The Birth of Civilisation - The First Farmers (20000 BC to 8800 BC)

The Histocrat・2 minutes read

The development of complex human civilizations globally, transitioning from hunter-gatherer societies to settled agricultural communities, was driven by environmental changes, deliberate domestication of plants and animals, and the gradual adoption of agriculture for survival. Evidence from sites like Gobekli Tepe in Turkey showcases the growing organizational and ritual complexity of human societies in the Near East, with communal structures, feasting events, and symbolic practices evolving over time to shape mankind's cultural development.

Insights

  • Transition from hunter-gatherer bands to settled agricultural communities occurred around 20,000 years ago, marking the shift towards civilizations over the last 5,000 years, with societies globally transitioning from nomadic to permanent agricultural settlements.
  • Domestication of plants and animals played a pivotal role in the evolution towards agriculture, showcasing deliberate human intervention altering species for food production, highlighting the gradual adoption of agriculture for survival and the overlap between early hunter-gatherer and farming societies.

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Recent questions

  • How did agriculture impact early human societies?

    Agriculture led to settled communities and civilizations.

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Summary

00:00

"From Hunter-Gatherers to Agricultural Societies"

  • In 2020, the global population is around 7.7 billion, expected to double by the century's end, with over half living in urban areas reliant on agriculture and bureaucracies.
  • Human societies transitioned from hunter-gatherer bands to settled agricultural communities around 20,000 years ago, leading to the emergence of civilizations over the last 5,000 years.
  • The rapid development of complex human civilizations globally is notable, with societies previously nomadic now settling into permanent agricultural communities.
  • Agriculture independently emerged in various regions like Southeast Asia, Egypt, New Guinea, South America, and Central Mexico, driven by environmental changes and human intervention.
  • The Near East witnessed the earliest complex agricultural societies, marked by the cultivation of crops, domestication of animals, and the establishment of permanent settlements.
  • The last ice age, from 21,000 to 15,500 BC, saw significant environmental changes, impacting human societies that largely followed a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
  • Technological advancements like refined tools, tailored clothing, and early artwork emerged around 40,000 BC, indicating increasing complexity in hunter-gatherer societies.
  • The transition to farming was gradual, with early settlements combining hunting with agriculture, showcasing a blend of both lifestyles over millennia.
  • Domestication of plants and animals played a crucial role in the shift towards agriculture, with deliberate human intervention gradually altering species for food production.
  • Understanding the overlap between early hunter-gatherer societies and those reliant on farming involves grasping the processes of domestication and the gradual adoption of agriculture for survival.

18:45

Transition from Hunter-Gatherer to Agriculture

  • Wild ancestors of sheep shed hair throughout the year, but selective breeding led to the development of sheep with long fleeces.
  • Similar selective breeding processes occurred with plants like wheat and barley, focusing on larger grain size and ease of harvesting.
  • Hunter-gatherers began domesticating ancestral wolf species during the last ice age, transitioning to loyal partners.
  • Cultivation involves deliberate planting and management of plants in fields, requiring clearing of land, tools for seeding and harvesting, and irrigation systems in dry areas.
  • At the peak of the last glacial maximum, hunter-gatherer groups in the Near East transitioned to sedentary lifestyles, depleting larger prey species and focusing on smaller prey and plant foodstuffs.
  • Evidence of plant processing into foodstuffs dates back to the Upper Paleolithic, with grindstones found in Italy, Russia, and the Czech Republic.
  • Ohalo 2, a site in Israel, reveals a settlement from the last glacial maximum with brush huts, animal bones, and a vast collection of plant material, including seeds and cereals.
  • Natufian culture in the Levant from around 14900 BC shows permanent settlements, refined tools for harvesting wild grasses, and evidence of early bread-making and beer brewing.
  • Ritual behaviors emerged in the Natufian era, with elaborate burials containing decorative elements, jewelry made of animal parts, and indications of shamanic figures.
  • Sedentary hunter-gatherer communities similar to the Natufians existed outside the Levant, like the Abu Hureira settlement in northern Syria, focusing on hunting, gathering, and early forms of agriculture.

35:27

Climate change drives cultural and environmental shifts.

  • Evidence shows increased microliths indicating hunters expanding resource exploitation during the epipaleolithic.
  • Global climate shift around 11,000 BC led to warmer, wetter conditions followed by a sudden cooling known as the Younger Dryas.
  • Settlement patterns in the Levant disrupted, leading to abandonment of Natufian sites for more mobile living.
  • Changing climate in Abu Huraira led to a decline in local plant species, with inhabitants increasing plant exploitation.
  • The Younger Dryas onset theories include changes in Atlantic circulation, volcanic activity, or an asteroid impact.
  • Glacial retreat led to colder conditions in Europe and America, affecting plant and animal species in the Near East.
  • Environmental changes prompted increased intervention in crop and herd management, but full domestication took millennia.
  • By the 10th millennium BC, global temperatures rose significantly, leading to the Neolithic era with expanded wooded and grassland areas.
  • Pre-Pottery Neolithic divided into two periods, marked by cultural and technological innovations, and domesticated plants and animals.
  • Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, a monumental assembly, showcases ceremonial buildings with T-shaped pillars, animal carvings, and ritualistic enigmas.

52:33

"Neolithic feasting and organizational complexity revealed"

  • Feasting evidence found among the rubble used to backfill enclosures at the site, with large numbers of gazelle and aurochs bones unearthed, suggesting multiple feasting events and the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
  • The presence of vast communal structures at early pre-pottery neolithic settlements indicates the growing organizational and ritual complexity of human societies in the near east, with the provision of beverages and feasts potentially serving as incentives for workforce recruitment.
  • Gobekli Tepe represents a significant increase in mankind's organizational abilities, with enduring significance to hunter-gatherer peoples who progressively elaborated on its enclosures and mythologies, leading to the decline of animal symbology in favor of communal grain processing activities and the emergence of new ritual practices centered on human skulls and mega sites.
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