ch_01_before_history

.pdf

School

Pennsylvania State University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

ENGLISH LI

Subject

Anthropology

Date

Dec 6, 2023

Type

pdf

Pages

29

Uploaded by BarristerFangHeron21

Report
Traditions & Encounters ben06937.Ch01_001-029.qxd 8/30/07 9:03 AM Page 1
I THE EARLY COMPLEX SOCIETIES, 3500 TO 500 B . C . E . quickly came to dominate political and eco- nomic afairs in their respective regions. In- ded, since the apearance of cities, the earth and its creatures have falen progresively under the inuence of complex societies or- g a n i z e d a r o u n d ci t i e s . T he term complex society refers to a form of l a r g e - s ca l e s o ci a l o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t e m e r g e d i n several parts of the ancient world. Earl y com- plex societies al depended on robust agricul- tural economies in which cultivators produced more fod than they neded for their subsis- tence. T hat agricultural surplus enabled man y i n d i v i d u a l s t o c o n gr e g a t e i n u r b a n s e t l e m e n t s , where they devoted their time and energy to specialized tasks other than fod production. Political authorities, go vernment ofcials, mili- tary experts, priests, artisans, craftsmen, and merchants al lived of that surplus agricultural production. T hrough their organization of po- litical, economic, social, and cultural afairs, complex societies had the capacity to shape the lives of large populations over extensive t e r i t o r i e s . D u r i n g t h e c e n t u r i e s f r o m 3 50 t o 50 B . C . E . , complex societies arose independentl y in sev- eral widely scatered regions of the world, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, northern India, China, Mesoamerica, and the central Andean region of South America. Most complex societies sprang from smal agri- cu l t u r a l c o m u n i t i e s s i t u a t e d e i t h e r i n r i v e r v a l e y s o r n e a r s o u r c e so fw a t e rt h a tcu l t i v a t o r sc o u l dta pt oi r i g a t et h e i r F or thousands of years after the emer- gence of the human species, human beings lived in tiny comunities with no permanent home. They formed compact, mobile societies, each consisting of a few dozen people, and they traveled regularly in pursuit of game and edible plants. From the vantage point of the fast-moving pres- ent, that long rst stage of human experi- ence on the earth might sem slow paced and almost changeles. Y et inteligence set human beings apart from the other mem- bers of the animal kingdom and enabled human groups to invent tols and tech- niquesthatenhancedtheirabilitytoe xploit the natural environment. Human beings gradualy emerged as the most dynamic species of the animal kingdom, and e v en in remote prehistoric times they altered the f aceofthearthtosuitheirneds. Y et humans earl y exploitation of the earths resources was only a prologue to the ex- traordinary developments that folowed the introduction of agriculture. About twelve thousand years ago human groups began to experiment with agriculture, and it son be- came clear that cultivation provided a larger and more r e l i a b l e f o d s u p l y t h a n d i d f o r a gi n g . G r o u p s t h a t t u r n e d to agriculture experienced rapid population growth, and they setled in permanent comunities. T he worlds rst cities, which apeared about six thousand years ago, ben06937.Ch01_001-029.qxd 8/30/07 9:04 AM Page 2
cr o p s .A le s ta b l i s h e dp o l i t i ca la u t h o r i t i e s ,b u i l t states with formal go vernmental institutions, c o l e ct e d s u r p l u s a gr i cu l t u r a l p r o d u ct i o n i n t h e form of taxes or tribute, and distributed it to t h o s e w h o w o r k e d a ta s k s o t h e r t h a n a gr i cu l - t u r e .C o m p l e xs o ci e t i e st r a d e de n t h u s i a s t i ca l y with peoples who had aces to scarce re- sources, and, in an efort to ensure stability andeconomicproductivityineighboringre- gions, they often sought to extend their au- t h o r i t y t o s u r o u n d i n g t e r i t o r i e s . Complex societies generated much more w e a l t h t h a n d i d h u n t i n g a n d g a t h e r i n gr o u p s orsmalagriculturalcomunities.Becauseof their high levels of organization, they also were able to preserve wealth and pas it along