Anthropology 150

The Neolithic Revolution and the Development of Complex Societies

After 20,000 years ago, the earth’s climate began to change dramatically. For over 10,000 years the climate was unstable and fluctuated greatly. But over the long term, the trend was toward a warmer climate. In short, that 10,000 period saw the end of the Pleistocene period (the last great “Ice Age”) and the beginning of the Holocene period (the modern climate regime).

With the beginning of the Holocene epoch, a fundamental shift in subsistence strategies occurred in many parts of the world. That shift was one from hunting and gathering (foraging) to food production (the reliance upon the cultivation of domesticated plants and the husbandry of domesticated animals). This shift came about independently in at least seven parts of the world: 1) Southwest Asia (the Near East) and Egypt (the Nile) 2) The Indus Valley 3) Northern China 4) Southern China 5) Mesoamerica 6) South America 7) Sub-saharan Africa. There is a case to be made for viewing North America as another independent example.

The shift in these seven or eight regions tremendously increased cultural diversity among human populations. First, there is the divided between separation between the hunter/gatherers and the food producers. Its important to remember that while people in many regions of the world shifted to food production, many others did not. They continued to be very happy as hunters and gatherers. But the origin of food production is the social equivalent of bipedalism: it is a watershed event that has dramatic ramifications. One group of people pursues a stable adaptation. Another follows an unstable, but dynamic path that dramatically changes the way that they live. The people who adopt food production step down what Robert McCormick Adams has called “the path of fire.” In a few thousand years their societies would be radically transformed from highly mobile, egalitarian, and small-scale societies into sedentary, urban- dwelling, and socially stratified societies with the types of centralized governments we call “states”.

Why does it take place? Let’s begin with why it did not take place:

1) food production isn’t “better” than hunting and gathering. Hunting and gathering was a stable and workable adaptation for over 1 million years.

2) food producers don’t work less, just the opposite. 3) Food production isn’t more reliable. It is unstable, leads to a degeneration of health and

is generally less reliable. The earliest farmers suffered from poor health compared to the late Pleistocene hunters and gatherers?

So why did people do it? That is the big question that we’ll now examine. There are many ways that we could approach this transformation. We could rapidly

examine all the seven cases, but to my mind that results only in a superficial understanding. The approach that I want to take is to examine one case in great details. We will look at the way in which the transformation took place in two parts of the world: Southwest Asia (The Near East) and Mesoamerica. These two regions probably have the best data because people have been investigating this region longer than others. The first lecture this week will cover the Near East, while the second will cover Mesoamerica.

We’ll start by examining the archaeological record in the Near East starting at about 20,000 BC and work our way up to the first urban settlements with state-level political organization. The whole sequence covers about 17,000 years and can be broken down into six stages:

1) Late Pleistocene Hunters/gatherers 2) Sedentary hunters/gatherers 3) Initial Agriculturalists 4) spread of agriculture to the Hilly Flanks 5) colonization of the Mesopotamian plain

6) Intensive irrigation agriculture

But before we look at the stages, I want to briefly describe the environment of this region.

General Environmental Factors in the Near East

Landforms: Although there is great diversity in the physical terrain of the Near East, it is

useful as a first approximation to divide this region into two major landforms. The first zone is

defined by the major mountain ranges -- the Pontic and Taurus of Anatolia and the Zagros and

Elburz of Iran -- running across the norhtern half of the Near East. Many peaks are at higher

elevations that the 2,000 meter tree line. Many alluvial valleys are interspersed among these

mountains, and there are two major upland plateaus. The Anatolian plateau is surrounded by the

Pontic and Taurus, and the Iranian plateau by the Zagros, Elburz, and other mountains in the east.

Both plateaus are at elevations ranging from 500 to 1500 meters and are generally dry.

The second major landform zone of the Near East comprises the southern hills and plains;

its diverse topography ranges from alluvial plains to rolling hills and low mountains at elevations

from sea level to 1000 meters. Geologically, this zone is composed of horizontal sedimentary

rocks. The major feature of this zone is the broad valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The

Mesopotamian plain itself was depressed and began to fill with the eroision products ofthe

surrounding mountainridges of both the Zagros and Taurus ranges. Hence, the folded terrain

near the center of the depression was covered with alluvial sediment and is now a very flat plain.

