HABITATS IN HUMAN HISTORY

CLASS ASSIGNMENT

SUBMITTED TO:
AR. ANAM TARIQ

SUBMITTED BY:

ALI MUHAMMAD JAHANZEB| 391971

AQSA KHAN | 376082

KHADIJA AWAIS | 391445

MUHAMMAD ZUBAIR BIN HASAN | 392695

ZAYNAB ZAFAR | 366906

DATE:

28TH OCTOBER, 2022

MAN AND ENVIRONMENT

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYSADA, H-12, ISLAMABAD
i

HABITATS IN HUMAN HISTORY:

For the long sweep of human history, we can distill four distinct modes of
resources used:

1. Hunters and gatherers

2. Nomadic Pastoralism
3. Settled Cultivation
4. Industry

Settled cultivation and industrial era is discussed briefly in terms of their

economy, technology, social organization, ideology, and ecological
impact.

• SETTLED CULTIVATION

To the next of pastoralism, in the evolution of human history comes the

settled cultivation that is know as agricultural era. The life pattern changed
from semi-nomadic tom ore sedentary lifestyle. They started to plant large
quantities of domestic plants in addition to herding animals. Having food
resources, humans started to settle and stopped moving from places to
places. This gives birth to permanent settlements which lead to the
formation of villages, towns etc. Due to the fulfillment of necessities,
people had more time to other activities which lead to various inventions
that made life easier. This era had a major impact on ecologies as the
settlements started to interact more with the environment. More area was
required for the cultivation as well as the settlements which resulted in
excavations and deforestations at minor levels. From human started to
tangle up with the nature giving birth to pollution.

The economy of a settled cultivation is largely dependent on its trade. This

trade refers to internal dealing within their community as well as external
dealing with other settlements. In a settled cultivation people inhabit a
land planning to stay there and develop over time therefore their
agricultural yield needs to meet their requirements. The economy can be
flourished if they are able to produce surplus amount which is then
exported to other communities for profit. This trade includes goods,
agricultural produce, minerals etc.

By 10,000 B.C., humans began to establish Agricultural villages. This had

massive implications on the social sphere, marking an important threshold
between new and past social systems, transforming their nomadic way of
life into a sedentary societies. Around this era, many parts of the world,
such as the valleys of Tigris-Euphrates, Nile, Indus etc. had started forming
larger and denser settlements, which were the first of their kind to be
considered Complex Societies or Civilizations. Each having their own
system of beliefs, ideals, culture, tradition, and administrative systems.
Another significant result of this new social order was the development of
the idea of Ownership. However, this likely resulted in disputes leading to
the evolution of social hierarchies and code of conduct. Thus, people
began to create social infrastructures in terms of economic, political, and
religious institutions.

Hunters and gatherers settled down with their tribes in specific areas
(mostly where irrigation by canals was possible) and instead of completely
utilizing the resources of the land they would instead domesticate plants
and animals. They would plough and cultivate fields for food. This was
enhanced with the invention of manure. Activities such as irrigation and
deforestation allowed for the surplus of food and the development of
settled communities

During the settled cultivation period in human history, people evolved to

develop settlements where they could reside permanently instead of
temporarily residing in an area and moving once its resources were used
up. This meant that their tools and technology also evolved to be able to
maintain the land they were forming the settlement in.

Not only did they start constructing their residential, commercial, and
religious units with stronger foundations meant to last, they also
developed tools to improve their agriculture, drainage, travel routes, etc.

• INDUSTRY
To the next of agricultural era comes the industrial era nearly 250 years
ago. This was the period of scientific and technological development.
Industrial era had a major impact on the environment. People were forced
to move towards cities. The rapid urbanization resulted in crowded, dirty,
and poorly managed urban areas. The industrial planning was drastically
poor i.e., factories were built near the residential areas. Environmental
pollution, especially the factors deteriorating human health, increased due
to invention of machines and other technologies. Rapid industrialization
resulted in over-exploitation of natural resources that resulted in
depletion of natural resources. Over population, waste generation,
emissions to ecosystems and resource consumptions were the major
issues.

After industrialization, the economy became largely dependent on the

quality and quantity of industrial products. Industries are able to produce
in bulk quantities if invested in properly. As a result, the economy is
flourished if industrialization is successful otherwise the profit is converted
to loss as the investments go in vain. Industrial products are also exported
to other communities. Consequently, the settlement with more industries
has the most stable economy and the ones with less industries struggle in
this regard because of no exports and difficulty to meet their own
requirements.

In an Industrial Society, a large portion of the economy is based on

mechanized labor with an objective of mass production.

Much like other modern societies, the social organization in an industrial

society is multi-layered, ranging from the levels of individual factories to
it's influence impacting international relations. The most basic social
infrastructure or chain of command in the industrial sector is divided in
terms of division of labor, i.e; the working class, the managing staff, and
the administrative bodies. Each having their own distinct roles to play and
responsibilities to fulfill.

Now observing the social organization in an industrial society, on a

national level, would highlight the competition and scaling between
different manufacturers; an example of which translates into one
manufacturer having more influence over the market than it's competitors.

Furthermore, the social organization of an Industrial society can also

project it's impact on international platforms by granting an industrially
revolutionized State much greater advancements, in terms of both,
economy and technology.

With the rise of the mechanised factory system and the invention of steam
and waterpower there was an increase in population. This made it so that
the demands of individuals increased and so did the abundant
consumption of resources to accommodate that increase in demand. An
increase in trade and the rise of business was among the main contributors
to the development of industry.

In the industrial habitat period of human history, major technological

advancements were made as humans moved towards a more digital age
where the development of machines to complete simple and difficult tasks
led to a much more convenient lifestyle. Whether the tasks were large
scale, difficult, and time consuming, or detail oriented, requiring precise
and accurate moves and calculations, machines proved to not only be
faster and stronger but also more accurate and precise in completing
them.