to their heirs. Some individuals and families acumulated great personal wealth, whichenhancedtheirsocialstatus.W henbe- queathed to heirs and held within particular families,thisacumulatedwealthbecamethe foundation for social distinctions. T he earl y c o m p l e x s o ci e t i e s d e v e l o p e d i f e r e n t k i n d s o f social distinctions, but al recognized several clasesofpeople,includingrulingelites,com- mon people, and slaves. Some societies also recognized distinct clases of aristocrats, priests, merchants, artisans, fre peasants, and semi-fre p e a s a n t s . A lc o m p l e xs o ci e t i e sr e q u i r e dcu l t i v a t o r sa n di n d i v i d u - als of lower clases to suport the more privileged mem- b e r s o f s o ci e t y b y p a y i n g ta x e s o r t r i b u t e ( o f t e n i n t h e f o r m of surplus agricultural production) and also by pro viding labor and military service. Cultivators often worked not o n l y t h e i r l a n d s b u t a l s o t h o s e b e l o n gi n g t o t h e p r i v i l e g e d clases. Individuals from the lower clases made up the bulk of their societies armies and contributed the labor f o rl a r g ec o n s t r u ct i o np r o j e ct s u c ha sci t yw a l s ,i r i g a t i o n and water control systems, roads, temples, palaces, p yra- m i d s , a n d r o y a l t o m b s . T he earl y complex societies also created sophisticated cultural traditions. Most of them either invented or bor- rowed a system of writing that made it posi- ble to record information and store it for later use. They rst used writing to kep political, administrative, and busines records, but they son expanded on those utilitarian aplica- tions and used writing to construct traditions o f l i t e r a t u r e , l e a r n i n g , a n d r e ct i o n . Cultural traditions tok diferent forms in d i f e r e n tc o m p l e xs o ci e t i e s .S o m es o ci e t i e sd e - voted resources to organized religions that s o u g ht om e d i a t eb e t w e nh u m a nc o m u n i - t i e s a n d t h e g o d s , w h e r e a s o t h e r s l e f t r e l i gi o u s o b s e r v a n c e sl a r g e l yi nt h eh a n d so fi n d i v i d u a l f a m i l ygr o u p s .A lo ft h e mp a i dcl o s ea t e n t i o n t o t h e h e a v e n s , h o w e v e r , s i n c e t h e y n e d e d t o gear their agricultural labors to the changing s e a s o n s . A l t h e c o m p l e x s o ci e t i e s o r g a n i z e d s y s t e m s o f f o r m a l e d u ca t i o n t h a t i n t r o d u c e d i n t e l e ct u a l e l i t e s t o s k i l s s u c h a s w r i t i n g a n d a s t r o n o m i ca l observation demed necesary for their soci- e t i e s s u r v i v a l . I n m a n y ca s e s r e ct i v e i n d i v i d u - a l s a l s o p r o d u c e d w o r k s t h a t e x p l o r e d t h e n a t u r e of humanity and the relationships among h u - m a n b e i n g s , t h e w o r l d , a n d t h e g o d s . S o m e of t h o s e w o r k s i n s p i r e d r e l i g i o u s a n d p h i l o s o p h i c a l t r a d i t i o n s f o r t w o m i l e n i a o r m o r e . Complexsocietywasnotheonl yformofsocialorga- nization that earl y human groups constructed, but it was an unusual y important and inuential type of society . Complexsocietiesproducedmuchmorewealthandhar- nesedhumanresourcesonamuchlargerscalethandid b a n d s o f h u n t i n g a n d g a t h e r i n g p e o p l e s , s m a l a gr i cu l t u r a l comunities, or nomadic groups that herded domesti- ca t e d a n i m a l s . A s a r e s u l t , c o m p l e x s o ci e t i e s d e p l o y e d t h e i r p o w e r ,p u r s u e dt h e i ri n t e r e s t s ,a n dp r o m o t e dt h e i rv a l u e s o ver much larger regions than did smaler societies. In- ded, most of the worlds peoples have led their lives u n d e r t h e i n u e n c e o f c o m p l e x s o ci e t i e s . ben06937.Ch01_001-029.qxd 8/30/07 9:04 AM Page 3
1 Before History ben06937.Ch01_001-029.qxd 8/30/07 9:04 AM Page 4
