Neolithic revolution facts for kids

Knap of Howar farmstead occupied from 3500 BC to 3100 BC

The Neolithic revolution was the first agricultural revolution. It was a gradual change from nomadic hunting and gathering communities and bands to agriculture and settlement. This period is described as a "revolution" because it changed the way of life of communities which made the change. It occurred in different prehistoric human societies at different times. Many societies changed 9–7 thousand years ago.

The term refers to the general time period over which these developments took place. It also applies to the changes which took place: the adoption of early farming techniques, crop cultivation, and the domestication of animals. The Neolithic Revolution is important for developments in social organization and technology.

The Neolithic revolution led to living in permanent or semi-permanent settlements. Because of this fewer people led a nomadic lifestyle. To be able to know who the crops grown belonged to, the concept of land ownership was developed. The natural environment was changed, population densities grew, and people ate more vegetable and cereal foods in their diet. Hierarchies developed in society. Grain was stored, and could be traded. Surplus production from good crop yields helped societies survive bad years.

General process

Excavated remains of a Neolithic dwelling at Skara Brae on the Orkneys

When humans started to domesticate crops, and certain animals such as dogs, goats, sheep, and cattle, human society changed. Because people now grew crops and raised livestock they no longer needed to move around. They could build better settlements. Their diet also changed. It included more oats and vegetables. People also started to keep and manage some foods - it was not advisable to eat all grain seeds, because then there would be no seeds left to plant the next year. Also, as there were surpluses in some years, these could be traded for other goods with other people.

These changes happened in several places of the world, independently. They did not happen in the same order though. The earliest farming societies in the Near East did not use pottery. It is still unclear to what extent plants were domesticated in Britain, or if permanently settled communities existed at all. Early Japanese societies used pottery before developing agriculture.

In the Paleolithic there were many different human species. According to current research, only the modern human reached the Neolithic though.

Vere Gordon Childe gave the name Neolithic Revolution to this process in the 1920s. He thought that it was as important as the Industrial Revolution (which happened in the 18th and 19th century).

Theories about the Neolithic revolution

Szentgyörgyvölgy cow - 4500 BC

There are different theories why this transition could have happened:

• Oasis theory: The climate changed, and it got drier. The first humans went to live in or near oases (places where there is more water, in the desert) to be able to survive. Some animals and plants did that too. It was only a small step to domesticate some of the animals that were there. This theory was advocated by Childe himself. Climate data from the period does not support it though.
• The Hilly Flanks theory. It suggests that agriculture began in the hilly flanks of the Taurus and Zagros mountains, and that it developed from intensive focused grain gathering in the region. It was proposed it in 1948.
• The Feasting model suggests that agriculture was driven by displays of power, such as throwing feasts to show dominance. This required assembling large quantities of food which drove agricultural technology.
• The Demographic theories say that the local population grew so much that it was difficult to support it using hunting and gathering alone. More food was needed than could be gathered. Various social and economic factors helped drive the need for food.
• The evolutionary/intentionality theory proposes that agriculture is an evolutionary adaptation of plants and humans. Domestication of wild plants started by protecting them. Later, the location where to grow them was chosen more carefully. Finally they were domesticated.

Reasons why it happened

Domesticated cow being milked in Ancient Egypt

According to Harland, there are three main reasons why the Neolithic revolution happened:

1. Domestication for religious reasons. There was a revolution of symbols; religious beliefs changed as well. Venus figurines which have been found could be a hint for this.
2. Domestication because of crowding and stress. Many animals died out at the end of the last ice age. The human population had increased to fill all the available land. There was a food crisis. Agriculture was the only way to support the population on the available land.
3. Domestication from discovery from the food-gatherers. Food-gatherers where those who cared for the young and who kept the fires alive. With the time, they found out which plants were edible, or would help against certain illnesses. They also helped to domesticate animals (which then travelled with the humans).

Images for kids

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  Map of Southwest Asia showing the main archaeological sites of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period, c. 7500 BCE.

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  Evolution of temperatures in the Post-Glacial period after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) according to Greenland ice cores. The birth of agriculture corresponds to the period of quickly rising temperature at the end of the cold spell of the Younger Dryas and the beginning of the long and warm period of the Holocene.

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  Associations of wild cereals and other wild grasses in Israel

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  Composite sickles for cereal harvesting at 23,000-Years-Old

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  An "Orange slice" sickle blade element with inverse, discontinuous retouch on each side, not denticulated. Found in large quantities at Qaraoun II and often with Heavy Neolithic tools in the flint workshops of the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon. Suggested by James Mellaart to be older than the Pottery Neolithic of Byblos (around 8,400 cal. BP).

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  Neolithic grindstone or quern for processing grain

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  Genetic analysis on the spread of barley from 9,000 to 2,000 BP

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  The Neolithic is characterized by fixed human settlements and the invention of agriculture from c. 10,000 BP. Reconstitution of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B housing in Aşıklı Höyük, modern Turkey.

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  Spread of farming from Southwest Asia to Europe, between 9600 and 4000 BCE

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  Ancient European Neolithic farmers were genetically closest to modern Near-Eastern/ Anatolian populations. Genetic matrilineal distances between European Neolithic Linear Pottery Culture populations (5,500–4,900 calibrated BP) and modern Western Eurasian populations.

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  Spatial distribution of rice, millet and mixed farming sites in Neolithic China (He et al., 2017)

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  Possible language family homelands, and likely routes of early rice transfer (c. 3,500 to 500 BCE). The approximate coastlines during the early Holocene are shown in lighter blue. (Bellwood, 2011)

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  Dromedary caravan in Algeria

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  World population (estimated) did not rise for a few millennia after the Neolithic revolution.

See also

In Spanish: Revolución neolítica para niños