The Levant is a zone of junction where relatively recent sediments are folded onto the

buckled and broken edge of the Arabian platform. The terrain has fractured in a generally north-

south direction, with minor cross-faults at intervals, which has given rise to a series of detached

upland masses separated from each other by small lowland areas arranged in a roughly

rectangular pattern. The mountain ranges, especially to the north, are an effective barrier to

movement inland from the narrow and broken coastal plain. Settlement in the hilly country is

restricted to valley floors. The mountains capture rain from humid air coming off the

Mediterranean, leaving the areas to the east in a rain shadow. Because of lower rainfall further

inland in the Syrian desert, communities had to be located on rivers or near springs. The impact

is similar to that of the Sierra Nevada, where deserts develop east of the mountains.

An area of the Levant of great archaeological and geological interest is the Jordon rift

Valley. As the northern end of a major rift system that can be traced all the way to South Africa,

the Jordon Rift Valley extends 400 kilometers north from the head of the Gulf of Akaba. It varies

in width from3 to 25 kilometers; it lowest point, at the surface of the Dead Sea,is 395 meters

bwlow sea level.

Climate

Two major characteristics of Near Eastern Climate in the lowlands are high temperatures

in the summera and a broad temperature range, both annually and dirunally. A clear sky is an

important factor responsible for intense heating, which is also promoted by the absence of soil

and vegetation. Another factor affecting temperature is the mountainous coastline, which

restricts the tempering effect of the sea to a narrow strip. Although the summers are hot in in

most parts of the near East, the winters are usually cool and often very cold. Snow falls in many

places and only southern Arabia is entirely free from snowfall.

The distribution of rainfall in the Near East is largely controlled by topography and the

disposition of land and sea in relation to rain-bearing winds. The Near East is predominantly a

continental area, certain regionsofwhich are affected by the proximity of small bodies of water.

Its continental aspect is emphasied by the presence of high coastal mountain ranges. Moist winds

frequently break through the coastal chain in Syria to contribue moisture ot the Taurus and

Zagros foothills. The amount of precipitation varies greatly from year to year, which makes

average rainfall figures very misleading. For example, in a twenty year period the average annual

precipitation in Baghdad was 139 millimeters, but ranged from a minimum of 72 to a maximum

of 316. Few regions outside of the highlands have a stable annual rainfall.

One of the most important factors of the Mediterranean climate regime of important

regions of the Near East affecting the development of agricultural society is the winter rainfall

regime. Most precipitation, and almost all usable rainfall, occurs inthe winter months at the

middle and lower elevations.

It is thought that early agriculturalists in the Near East cultivated their crops only in

winter, on land that is located at the middle of the range of elevations. Plants like barley, wheat,

peas, lentils, flax, chickpeas, and vetch were originally adapted to a winter growing season. They

were planted sometime between October and december and Harvested between April and June,

the exact dates varying by region. These crops could be grown in the summer only inareas that

were cool or at high elevation because they cannot tolerate hot, humid conditions. The climatic

characteristics, together with those of the crops themselves, determined the location and activites

of early villgers. They also affected early irrigated farming in the Nile and Mesopotamian river

valleys; the flooding of the Nile in the late summer an early fall was ideal for crops grown in the

winter, but the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates in the late spring had to be controlled rather

than allowed to flood the fields freely.

Vegetation

There are five general vegetation zones

1. Mediterranean vegetation is confined to the wetter parts of the coastal area and adjacent

mountain flanks. It consists of open woodlands of evergreen oak with areas of subtropical pine

and wild olive trees. Walnut and poplar trees are found in damper places, and introduced cacti

now grow widely. Today, because of deforestation, most areas of the mediterranean vegetation

contain a somewhat impoverished set of plants including stunted oaks, pistachios, and many

shrubs.

2. Steppe vegetation is caused by seasonal variationof temperature and generally low rainfall. On

the flanks of mountains there is open savanna vegetation with scattered juniperand small bushes,

but in regions of true steppe, consisting of various species of grasses, hervs, and low shrubs, trees

are absent. The appearance of steppe landscape differs greatly from summer to winter; in the late

winter and early spring, many species of flowers and grasses grow rapidly, but they shrivel or are

completely burned or grazed off during the rest of the year. The contrast between the summer

barrenness and the luxuriant early spring vegetation is striking, and even a small climatic

fluctuation can greatly affect plant growth. It can prompt major movements of the primarily

pastoral peoples who occupy this type of terrain.