T hr oughout the e v ening of 30 No vember 1 9 7 4, a tape player in an Ethiopian desert blared the Beatles song L ucy in the Sky with Diamonds at top volume. T he site was an archaeo- logical camp at Hadar, a remote spot about 320 kilometers (20 miles) northeast of Adis A b a b a . T h e m u s i c h e l p e d f u e l a s p i r i t e d c e l e b r a t i o n : e a r l i e r i n t h e d a y , a r c h a e o l o gi s t s h a d d i s - covered the skeleton of a woman who died 3.2 milion years ago. Scholars refer to this womans skeleton as AL 28-1 , but the woman herself has become by far the worlds best- k n o w n p r e h i s t o r i c i n d i v i d u a l u n d e r t h e n a m e L u cy . At the time of her death, from unknown causes, L ucy was age twenty-ve to thirty . She stod just o ver 1 meter (about 3.5 fet) tal and probabl y weighed about 25 kilograms (5 pounds). After she died, sand and mud co vered L ucys bod y, hardened gradual y into rock, a n d e n t o m b e d h e r e m a i n s . B y 1 9 7 4 , h o w e v e r , r a i n w a t e r s h a d e r o d e d t h e r o c k a n d e x p o s e d L ucys fosilized skeleton. T he archaeological team working at Hadar eventual y found 40 percent of L ucys bones, which together form one of the most complete and best-preserved skeletons of an y earl y human ancestor . L ater searches at Hadar turned up bones belonging t o p e r h a p s a s m a n y a s i x t y - v e a d i t i o n a l i n d i v i d u a l s , a l t h o u g h n o t h e r c o l e ct i o n o f bo n e s f r o m H a d a r i v a l s L u cy s k e l e t o n f o r c o m p l e t e n e s . A n a l y s i s o f L u cy s k e l e t o n a n d o t h e r bo n e s f o u n d a t H a d a r d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t h e a r l i e s t ancestors of modern human beings walked upright on two fet. Erect walking is crucial for h u m a nb e i n g sb e ca u s ei tf r e st h e i ra r m sa n dh a n d sf o ro t h e rta s k s .L u cya n dh e rc o n t e m p o - r a r i e s d i d n o t p o s e s l a r g e o r w e l - d e v e l o p e d b r a i n s L u cy s s k u l w a s a bo u t t h e s i z e o f a s m a l grapefruitbut unlike the neighboring apes, which used their forelimbs for locomotion, L ucy a n dh e rc o m p a n i o n sc o u l dca r yo b j e ct sw i t ht h e i ra r m sa n dm a n i p u l a t et o l sw i t ht h e i rd e x - terous hands. T hose abilities enabled L ucy and her companions to survive beter than man y other species. As the brains of our human ancestors grew larger and more sophisticateda proces that ocured o ver a period of several milion yearshuman beings learned to take even beter advantage of their arms and hands and established ourishing comunities t h r o u g h o u t h e w o r l d . A c o r d i n g t o g e o l o gi s t s t h e a rt h ca m e i n t o b e i n g a bo u t 4 . 5 b i l i o n y e a r s a g o . T h e r s t l i v - i n go r g a n i s m sm a d et h e i ra p e a r a n c eh u n d r e d so fm i l i o n so fy e a r sl a t e r .I nt h e i rw a k eca m e i n cr e a s i n g l yc o m p l e xcr e a t u r es u c has h ,b i r d s ,r e p t i l e s ,a n dm a m a l s .A bo u tf o rt ym i l i o n years ago, short, hairy, monkeylike animals began to populate tropical regions of the world. H u m a n l i k ec o u s i n st ot h e s ea n i m a l sb e g a nt oa p e a ro n l yf o u ro rv em i l i o ny e a r sa g o ,a n d o u r s p e ci e s , H o m o s a p i e n s , a bo u t w o h u n d r e d t h o u s a n d y e a r s a g o . O P P O S I T E : A quartet of horses depicted about thirty thousand years ago in a painting from the Chauvet cave in southern France. 5 The Evolution of H o m o s a p i e n s T h e H o m i n i d s H o m o s a p i e n s Paleolithic Society E c o n o m y a n d S o ci e t y o f H u n t i n g a n d G a t h e r i n g P e o p l e s P a l e o l i t h i c C u l t u r e The Neolithic Era and the Transition to Agriculture T h e O r i gi n s o f A gr i cu l t u r e E a r l y A gr i cu l t u r a l S o ci e t y N e o l i t h i c C u l t u r e T h e O r i gi n s o f U r b a n L i f e ben06937.Ch01_001-029.qxd 8/30/07 9:04 AM Page 5
