And so it begins...
Determining the origins, length, and stories of our human existence will undoubtedly spark intense disagreements. To find our origins you will have to cross a variety of platforms or beliefs. Some claim that we were all part of a cosmic bang, matter thrown across the universe landing in the perfect location for life. Many claim that our human life is an evolution of an earlier life form, constantly fighting to survive amidst great competition. Others believe that our life was not a random occurrence but the perfect creation of a divine being, or in the very least, something supernatural.
Regardless of the starting point, solid archaeological evidence suggests that humans began to settle into complex agricultural societies around the year 8000 BCE (Modern history uses the chronological designations "BCE" and "CE" to replace BC and AD, both designations use the same year 0 as a central point of reference. 2014 CE is the same as 2014 AD). These civilizations mastered the art of irrigation to make lands on the banks of the Nile, Indus, Tigris, Euphrates, and Yellow Rivers ripe for agriculture. Soon after, cultures would develop several features that we commonly identify as the key parts of civilization: Government, Social Structure, Communication, Economic Specialization, Religion, and Art.
Watch the video from Crash Course: World History titled Agricultural Revolution posted above. As you watch, think about the most important changes (positive or negative) that occurred as a result of humans settling into agricultural societies. Once finished, reply to this post and answer one of the following questions in a thorough response:
What are the negative consequences of civilization (moving from a nomadic to settled lifestyle)?
Do you feel that settled society was a natural consequence of being human? In other words, are humans naturally wired to want to live in community with others? Or, do we function better on our own? (What evidence can you cite that supports your claim)
What do you think was the most remarkable technological advancement of the Agricultural (Neolithic) Revolution and what do you think drove humans to create those inventions.
Remember, you only need to answer one.
What I think was the most technological advancement of the Agricultural Revolution was definitely the animals for instance they can provide meat, dairy, and even clothing. I think humans kept animals around for a lot of purposes like feeding and clothing. As human expand in number so did animals.
ReplyDeleteThe agricultural revolution had many negative consequences on humans and the earth. One of the biggest is how it has destroyed the environment by clearing forests for farming land. Also it has allowed industrial buildings to be built and cause pollution. Since less people have to hunt for there own food, it has made time for activities such as war.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great thought! War is definitely a by-product of settled societies. As people began to settle and live together and specialize in a particular economic field, you had more private property, and to protect this property you had to have a complex set of laws (Hammurabi's code for example). As cultures spread and grew, communities ultimately came into conflict with one another for resources. That field is mine, this river is ours!
DeleteAs people began to switch from a nomadic lifestyle to a more settled style, immediate consequences arose. There were both positives and negative, but the negative ones would have a lasting consequence that is still relevant to today. Overgrazing became a big problem. When people settled down, their animals did the same, and this resulted in a constant graze of the same area constantly. AS a result, land could not support other species and led to competition. Also, land destruction became necessary in order further provide for development of both farms and cities. Habitats and valuable natural resources were destroyed to allow people to expand. Competition between species has led to extinction as people became the dominate predator of the land. These are just a few of the many cases of the negative consequences of a settling lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a really interesting thought. When we look at the North American region for example, we can see this competition for resources, and later extinction play out. The native peoples of America and Canada hunted animals such as the mastodon, giant sloth, and "saber tooth tiger" to extinction allowing other species to flourish with their natural predators gone.
DeleteWhich maybe that is a good thing... I mean who wants this Smilodon prowling around their Chihuahua?
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Switching from a nomadic lifestyle to a settled lifestyle had several negative consequences. Pollution, overgrazing, and overuse of the soil has effect both the earth and those inhabiting it. However, the effect was not immediate and tends to be over looked by by the general society today because settling allowed people to focus on more aspects of life than just simply what they needed to live. Time and resources for war and the resources for larger populations, leading to over population, became available. Settling created and will continue to create negative consequences that will never fully be fixable.
ReplyDeleteThese are great points. Overgrazing and deforestation, two byproducts of civilization, have catastrophic impacts that we might not have seen to its full extent yet. Not to mention the extinction of animals that go along with the deforestation. Not good!