3. Mountain vegetation is related to elevation and rainfall. Evergreen oaks predominate on the

lower slopes, whereas decidious oaks, cedar, maple, juniper, pine or fir are found higher up,

depending on the area. On the damp northern slopes of the Elburz and Pontic mountains, there

are temperate decidious and coniferous trees, as well as a dense undergrowth of shrubs and vines

in some areas. At elevations higher than 2000 meters in eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran,

there are areas of alpine vegetation reminiscent of the Swiss Alps.

4. Riverine vegetation is present in lower courses of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley and consists of

scattered willow, poplar, alder and tamarisk. The abundant date palm, which is tolerant of

excessive water and salinity, was introduced to this reigon. The thick undergrowth in deltaic

regions is composed of aquatic grasses, papyrus, lotus, and reeds that can obtain heightsof 7

meters.

5. Desert Vegetation is extremely adaptive to dry or saline conditions. Many desert plants

complete their growing cycle within a few weeks after the end of the winter rains. Throughout

the spring an extraordinary variety and abundance of flowery grasses can be seen that last only a

few days before drying up under the increasing heat.

The natural vegetation of a region is indicative of the agricultural potential of the area.

The plants grown by earely farmers could survive only in certain regions. This limited the

distributionof early farming villages. As strains of plants and animals improved and new

technologies were developed, farming villages spread to other zones. Given adequate plants and

techniques, the potential for plant growth in these new areas -- especially in the alluvial lowlands

-- was significantly higher than it had been in the original farming center.

Summary

1. The Near East is a topographically diverse region, with high mountains, rolling hills, and a

broad alluvial plain. Zones having their own distinctive natural resources are distributed roughly

in bands across the region. the proximity of different environmental zones and the localized

nature of certain resources encouraged the exchange of goods and the movement of peopl.

2. The Mediterranean climate of hot summers and cool winters combined with winter rainfall in

the intermontane valley and foothill regions nutured the growth of annual grasses, some of which

became the earliest domesticated plants.

3. The existence of large alluvial valleys adjacent to the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates and Karun rivers

allowed plants domesticated in the uplands to be cultivated with the aid of irrigation water. The

rivers also facilitated communication and exchange.

River regimes

Mesopotamia: The relationship between the early settlements of the Mesopotamian plain

and their ecological settings is primarily determined by the location an regimes of two major

river-- the Tigris and the Euphrates -- originating in the Anatolian Highlands. The Euphrates is

feed chiefly by melted winter snow, recieving two left-bank tgributaries: the Balikh and the

Kahbur. No significant tributaries are received from the Syrian or Arabian deserts, but a large

number of seasonal stream beds suggest that at one time water may have entered from the right

bank. The Tigris, lying close to the Zagros mountains, is primarily rain fed, and along its whole

length it receibeves many tributaries, some of which are quite large. The Euphrates depends on

the rainfall of a single and relatively restricted catchement area; consequently, the volume of the

river does not fluctuate rapidly in its middle and lower courses. The Tigris, on the other hand,

draws its water from a much wider catchment zone and local rain in a single district soon affects

the height of the river, making suddent floods common. A local rainstorm in the Zagros can

produce marked changes in the height of the Tigris within a few hours, and it is not unusual for

the river to rise from 2 to 3 meters in 24 hours.

The Tigris River falls nearly 300 meters between the turkish frontier and Baghdad. It

carries a greater volume of water than does the Euphrates and is subject to greater seasonal

fluctuations. Both rivers are at their lowest levels in September and October. Flooding of the

Tigris is greatest in April and the high water for the Euphrates is inMay. These floods are poorly

times with respect to the prevalent winter agricultural schedule; the high water comes at a time

when crops are mature and ready to be harvested; therefore, rather than helping their growth, it is

amajor threat to their harvesting.

The Transition to Food Production

Stage 1) Late Pleistocene Hunters/gatherers

Late Paleolithic

At 20,000 BC people of the Near East were like those everywhere: they made their

livings by hunting game, trapping fish, and collecting wild plants, fruits, and nuts. They were

mobile and moved about on the landscape following the seasonal availability of resources in

different environmental zones.

Three types of sites are hypothesized to account for the variations inthe observable

archaeological remains: seasonal base camps, butchering stations, and transitory stations.

The largest of the three types is a seasonal base camp. Most known base camps are

located in large, chambered caves commanding a good view of passing game. The camps are

large enough to accomodate from 10 to 30 people. A base camp would have been occupied by

an economically self suficient and politically autonomous hunting band. Most tool

manufacturing and food preparation took place at these base camps, resulting in a great density

and diversity of refuse in the archaeological deposits. Base camps have more hearths than other

types of settlements, and they have clearly defined living floors.

