Neolithic Revolution: Hunter-Gatherer Vs. Agriculturally Based Societies

Some theories suggest that the Neolithic revolution brought about the formation of the state and civilization (Childe, 1950). A highly discussed theory, called the Urban Revolution theory, examines the transition from village to state following the implementation of agriculture (Childe, 1950). This theory suggests that agriculture allowed the production of excess food, also referred to as surplus, and because of this surplus farming communities were able to allow a few individuals to part time specialize in skills and crafts unrelated to food production (Childe, 1950). As agricultural technology progressed, farming communities were able to produce greater crop yields which allowed some individuals to be completely rid of any food procurement responsibilities (Childe, 1950). This allowed certain people to fully specialize in a profession and take on roles such as merchants, public figures, or as religious figures (Childe, 1950).

All throughout history, humans have come up with innovations that have brought both positive and negative changes to the way people live. This all started around 10,000 BCE, when people developed agriculture. The first nomads started off by moving from place to place, hunting and gathering food… but as people developed agriculture, they saved a lot more time. After agriculture developed, the humans learned many things such as farming and taming wild animals for their own use. This time in history was called the Neolithic Revolution… which lasted about 6,000 years, until 4,000 BCE. The big change in the way people got their food and how they lived, resulted to positive and negative changes of human innovations of the Neolithic Revolution. So,

The Neolithic Revolution was a very important event in history. Without this revolution humanity would not have advanced at all; they would have continued as nomads for a longer period of time. Man would continue wandering looking for their meals, never would have adapted to agriculture, and never would have decided to settle down permanently in an area. Overall, the Neolithic Revolution had a more positive impact on

One main change that societies experienced from the Paleolithic age to the Neolithic age was agriculture. Agriculture made it possible for communities to grow and always have a supply of food as opposed to using hunting and gathering and always moving from place to place. With agriculture communities began to grow and expand. Though agriculture was new and difficult to an extent, it was very appealing to many societies in different regions On page 7 of Traditions & Encounters: A brief Global History, it states that "...agriculture did not spread rapidly because it was easier than foraging. Agriculture involved long hours of hard physical labor..Yet agriculture had its own appeal in that it made possible the production of abundant food supplies,

Agricultural societies allow for a greater population density, than hunter-gatherer societies. With a greater population of people, not everyone has to farm; therefore people can ‘specialize’ in other areas such as political organization. Also, people can focus on gun, steels, and ships other than just

People are generally inclined to associate the Neolithic period with better stone tools. However, this period also brought a series of advancements assisting individuals go from being hunter-gatherers to being herders and farmers. "With this change came settled villages, the wheel, pottery, and more" (Mindsparks 8).

One key way that the Neolithic Revolution was important is that they began to farm. Farming has been used for thousands of years now and it’s a way that people can get an abundance of food without having to hunt. The people of this time also began to learn different types of skills that people still use to this day. One, for example, is pottery and weaving skills. Pottery mainly helped people of the Neolithic Revolution because it let them store different items. For example, food and water. The weaving let them craft more advanced equipment and clothing. They also began to

The social and economic structures of early foraging societies are quite different from that of later agricultural societies. However, both societies share more similarities than one might think. Typically, all Paleolithic peoples were equal, but there were sometimes members that became more respected as a result of being courageous, skilled at hunting, etc. During the Neolithic Age, social divisions became more defined due to specialized labor and accumulated wealth. Foraging societies relied on loose cooperation to hunt big game for the community. Neolithic peoples were more advanced and had a specific order within their permanent settlements. Creativity in both societies was very clear. Foragers created bone sewing needles, figurines, and

Foragers had a varied diet but these food were not always around. Many archaeologists believe that foragers were healthier than farmers, because they were less exposed to disease and had more nutrition. It is also speculated that without agriculture, social inequality would not have became a problem. This is simply untrue, because man has a way of wanting to be over each other and after a long time, somebody would inevitably end up as a leader. Since people had been hunting and foraging for so long, they became very skilled at it. After a while, 75% of big game went extinct. Think of how many more animals would have gone extinct if domestication and herding had not been introduced. There might not have been any animals left to hunt by this time if hunting at their extent had continued. William Howells is utterly flawless in his argument that agriculture is one of the most important things that has happened to

Hunter gatherer and agriculturalist societies have many similarities and differences. Population of hunter and gatherer groups have decreased. Neither one of them didn't have much technology at the beginning. They started off using sticks and stones. Hunter gatherers were pretty healthy. Agriculturalist were not as healthy as hunter gatherers. They had some health problems.

The Neolithic Revolution was one of the major turning points in human history. From hunters and gathers, we turned to farming to fill our daily dose of nutrition. Everybody was impacted due to this drastic change. The population grew, children started to work, and changing roles within a family. Before the Neolithic Revolution women took up a role as a major economic supplier to the family. But with this revolution, it was difficult for them to continue this role to do the longer period of time due to their responsibilities of carrying children, raising young children and dealing with their upbringing. Many just believe in the obvious positives with agricultural, but there were many setbacks. Some of these setbacks include new view of inequality,

The Neolithic Revolution was the start of agriculture. Due to it causing a surplus of good production, specialized jobs were introduced. If one person has the ability to produce enough food for the entire community, then everyone else can focus on different jobs. Along with time to focus on jobs, time for recreation was introduced giving people more free time. Another long term effect of the Neolithic Revolution was that land was thought of as property because people began living in the same place for longer periods of time.

The Neolithic 'Agricultural' Revolution greatly impacted our way of life today as well as when it was occurring. I believe that without it, we would not have achieved such a superabundance of available food, and we would not have made all the significant technological advantages that we see today. It changed us from primitive, barbaric masochists to ingenious, well-off farmers who were on their way to starting anew. Hunting and gathering used to be what all humans lived off of. Therefore, if their source of food and saturation migrated, they would migrate as well.

The Neolithic revolution is a revolution because it profoundly affected the way human beings lived. During the Neolithic revolution people settled down, division of labor began, social inequality began, gender inequality began, the importance of surplus rose, and religious changes began. These were all the changes that happened during the Neolithic revolution. To this day some of these changes are still present.

On the negative side, the Neolithic Revolution was a big change. When people changed from hunting and gathering to farming, they did not realize what could go wrong. Important to realize, they had to rely on the crops to grow. If the crops did not grow, people had no food. Another key point, the crops would not grow in the cold weather.