Hunter Gatherer Versus Settled Communities The impact of the Neolithic Revolution

Hunting and Gathering Use wild animals and plants for food. Migrate seasonally. Live in family or tribal groups.

Advantages The land supplies whatever is needed. Movement is easier when food is scarce. Life encourages cooperation and language skills. Special weapons and tools develop for hunting and digging up plants.

Disadvantages People are always searching for new food sources. It is more difficult to store food. People must carry everything along when traveling. Only simple social organization was possible.

Settled Communities Raise herds of tame animals. Dog, sheep, cattle, etc. Plant seeds and raise crops. Live in permanent settlements.

Advantages Crops provide a reliable food supply. Population grows as life becomes more complex. Societies become more complex. Trade increases and commerce develops. Division of labor allows workers to specialize.

Jericho Jericho Close to Jordan River and deep and clear waters of an oasis spring account for repeated human settlement 7000 B.C., over ten acres round houses of mud and brick resting on stone foundations. Usually early houses single room - mud floors and a domed ceiling, some had as many as three rooms. No evidence the town was fortified in early stages of its growth Expanding wealth made tbuilding of walls for protection from external enemies necessary Town enclosed by a ditch cut into rocky soil and a wall almost 12 feet in height. Extensive excavation required for construction iimpressive because the peoples who undertook it possessed neither picks nor shovels. The Stones for wall were dragged from riverbed a mile away. These feats of transport and construction suggest a large, well organized and disciplined labor

x Catal Huyuk Rirst community in southern Turkey founded around 7000 B.C., later than Jericho. Catal Huyuk was most advanced human center of the Neolithic period. At peak of power contained 6000 people. Its rectangular buildings,centers of family life and community interaction, Remarkably uniform - built of mud-dried bricks. Windows high in walls entered from holes in flat roofs. also served as chimneys for the fireplaces houses contained. The houses were joined together to provide fortification for town. Movement was across the roofs and terraces of the houses. When ladders to roof entrance was pulled up, each became a separate fortress within the larger complex. Grew grain, traded some. Page17 of text

Disadvantages Crop failures due to weather or pests cause famines. Floods, fire, or even raiders could destroy villages. Disease spreads easily when people live together.