DeleteMany negative consequences have resulted from the shift from a nomadic lifestyle to a more settled lifestyle. Some of those could include environmental issues, but others are more economical. For example, in recent years, California has been hit with a severe drought. Since a lot of our countries farming takes place there, the loss of produce has caused prices to rise. A solution could be that people grow their own food, but that isn't how our society functions. Another consequence of settling down is natural disasters. We can't control when a tornado or hurricane, or fire is going to come into our area. Combine that with the fact that most people can't just pick up and leave, and you get a scary situation.
ReplyDeleteTrue, natural disasters were a huge part of early civilizations. The frequent, unpredictable flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers made life a little more uncertain for those people. The violent nature of the floods may have influenced their creation myths, life being spawned out of an bloody battle between forces of nature, Marduk and Tiamat, the victor creating life out of dust and the enemy's dead body!
DeleteI believe the most remarkable technological advancement of the Neolithic Revolution was some of the machines that harvest. This ensured a more steady supply of food consisting of a variety of vegetables,fruits, and grain crops. Sickles,reapers, and harvesters made farming faster and easier which is what drives humans to create these inventions, to make life easier.
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ReplyDelete*Totally forgot I had to do this, I will catch up!*
ReplyDeleteFor the most part agriculture had a lot of positive effects on historical civilizations, but there were some down sides from having a sedentary lifestyle. First, to stay on one area of land for a long period of time with intensive farming could damage and potentially ruin the soil to the point where any chance of agriculture in the future is ruined. It also just dramatically changed the environment in general. Second, farming is a very difficult thing to do. The task itself takes several hours of attending to every single day of the week, and your food supply was very dependent on the weather. All of your crops could be destroyed for that season just by one disaster. Slavery occurred because of the presence of agriculture and the demand for new, hard-working, cheap people. Lastly, the nomads who used to be hunter and gatherers had healthier diets and more time to enhance their culture, because farming is a constant thing that people had to focus on if they wanted a lot of food. Moving around could be stressful yes, because you didn't know when your next food supply was going to come around, but at least they kept the environment more safe by saving fields and giving more time for culture, but none the less, agriculture has shaped our world today!
That is a point we often miss, agriculture and civilization did not necessarily mean healthier people. In fact, life expectancies decreased as a result of disease spreading more easily through the cities and there was much less variety and nutrition in the "civilized diet." I think it brings up an interesting parallel to our society today; changes in our food production (with GMO's, pesticides etc.) might be negatively impacting our own quality of life!
DeleteAgricultural societies developed from foraging societies when nomads saw that you could produce more food by growing it, but the development of agriculture saw some negative consequences. One consequence was the loss of fertility in the land and environmental changes. These people began to farm plants in large quantities and would sometimes take all of the nutrients out of the land. Plus, they began to farm plants not native to the land. This can cause harm to the native plants in the environment because they can get pushed out.
ReplyDeleteAnother negative consequence brought up in the video that I hadn't thought of before was that the development of agriculture brought on population growth. These societies were now beginning to have a surplus of food, so they could support more people. You would want to think that population growth is always a good thing, but maybe that's what creates more conflict. Societies began to develop and militaries were formed with the surplus of people to protect the land where they grow their food. One society decides that they need more land to farm, or they want the farmland and industries developed in another location, and this leads to warfare; a negative impact of agriculture that I had not considered.
Some of the negative consequences of civilization include war and environmental problems. With cultures spreading, farmers became more competitive with their land and if they saw a land that they wanted, then they would go after it. This caused tension between cultures and war would break out over what land belonged to who. Some environmental problems included deforestation. With the need for more land for farming, forests were destroyed leaving a lasting effect on the environment. Also, with oil becoming so demanding, there has been in increase in oil diggings which negatively effects the environment as seen in the 1989 oil spill in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as agriculture arose, negative consequences soon followed. As early civilizations soon figured out, excessive farming on one part of land would soon ruin the soil. Second, it is also extremely hard work compared to hunting and gathering. Another negative effect due to agriculture is a growing population. With more people comes more conflict and soon to follow are wars. Today it may seem like agriculture was a good thing, however, I'd like to think how much better the world could have been now if agriculture had never been existed.
ReplyDeleteI think the most Remarkable technical advancement of the agricultural revolution was being able to control irrigation.I believe that this is the best because it helped them grow their food more efficiently. And they could preserve the water so they wouldn't have to worry about droughts. I believe humans thought of this idea as a means to survive and make farming easier. Being a farmer is already hard enough but anything will help.
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