The second type of site in the Paleolithic settlement model is a butchering station. Most

butchering stations were small rock shelters, seldom more than 10 square meters in area. These

camps were used by groups of hunters who made a kill, butchered the animal and later returned

to a base camp.

Assemblages at butchering stations include killing and butchering implements but lack

other tools found at base camps.

The third type of site is a transitory station. Many of these sites may have served as

lookouts for hunting searching for game and passing the time by preparing new tools and

weapons. Scattered chipping debris characterizes such sites.

Changing subsistence strategies

During the upper paleolithic peoples of the near east relied heavily on hooved mammals

for their food. They may have represented as much as 99% of the meat eaten by people at that

time. The seasonal round of the people may have been based on following the migratory patterns

of these large animals.

At about 20,000 b.c. there was a change in food resources that shows up clearly in

archaeological deposits. The change consisted of a significant broadening of the subsistence base

to include progressively greater amounts of fish, crabs, water turtles, molluscs, land snails, birds,

and possibly plant foods. The hunting of ungulates remained a major aspect of the diet, but over

time the other resources came to be dominant.

This transition is called the “Broad Spectrum Revolution.” Fundamentally, it is seen to

be a cultural adaptation to changing resource availability caused by environmental shifts. Most of

the truly enormous animals such as the elephant and the rhinoceros had disappeared thousands of

years earlier. But, the seasonal patterns of the animals present may have been disrupted. People

responded to the change by broadening their subsistence base; they diversified the types of food

that they ate.

The Kebaran Culture

The archaeological culture associated with the Broad Spectrum Revolution is called the

Kebaran. Kebaran sites are found in a wide variety of locations, reflecting the diversity of their

subsistence base. Very importantly, the Kebaran culture shows the first signs of an emerging

technology for processing the seeds of grasses such as wheat and barley. These grasses spread as

the result of increasing aridity and seasonality.

Grasses are annual plants; they are adapted to climates with marked seasonality because

once dispersed their seeds can lie dormant in the ground until the rains come. Thus, they can

survive in climates with lengthy dry seasons. This technological breakthrough became very

important in the succeeding Natufian period.

Stage 2: Sedentary Hunter/Gatherers, The Natufians

The last part of the Kebaran period, called the Geometric Kebaran, is followed by the

Natufian. Geometric Kebaran phase indicates restricted mobility, as the environment dries up.

The constriction of territory, reduced mobility, and agglomeration of population

continued and accelerated about 13,000 years ago, or 11,000 B.C., and results in a Culture called

the Natufian (See the slide of site distribution)

Important Natufian sites:

Abu Hureya - up north of the ‘core Natufian zone’

Jericho

Ain Mallaha – upper Jordan River

Natufian settlements are located in the Levant, with most in northern and central Israel

and in northern Jordan. Natufian sites are found in both open air locales and in caves. They are

found roughly from modern Beirut to Cairo, predominantly along the coast. Early Natufians

favored the Mediterranean coastal and woodland zones, and rarely the steppe areas farther inland.

Later Natufian peoples moved into the steppe zone and had several large settlements there.

The largest Natufian settlements are about 2000 square meters, or 1/5 of an acre. Largest

sites may have housed 200-300 people. Relative to the Kebaran period, there is an increased

presence of grinding stones and smaller stone tools. Hafted tools, including sickles. Food storage

facilities.

The Natufians were foragers who lived by hunting and gathering, but they had settled

down and lived in particular locations. They were, in a phrase, sedentary hunter/gatherers. Many

Natufian settlements seem to be temporary camps, or camps that were visited repeatedly, but

others were almost certainly occupied year-round. Natufian settlements have circular houses

with stone foundations. The villages may have been as large as 50 houses. Examine the

slides of settlements. Note permanence and investment of labor. The Natufians invested

substantial labor in their houses; they meant to stay there awhile

The Natufian tools assemblage included microliths and blades used in composite tools.

They had grinding implements for processing grains and storage pits.

The Natufian people living in permanent villages took a step that changed the course of

history. The Natufians harvested a large number of grains, including emmer wheat and barley.

But all of the botanical remains found at Natufian sites are wild forms, they were not

domesticated.

.

Burials: There are individual burials under house floors and collective burials in larger

pits outside the houses. Many more men than women and it has been suggested that female

infacticide was practiced.

