UNIDAD EDUCATIVA PARTICULAR “SAN JOSÉ DE CALASANZ”

Name:………………………………………………………………… Date: ……….…………………………….

Grade: 1ro bachillerato Subject: History and Social Sciences

PART I: IMPORTANCE OF THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION

The Neolithic Revolution

The term Neolithic or New Stone Age,

around 10,000 B.C., is most frequently used
in connection with agriculture, which is the
time when cereal cultivation and animal
domestication was introduced. The Neolithic
Revolution transformed human societies
into sedentary, farm-based communities
with more complex organization.
This great increase in the number of sedentary farmers is primarily responsible for
the leap in human population during the Neolithic transition. For tens of thousands
of years before agriculture was developed, the total number of humans had
fluctuated between an estimated five and eight million persons. By 4000 B.C., their
number had risen to 60 or 70 million.

The Transformation of Material Life

The growth of sedentary farming communities in the Neolithic era greatly
accelerated the pace of technological and social change. The relatively sudden surge
in invention and social complexity in the Neolithic era marks one of the great turning
points in human history. Increased reliance on sedentary cultivation led to the
development of a wide variety of agricultural implements, from digging sticks used to
break up the soil and axes to clear forested areas to the introduction of the plow.
Techniques of seed selection, planting, fertilization, and weeding improved steadily.

By the end of the Neolithic period, human societies in

a number of areas had devised ways of storing
rainwater and rechanneling river water to irrigate
plants. The reservoirs and canals, dikes and sluices that
permitted water storage and control represented
another major advance in the ability of humans to
remake their environment. These changes protected
the thin and fragile soils of the tropical or semitropical
areas from the sun and torrential rains.
More and better tools and permanent settlements gave rise to larger, more
elaborate, and commodious housing and the construction of community ritual
centers. Building materials varied greatly by region, but sun-dried bricks, wattle
(interwoven branches, usually plastered with mud), and stone structures were
associated with early agricultural communities. Seasonal harvests made improved
techniques of food storage essential. At first, baskets and leather containers were
employed, but by the early Neolithic period pottery, which protected stored foods
better from moisture and dust, was known to a number of cultures in the Middle
East.

Houses in early agricultural settlements usually included special storage areas, and
most were centered on clay or stone hearths that were ventilated by a hole in the
roof. The presence of stored food in early villages made the houses tempting targets
for nomadic bands or rival settlements. For that reason they were increasingly
fortified. More dependable and varied food supplies, walls, and sturdy houses greatly
enhanced the security and comfort of human groups. These conditions spurred
higher rates of procreation and lowered mortality rates, at least in times when crop
yields were high.

By the end of the Neolithic period in the 6th millennium B.C., many of the major food
plants that humans cultivate today had been domesticated. In addition to food crops,
plants, such as flax and cotton whose fibers could be woven into clothing, tents, and
rugs, had begun to be cultivated in the Middle East and other areas. New tools and
ready supplies of hides also led to new forms of water transport. Axes made possible
the carving of paddles and dug-out canoes capable of crossing large bodies of water.
Skin-covered boats and reed-and-log rafts were also surprisingly effective forms of
water transport.

Social Change
The surplus production that agriculture made possible was the key to the social
transformations that made up another dimension of the Neolithic revolution.
Surpluses meant that cultivators could exchange part of their harvest for the
specialized services and productions of non-cultivators, such as toolmakers and
weavers. Human communities became differentiated on an occupational basis.
Political and religious leaders arose who eventually formed elite classes that
intermarried and became involved in ruling and ceremonies on a full-time basis. But
in the Neolithic period the specialized production of stone tools, weapons, and
perhaps pottery was a more important consequence of the development of
agriculture than the formation of elites.
Originally, each household crafted the tools and weapons it required, just as it wove
its own baskets and produced its own clothing. Over time, however, families or
individuals who proved particularly skilled in these tasks began to manufacture
implements beyond their own needs and exchange them for grain, milk, or meat.

