1. The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies
Prepare to take notes on your Key Concept 1 Packet
Key Concept 1.2
The Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies

2. Overview
In response to warming climates at the end of the last Ice Age
Settled agriculture appeared in several different parts of the world.
More reliable food supply.
Massive impact on the environment
Populations increased
Family groups gave way to village life and, later, to urban life
Patriarchy and forced labor developed
Pastoral people in Africa and Eurasia – become conduits for technological change
3 minutes

3. I. Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies
About 10,000 years ago
Led to development of new and more complex economic and social systems
I. Neolithic Revolution and Early Agricultural Societies
3 minutes

4. Factors
“…food production ultimately resulted from a constellation of linked developments. First there was a decline in the availability of wild foods, especially animals. Decreases in big-game species, which were hunters’ first- choice preys, were brought about by an improvement in hunting skills and/or climatic change... A second factor is inversely related to the first: there was an increase in the availability of domesticable wild plants, which made steps to domestication more rewarding…Another variable was the development of technology to collect, process, and store foods. A fourth was the two-way link between the rise in human population densities and the rise in food production—as populations grew, food production became increasingly favored. A final variable is the ongoing competition among human societies such that those with more effective technologies prevailed. By sheer numbers and technological advancements, food producers were able to kill or displace hunter/gatherers.”
Alan H. Simmons, 2011
3 minutes

5. Discussion
To what extent was a the “Neolithic Revolution” a revolution?
Revolution (noun)
a :  a sudden, radical, or complete change
b :  a fundamental change in political organization; especially :  the overthrow or renunciation of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed
c :  activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation
5 minutes

6. A. First Villages Lands of eastern Mediterranean were first
Mesopotamia
Nile River Valley
Sub-Saharan Africa
Indus River Valley
Yellow River Valley
Papua New Guinea
Mesoamerica
Andes
3 minutes

7. 1 minute

8. Spread of Agriculture
1 minute

9. B. Pastoralism Developed in various sites Domesticated animals
Grasslands of Afro-Eurasia
People were mobile
Contributed to spread of culture
3 minutes

10. C. Domestication of Crops and Animals
Different crops and animals domesticated in various core regions
Depended on local flora and fauna
Not all animals are domesticable
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11. 3 minutes

12. 1 minute

13. D. Working as a community
Agricultural communities
Cooperation to clear land
Create water control systems needed for crops
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14. E. Environmental Degradation
Drastic impact
Pastoralists – grazing large number of animals on fragile grasslands
Overgrazing leads to erosion
Agriculture alters land
Building dwellings requires clearing land
2 minutes

15. Discussion
What were the effects of the development of agricultural societies? (Think SPICE)
3 minutes

16. II. Agriculture and Pastoralism Transform Human Societies
1 minute

17. A. Abundant Food Supplies
Reliable surplus leads to population growth
Frees people to work at other tasks
Evidence: Pottery used to store grains after growing seasons
2 minutes

18. B. Specialization of Labor
New class of artisans and warriors
Development of elites
Need for organization
3 minutes

19. C. Technological Innovations
Improve agriculture, trade, transportation
Pottery
Plows
Woven textiles
Metallurgy
Wheels
Wheeled vehicles
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20. D. Accumulation of Wealth
Elite groups accumulate wealth
Rulers use religion to legitimize their rule
Create more hierarchical social structures
Promote patriarchal forms of social organization
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4 minutes

21. Analyzing Primary Sources
What does this source tell us about the relationship between rulers and religion?
“At that time the temple of the goddess Ishtar of Ninevah, my mistress, in the grounds of Emashmash—the old temple which Shamshi-Adad, king of Assyria, a prince who preceded me, had built—that temple had become dilapidated and fallen into ruin. With the wisdom of the god Nudimmud, the great lord, with the wide understanding which the god Ea had granted to me, for the adornment of the heroic nature of the goddess Ishtar, my mistress: with regard to that temple, I delineated its area, dug out its foundation pit, rebuilt it from top to bottom, and completed it. I made it larger than before. The excellent [shrine] I built in a splendid fashion for the abode of the goddess Ishtar, my mistress. I properly settled [her great] divinity in her shrine.”
-Assurnasirpal II, Assyrian king ( BCE
3 minutes