Analysis of the bones shows that health was good. The bulk of their calories came from

carbohydrates, indicating heavy use of harvested grains.

Natufian settlements were large, but they were not cities, or even large villages. Natufian

sites were linked by a network of trade that included obsidian from the north, shells and possibly

beads from the coastal zones. But there were is no evidence of any kind of political or economic

unity above the settlement. There may have been some incipient social inequality, but they are

Best described as tribal networks.

The Natufian period came to an end ca. 9000 B.C., with the onset of a pronounced dry

period. Rainfall decreased and seasonality increased. Soon after we see evidence of cultivation

and agriculture, marking the transition to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. The transition to agriculture

was rapid. It happened in a matter of just a few hundred years. By 8,500 B.C. Sites like Jericho

have domesticated foodstuffs.

The earliest evidence for cultivation comes from the Levant, where the dryness and

seasonality were most marked. People under stress by environmental; change were apparently

forced to make dramatic changes in the techniques they used to obtain food.

It was probably a short leap from intensive collection of grains to some sort of incipient

cultivation. Once people were sedentary, it wasn’t too complicated to domesticate animals. The

range of animals was restricted by seasonality, so they were easily captured. The animals that

were domesticated were herd animals, who were naturally social. Jared Diamond explains this

aspect of food production very well in Guns, Germs, and Steel (that section of the book is not

assigned for this week, but you might want to read ahead).

The Neolithic Revolution?

The shift to the Neolithic way of life is sometimes described as a “Revolution.” Views

have shifted, however, and now the changes are not seen as being rapid, but as coming about

slowly.

The Neolithic (New Stone Age) way of life had three essential elements: 1) food

production (cultivation and animal husbandry) 2) sedentism (year-round residence in a single

location and 3) domestication (the human modification of plant and animal genomes).

The Natufians had one element of the package: sedentism. Their mobility was curtailed

by environmental change, but they were able to cope with that by emphasizing the harvesting of

wild grains. The same environmental change that curtailed their mobility led to the spread of

wild wheat and barley, so that the Natufians enjoyed an abundance of those foods. They were

able to harvest sufficient quantities and store the grain so that they could get through the dry

months of the year.

The Natufians, however, did not cultivate the grains; they didn’t plant seeds from their

grain stores. Nor did they genetically alter the genome of plants or animals through selection.

The situation changed dramatically at about 11,000 BC, with the Younger Dryas. The

Younger Dryas was a period of very cold conditions, a return to Ice-Age climate. Following that,

came a pronounced period of increased heat, aridity, and seasonality. It was during the latter

period of increased seasonality that the Natufians made the transition from harvesting wild plants

to active cultivation. They did so, in essence, because they had to. If they did not become more

pro-active they would not have made it through the increasingly hot and dry summers.

Once the Natufians began to sow seeds from their stored grain supplies and to cultivate

the fields, they were food producers. In the process of selecting the seeds to sow each year, they

domesticated the plants (i.e., they altered the genome of the species).

Early Domesticates

The most frequently reported early domesticated plants in the Near East are cereal grains.

Other types of plants were also domesticated at an early date, but they were not as common and

have not been given the same attention by researchers. The brief description that follows of the

morphology and behavior of wheat and barley is intended to apply to cereals in general

Cereals, which consist of annual grasses such as wheat and barley, are grown chiefly

because their large grains are a concentrated source of carbohydrates that can be stored easily.

Examine the drawing of morphology of a cereal spike. The central column is the axis, or

rachis, and is made up of nodes and internodes. The nodes are points at which wild brittle-spike

cereal comes apart, each section sonsisting of the internode, node and attached spikelet. These

disintegration points made become solid by mutation; then the azis does not fall apart, but

remains a single tough column. the toughness of the spike is the property of domesticated cereals

that made them worthwhile crops for early farmers.

The spikelet consists of two glumes enclosing one or more florets. The floret consists of

two inner bracts, the lemma and palea, which contain the stamens and the pistil; the ovary, which

is part of the pistil, eventually develops into a fruit (grain). Each node bears a single spikelet,

whereas in barley, each node bears three spikelets,, each consisting of a single floret and a pair of

reduced glumes. In two-row barley, the ancestral form, only the middle spikelet bears a fertile

floret and can therefore produce a grain; the two lateral ones are sexually imperfect and thus

sterile. By genetic mutation the lateral florets have become fertile, hence each of the three florets

of the spike can become fertile, making the barley six-row.

