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Origin of Cities: Plan 111: Human Settlement Development
Origin of Cities: Plan 111: Human Settlement Development
ORIGIN OF CITIES
At the end of last ice age, 10,000 BC, the climate slowly changed from
cold and dry to warm and wet.
Under these new conditions, the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia
(the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in modern-day Iraq)
became incredibly rich in plant and animal life.
Agriculture:
The end of the ice age saw the decline of certain big game animals in
fertile crescent area due to climatic reason.
Hunters overall yield declined; hunting became less productive.
Agriculture:
It prompted people to search for new and more reliable sources of food.
The initial stage of agriculture was deliberate planting of seeds and the
improvement of key grains through the selection of seeds from the best
plants.
Domestication of animals: Animals were used mostly for food, clothing,
and their bones for tools
Farming was initially developed in the Middle East; in the fertile crescent
area (present-day Turkey to Iraq and Israel )
Gradually during the Neolithic centuries, knowledge of agriculture spread
to other centers, including parts of India, north Africa, and Europe
Early agriculture could support far more people per square mile than
hunting ever could.
Surplus of Food:
Division of Labor:
Greater wealth and larger populations freed some people for other
specializations.
11/3/2015 Plan 111: Human Settlement Development
Hydraulic Theory of Early Settlement (Wittfogel)
mass labor,
an organizational hierarchy for coordinating and directing its
activities,
and to government control for ensuring proper distribution of the
water.