6 P A R T I | T h e E a r l y C o m p l e x S o c i e t i e s , 3 5 0 t o 5 0 B . C . E . E v e n t h e m o s t s k e t c h y r e v i e w o f t h e e a rt h s n a t u r a l h i s t o r y cl e a r l y s h o w s t h a t h u m a n s o ci - e t y h a s n o t d e v e l o p e d i n a v a cu m . T h e a r l i e s t h u m a n b e i n g s i n h a b i t e d a w o r l d a l r e a d y w e l s t o c k e dw i t ho ra n df a u n a ,aw o r l ds h a p e df o rc o u n t l e se o n sb yn a t u r a lr h y t h m st h a tg o v - e r n e dt h eb e h a v i o ro fa lt he a rt h scr e a t u r e s .H u m a nb e i n g sm a d eap l a c ef o rt h e m s e l v e si n this world, and o ver time they demonstrated remarkable ingenuity in devising ways to take a d v a n ta g e o f t h e e a rt h s r e s o u r c e s . I n d e d , i t h a s b e c o m e cl e a r i n r e c e n t y e a r s t h a t t h e h u m a n animal has exploited the natural environment so thoroughl y that the earth has undergone i r e v e r s i b l e c h a n g e s . A d i s cu s i o n o f s u c h e a r l y t i m e s m i g h t s e m p e r i p h e r a l t o a bo k t h a t d e a l s w i t h t h e h i s - tory of human societies, their origins, development, and interactions. In conventional termi- nology, prehistory refers to the period before writing, and history refers to the era after the invention of writing enabled human comunities to record and store information. It is cer- ta i n l y t r u e t h a t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f w r i t e n d o cu m e n t s v a s t l y e n h a n c e s t h e a b i l i t y o f s c h o l a r s t o understand past ages, but recent research by archaeologists and evolutionary biologists has brightly iluminated the physical and social development of early human beings. It is now clear that long before the invention of writing, human beings made a place for their species in the natural world and laid the social, economic, and cultural foundations on which their s u c e s o r s b u i l t i n cr e a s i n g l y c o m p l e x s o ci e t i e s . The Evolution of H o m o s a p i e n s D u r i n g t h e p a s t c e n t u ry o r s o , a rc h a e o l o g i s t s , e v o l u t i o n a ry b i o l o g i s t s , a n d o t h e r s c h o l - a r sh a v ev a s t l yi n c re a s e dt h eu n d e r s t a n d i n go fh u m a no r i g i n sa n dt h el i v e so u rd i s t a n t ancestors led. Their work has done much to clarify the relationship betwen human beings and other animal species. On one hand, researchers have shown that human beings share some remarkable similarities with the large apes. This point is true not only of external features, such as physical form, but also of the basic elements of ge- n e t i cm a k e u pa n db o d yc h e m i s t ry D N A ,c h ro m o s o m a lp a t e rn s ,l i f e - s u s t a i n i n gp ro - t e i n s , a n d b l o d t y p e s . I n t h e c a s e o f s o m e o f t h e s e e l e m e n t s , s c i e n t i s t s h a v e b e n a b l e to observe a diference of only 1.6 percent betwen the DNA of human beings and c h i m p a n z e s .B i o l o g i s t st h e re f o rep l a c eh u m a nb e i n g si nt h eo rd e ro fp r i m a t e s ,a l o n g w i t h m o n k e y s , c h i m p a n z e s , g o r i l a s , a n d t h e v a r i o u s o t h e r l a r g e a p e s . Ontheotherhand,humanbeingsclearlystandoutasthemostdistinctiveofthe primatespecies.Smaldiferencesingeneticmakeupandbodychemistryhaveledto enormousdiferencesinlevelsofinteligenceandabilitytoexercisecontroloverthe n a t u r a lw o r l d .H u m a nb e i n g sd e v e l o p e da ne x t r a o rd i n a r i l yh i g ho rd e ro fi n t e l i g e n c e , w h i c h e n a b l e d t h e m t o d e v i s e t o l s , t e c h n o l o g i e s , l a n g u a g e s k i l s , a n d o t h e r m e a n s o f c o m u n i c a t i o n a n d c o p e r a t i o n . W h e re a s o t h e r a n i m a l s p e c i e s a d a p t e d p h y s i c a l y a n d geneticaly to their natural environment, human beings altered the natural environ- mentosuitheirnedsandesiresaprocesthatbeganinremoteprehistoryand continuesinthepresentday .Overthelongterm,to,inteligencendowedhumans w i t h i m e n s e p o t e n t i a l f o r s o c i a l a n d c u l t u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e H o m i n i d s A s e r i e s o f s p e c t a c u l a r d i s c o v e r i e s i n e a s t A f r i c a h a s t h r o w n v a l u a b l e l i g h t o n t h e e v o l u - t i o n o f t h e h u m a n s p e c i e s . I n T a n z a n i a , K e n y a , E t h i o p i a , a n d o t h e r p l a c e s , a rc h a e o l o - g i s t s h a v e u n e a rt h e d b o n e s a n d t o l s o f h u m a n a n c e s t o r s g o i n g b a c k a b o u t v e m i l i o n years.TheOlduvaiGor geinT anzaniandHadarinEthiopiahaveyieldedespecialy ben06937.Ch01_001-029.qxd 8/30/07 9:04 AM Page 6
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
  • Access to all documents
  • Unlimited textbook solutions
  • 24/7 expert homework help