Other important domesticates: legumes (peas, lentils, chickpeas),

Nut trees: oak, pistachio, almond, (ripen in autumn which complements the spring ripening

grains).

Fruit: olives, grapes, dates, figs: all added by the fourth or third millenium (domesticated via

vegetative propagation of clones: grafting, cutting seedlings, etc.)

Animal Domestication

Unlike the New World, the domestication of various animal species was vitally important

in the old world. Animals provided food as meat, through their milk, as well as providing raw

materials for clothing, tools, and adornment. Many animals also provided energy that served as a

means of agricultural and economic intensification.

Most changes in domesticated animals are behavioral. It is hard to detect

archaeologically. Linked genetic characteristics may be indicative.

Dogs: by 10,000 B.C.

Sheep: kept by 11,000 B.C. domesticated by 7,000 B.C.

Goats: ditto

Pigs: by second half of the 7th millenium

Cattle: Probably domesticated in several locations. Possibly first domesticated in Europe

ca. 7000 B.C. present in Near East by 6,000 b.c.

Stage 3: Initial Agriculturalists and the Neolithic Period

By the 9th milleniumm settlements grew in size and permanence. Architecture became

more widespread and substantial. Although there is no definite evidence for either plant

domestication or animal domestication, there is evidence for intensified experimentation with

wild progenitors of cereal grasses and herd animals.

Some very large settlements, esp. at Jericho.

The Neolithic Period is Divided into two big parts. The first is the Pre-pottery Neolithic, which is

just what it says. It is the time after people develop the three principal traits of the Neolitihic way

of life, but before the development of pottery. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic is further divided into

two parts: the Pre-pottery Neolithic A (PPNA for short) and Pre-pottery Neolithic B (PPNB).

After the development of pottery, archaeologists define phases (periods of time) based on

pottery styles. In our case, we’ll use names like Hassuna and Samarra, which are phases

localized within Mesopotamia.

Dates:

Pre-Pottery Neolithic A: ca 8500 BC-7500 BC

Pre-pottery Neolithic B (starting just before 7500-6000 B.C.)

During the PPNA there appeared widespread early farming villages in the hilly slopes area.

where there was rainfall exceeding 200 mm. per year. The first villages were small, but by the

end of the PPNB villages were growing quite large, as exemplified in Catal Huyuk, in southern

Turkey.

PPNA villages:

Beida (southern jordan; 2000 sq. meters in size)

Jericho

Hacilar

Cayonou (Anatolia; 250x150 meters 7300-6500 b.c.)

Jarmo (Zagros; 1.5 hectares) before 6750 B.C.

Ali Kosh (on the fringes at 300 m. elevation ; 135 ;meters in diameter)

Hunting and gathering was still important at this time.

The sixth Millenium

The preeminence of the early village developments in the southern Levant diminished at

the beginning of the sixth millenium BC. At approximately 6000 b.c. many of the communities

in the southern Levant were abandoned, and large areas were not reoccupied for at least a

thousand years. Their abandonment seems to have been a result of a drying of the climate that

reached a maximum at about 6000 b.c.

PPNB settlements (very large)

Catal Huyuk and Jericho

Catal Huyuk (in southern Turkey) was largely agricultural. Improved varieties of crops:

hybridized wheat and six-row barley. Occupied ca. 6500 - 5000 (uncalibrated). Catal Huyuk is a

very large settlement; the houses are closely packed, apparently for defensive purposes.

Agricultural production was generating wealth and that wealth apparently attracted raiders. In

addition to being located in a productive agricultural zone, Catal Huyuk controlled an important

source of obsidian (volcanic glass) which was used for cutting tools. Trade in obsidian also

provided wealth to the town.

At Catal Huyuk we begin to see signs of emerging social inequality. Burials reflect

differences in social status; many artifacts point to an increased concern with social display

through clothing adornments, personal adornments (tatooing, piercings, make-up), and prestige

goods (exotic jewelry).

by 6000 B.C. there is evidence of irrigation agriculture and the first appearance of early ceramics.

Stage 5: The colonization of the Mesopotamian Plain

The expansion of agricultural villages out of the hilly flanks of the fertile crescent

coincides roughly with the invention of pottery. Pottery allows us to not only “tell time” because

styles change rapidly, but it also allows us to track regional interactions, because each region of

SW Asia had its own style of pottery.

The more fundamental importance of the expansion into the lower elevations of the

Mesopotamian plain is that it could not have been accomplished without irrigation technology.