By virtue of their key roles as plant gatherers in prefarming cultures, it can be

surmised that women played a critical part in the domestication of plants.
Nonetheless, there is evidence that their position declined in many agricultural
communities. They worked, and have continued to work the fields in most cultures.
But men took over tasks involving heavy labor, for example, land clearing, hoeing,
and plowing. Men monopolized the new tools and weapons devised in the Neolithic
era and later times, and they controlled the vital irrigation systems that developed in
most of the early centers of agriculture.
As far as we can tell, men also took the lead in taming, breeding, and raising the large
animals associated with both farming and pastoral communities.

SUMMARY AND INTERESTING FACTS

 Between 10,000 BC and 8000 BC, humans transitioned from hunting and
gathering to farming and raising animals.
 This is known as the Neolithic Revolution because it utterly transformed
human existence.
 The change occurred very gradually, over hundreds of years.
 Humans found that they could control their food sources by planting seeds and
cultivating crops.
 Over time, they selected for the best-producing seeds, thus contributing to the
evolution of edible crops.
 The crops they raised depended on their location, and developed agriculture
independently at different times:
 o Humans in China raised rice and millet
o People in the Near East raised cereals and figs
o People in southeast Asia grew taro and bananas
o People in Mesoamerica grew squash and maize, which migrated to
North America
o Those in sub-Saharan Africa grew yams and sorghum
 The first farmers relied on slash-and-burn agriculture, which depleted the
land's fertility after only a few years. People typically moved to new land, thus
encouraging the spread of agriculture.
 Humans also domesticated animals, which gave them reliable sources of meat.
 The Fertile Crescent (Turkey, Iraq, and Iran) began domesticating cattle, pigs,
and sheep between 13,000 and 10,000 years ago, and domestication spread
with agriculture.
Impact of the Neolithic Revolution
 Humans now had to stay in one place (aside from moving to more fertile land)
to raise crops and animals. They settled in small villages.
 Farming required more physical labor, but people now had reliable sources of
food. This stability encouraged a population boom.
 Led to changes in gender roles
o Previously both men and women had held equal, if different, roles in the
hunter-gatherer lifestyle: men typically hunted, and women spent time
gathering fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
o In a farming lifestyle, men spent most of their time outside the home in
the fields or working with animals, and women worked in the home
processing food, making clothes, and caring for children.
o Women's work began to be seen as less important than men's, as it was
less directly related to survival.
 People began to divide and own land privately. Land came to indicate
economic power.
 Those who owned more land became wealthier than others, thus creating
economic stratification.
 Social classes began to emerge.
 Farming led to job specialization.
 When a successful village began to produce a surplus of food, some workers
could be excused from farming altogether.
 Instead, they could work in specialized trades such as metalworking or act as
religious leaders they provided services for those who continued to farm.
 For the first time, people could spend their working lives focused on something
other than survival.
  UNIDAD EDUCATIVA PARTICULAR “SAN JOSÉ DE CALASANZ”
Name:………………………………………………………………… Date: ……….…………………………….
Grade: 1ro bachillerato Subject: History and Social Sciences

PART I: IMPORTANCE OF THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION WORKSHEET #3

1. What life was like in the Neolithic Era?

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

2. Draw the stone tools that were produced during the Paleolithic Era. Name
them:

3. List the improvements in the lives of Stone Age people that the control of fire
led to:
 ________________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________

4. Fill in the blanks:

By Late Paleolithic, human groups survived by _____________________________
______________________________________________________________ using
______________________. Early human tools date back well over
_______________, were made by ______________________________________
__________________________________________________________. By the
Late Paleolithic period, humans had grown much more adept at working stone.
They preferred to __________________________________________. These
chips could be fashioned into ________________, ________________,
or___________, which had a wide range of uses from hunting and warfare to
skinning animal carcasses and harvesting wild plants.
 5. Write True or False:
a) ___ There is little to no evidence of artistic expression in earlier human
groups.
b) ___ The Late Paleolithic was a period of no particularly intense creativity.
c) ___ Fine miniature sculpture, beads and other forms of jewelry, and carved
bones were produced by Neolithic people.
d) ___ The most impressive artistic contributions were the cave paintings that
have been discovered at sites in southern France and Spain.

HOMEWORK
Thematic Essay: Neolithic Agricultural Revolution. Definition and Impact.
Write a well-organized essay with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion