farmers and craftsman at the bottom.

New technologies developed in response to the need for better tools and weapons to go along with the new way of living. Neolithic farmers created a simple calendar to keep track of planting and harvesting. They also developed simple metal tools such as plows, to help with their work. Some groups even may have used animals to pull these plows, again making work easier. Metal weapons were developed as villages needed to protect their valuable resources.

Effects/Results

The Neolithic Revolution changed the way humans lived. The use of agriculture allowed humans to develop permanent settlements, social classes, and new technologies. Some of these early groups settled in the fertile valleys of the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, Yellow, and Indus Rivers. This resulted in the rise of the great civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, and India.

Rise of Civilizations

As mankind began to develop more complex ways of life, and as cities began to increase in size and complexity, a new type of society emerged. These societies are known today as civilizations. A civilization is a nation or people that share a common culture, common laws, a common writing system, a common economy, and typically a common faith or religion.

Specialization of Labor

Four tens of thousands of years mankind survived by doing whatever they could to find food and shelter for themselves and their families. A clan of individuals had to do all the tasks necessary for life, including hunting, dressing kills, gathering, making tools, and making shelters.

As societies became larger and more complex, individuals began to specialize in different types of jobs. It was no longer necessary for one individual to learn how to do every kind of work. Instead, one person could specialize in making pottery, while another could specialize in weaving cloth.

As a result of this specialization, men and women were able to refine their skills. The quality of their pottery, cloth, or other products became increasingly better. As a result, the quality of life for everyone increased dramatically.

Trade Routes Developed

As civilizations grew, becoming more advanced, the demand for certain products, such as copper and tin increased. People began to desire products that were not available in their own lands, such as exotic spices, grains, animals, and so forth.

At first trade was simple. Individuals traded goods amongst one another within their own community, or with individuals from neighboring communities. However, within a few short centuries complex long distance trading routes developed.

Specialized traders known as merchants organized caravans that covered distances of thousands of miles, bringing the goods and products of one society to trade them for goods and products from another society.

Written Language Developed

As cultures became more complex and evolved, they needed to keep records about their societies and about the things they sell or have for trade. Priests began to record who had donated religious offerings, traders recorded their transactions among different groups of peoples, and leaders recorded their victories in battle, as well as laws for their people to follow.

Written language began as pictures known as glyphs. These glyphs represented objects and ideas. Over many thousands of years these glyphs have evolved becoming the letters that we use today.