Remember, there is not enough rainfall in the lower elevations of Mesopotamia to support

cultivation without irrigation.

We’ll discuss the concept of intensification in a few weeks, but for now let’s just say that

irrigation not only allowed cultivation to take place within the Mesopotamian plain, but it also

allowed cultivation to be expanded throughout the year. Whereas only a single crop might be

grown in a year using rainfall, irrigation allowed multiple crops. That meant more food for

growing populations, but also surpluses that could be used for trade with non-agricultural groups,

such as pastoral nomads (people who keep animal herds, but don’t grow crops).

Hassuna (6000 - 5250 B.C.) Sees the initial colonization of the Mesopotamian plain.

Colonization of the plain was dependent upon the development of irrigation agriculture.

Sometime in the sixth millenium b.c. people moved out onto the Assurina plains, at first into

areas where they could rely on seasonal rainfall to water their crops, and then into areas along

river, with animal and crops that could tolerate the climate.

Several major technological innovations helped to make cultivation possible in the arid

lowlands. Small-scale irrigation techniques had been pioneered on the edge of the alluvium by

the middle of the sixth millenium (Samarran settlements). According to interpretation of Late

Uruk written tablites, it is believed that the plow was first introduced during the fourth

millenium. This tool aided in the preparation of the hard alluvial clays of lowland mesopotamia.

Also, the first documentary evidence of the invetion of the wheel. The wheel was first used in

pottery manufacture during the Uruk period.

What we see in the Samarra and Hassuna periods is the growth of settlements. Towns get

larger, but individual houses are also larger, which may indicate an increase in family size.

These towns are often protected by walls and sometimes moats, again emphasizing the danger of

raiding to these settleements.

Stage 6: The Intensification of Irrigation Agriculture

'Ubaid period (subdivided 1-4) (5300-3600 B.C.)

Uruk (5300-3600)

Jemdet Nasr (3100-2900)

By the Ubaid 2 period, small cities were in place and had monumental architecture. The

city of Eridu may have been one of the first of these cities. Its temple was a farily substantial

mud-brick construction. By the end of the Ubaid period Eridu was a city of about 5000 people

with a truly monumental temple.

The Mesopotamian environment and technology affected the range of plants and animals

consumed. the major crops were emmer wheat, breadwheat, barley, and flax. Barley was more

salt-tolerant than wheat, and so as salinization became a problems there was a gradual shift

toward the cultivation of more barley.

A new form of cultivation was introduced about 3000 B.C.: Orchards

Orchards : dates in mesopotamia, figs in the uplands, and olives in the Levant. The date

palm is an efficient plant for southern mesopotamia but requires a long period before bearing

fruit, and the cultivator must expend a heavy amoutn of labor per unit of production. However,

they require little land, and are relatively salt tolerant.

Although evidence fore fifth and fourth millenia animal husbandry in Mesopotamia is

minimal, there is enough to reconstruct some general patterns. Sheep and goats were primarily

animal ofthe upland villages. On the Mesopotamian plain itself, cattle far outnumbered sheep

and goats. Cattle were very efficient to raise largely because oftheir secondary products, and they

also served as beasts of burden. Moreover, they rapidly became acclimated to the heat of the

plains. Sheep were not unimportant, however. Sheep's wool was one of the major raw materials

needed by Mesopotamian cities for their textile industries. Wool and flax were two of the few

raw materials that did not have to be imported into Mesopotamia.

The Uruk Period (5300-3600 BC)

The increasing intensification of Near Eastern food production had enormous effects on

social developments. Enormous surpluses were being created by the Uruk period. The size of

temple cities grew as did the temples themselves. Surpluses were also used to import raw

materials and finished goods such as copper.

Written documents from later time periods lead scholars to focus on the importance of

temples to these early cities. The “Temple” was more than just the structure where worship took

place (which is indicated by “temple” with a lower-case ‘t’). The temple was a land-owning

institution. It organized production, cultivation, and trade. It may have provided rations for the

populace in exchange for labor.

The centrality of the Temple is often highlighted by discussion of the “Temple

Economy.” The idea is that the Temple was the principal landowner, and the center of economic

activity.

Because lower Mesopotamia lacked stone and minerals, it needed to import many basic

commodities: igneous stone for grinding implements, obsidian for cutting tools, and all manner

of “prestige goods” for social displays. As agricultural production intensified, the growing cities

of Mesopotamia were able to exchange agricultural products (grain, linen cloth, leather goods,

dates, and perhaps spices) to obtain the commodities that they needed.

Trade networks are readily apparent by the Uruk period, and some archaeologist speak of

the “Uruk World System”. Some archaeologist think that Mesopotamia cities established

colonies in areas where strategic good were obtained, but other think there is insufficient

evidence to postulate colonies. In either case, the expansion of trade networks was vital to the

maintenance of the early Mesopotamian cities.

Sumerian Civilization and Early States (Early Dynastic Period)

The lower (southern) portion of Mesopotamian is called “Sumeria.” Sumerian is a

language, now dead, that was spoken in the region. It can be reconstructed the basis of written

texts, and distinguished from the Semitic languages of northern Mesopotamia.

By 2900 B.C. Sumerian civilization was in full swing. This was a period of increased

wealth. Metal tools became much more common and domestic tools. The technology now

existed to smelt copper with tin to produce bronze, making it hard enough for use outside of

jewelry. This had implications for both agriculture and warfare.

The second half of the Early dynastic period marked the onset of the historical age and

the crystallization of Urban society. By 2700 B.C. there were approximately a dozen major

Sumerian cities and many more smaller cities. The locations of the major and minor centers

depended on numerous factors. Access to irrigation water was the primary determinant of site

location and long-term economic success. Several of the Early Dynastic-period cities were

located laong the major courses of the Euphrates. The Euphrates offered a more constant and

manageable supply of water for simple, small-scale irrigation systems than did the Tigris.

Although location along a major river bed was crucial, the arrangement of large sites was not

particularly linear. Each of the major rivers split into several large streams, and so the locations

of the cities formed a geometric pattern.

The basic pattern of settlement was of enclaves of communities spreadout across the

irrigable parts of the Mesopotamian plain. Many of the largest cities had populations over

50,000 people.

Only a few new means of intensification were introduced during this time. Fishing grew

in importance, both as a locally consumed food and as a product for export. The institution of

slavery was introduced. But population growth and the expansion of irrigated lands were the

principal means of increasing the surplus available.

The most important political change was the emergence of secular rulers that we identify

as “kings” and the development of forms of government called “states.” The general

reconstruction is that competition between the Sumerian cities resulted in nearly constant conflict

over land, irrigation systems, and trade routes. Warfare became chronic and the role of military

leads was heightened. Eventually, the military leaders gained full control of the political system

and surpassed the influence of the Temple.

As secular rulers gained power, they also gained control over the means of production,

especially land. Writing becomes more widespread at this time, and early clay tablets with

cuneiform writing record land transactions. There is a trend toward more and more private land

ownerships, rather than the communal ownership reflect in the “Temple Economy.” The

institutions of government became more formalized and bureaucratic. Social stratification

increased and a clear distinction between social classes emerged. Both formal government and

social stratification are characteristic of the type of government labelled as a “state.” We’ll

discuss the topic of states in more detail in coming weeks, when we study political organization.

Enormous wealth was being produced at this time. The Ziggaruat at Ur was built, which

required resources, technological knowledge, and organizational apparati. The royal cemetery at

Ur documents the wealth and labor controlled by the elite of this time.

The presentation shows many images of the wealth contained in one tomb: that of the

royal consort Pu-abi, from the site of Ur. Pu-abi was buried with tremendous wealth. Her

jewelry included gold (probably from Egypt), lapis lazulli (from Afghanistan), and other precious

and semi-precious stones. More importantly, the raw materials were transformed into the

finished goods by craft specialists who were supported by the Palace (the secular authority).

Thus, the wealth represented by these objects is much greater than the value of their raw

materials.

Perhaps most conspicuous are the many people who accompanied Pu-abi in death. At the

entrance to her tomb were six warriors in front of two chariots (including the oxen that drew

them). There were a number of musicians and an entourage of young women. In total, over 20

people lost their lives at the time Pu-abi was buried. Nothing could more dramatically illustrate

the impact of the Neolithic “Revolution” than this. At 10,000 BC human societies were still

largely egalitarian, but by 3100 BC social differentiation was so great that the people of Ur

thought is appropriate that a score of people lose their lives when a ruler’s consort was buried.

The Neolithic as a Worldwide Phenomenon

In each of the areas where food production was independently developed, social

stratification emerged soon afterwards. The social, economic, and cultural transformations that

took place in these societies were just as dramatic as those in the ancient Near East. We do not

have time to examine each one of them, but we will examine Mesoamerica in the next lecture on,

and much of the material is covered in Guns, Germs, and Steel.