The Neolithic Age: How the Agricultural Revolution Changed the Course of Human Civilization

After the development of human civilization on Earth, there came a time when their traditional habits began to change. In the Paleolithic era, human civilization was quite a step into the future. A new revolution started with his hands, which is called Neolithic revolution. This era is also called the era of agricultural revolution. Small bands of hunters and wandering nomads began farming. which requires residence in a particular place. Thus emerged some of the larger conglomerates that formed the outlines of today’s civilization.

About 10,000 years before the birth of Christ, agriculture first began in one of the fertile lands of the Middle East. Since then, Stone Age people started farming in other parts of the world. Although agriculture started, the need for Stone Age tools did not end, but new uses of them started. In this way, the people who came out of the last ice age, started a completely new way of living besides hunting animals.

Archaeologist Gordon Childe first coined the term ‘Neolithic Revolution’ in 1935. Through which he framed an important period in the development of human civilization. At which time humans began farming, breeding animals for sustenance, and establishing permanent settlements. It is these characteristics that distinguish newcomers from their ancestors.

Causes of Agricultural Revolution:

There is no reason to think that there was only one reason for the agricultural revolution. Although similar in some respects, each region of the world started such revolutions for almost different reasons. As a result, the opinions of the theorists can be seen to be different.

As some theorists believe, humans began farming as early as 14,000 years ago when the Earth began to warm. After the last ice age, surface temperatures began to rise. As a result, land is exposed over a wide area. They used this opportunity by sowing seeds on the ground. From this it can be understood that climate change played a role in creating the initial environment suitable for agriculture. As the fertile lands bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Persian Gulf to the east warmed, wheat and barley began to be cultivated there. The Paleolithic Netophians were the first to build permanent homes for themselves in these areas.

Many scientists believe that the human brain becomes more complex and organized over time. As a result, the ability to express people’s thoughts and creative skills on a large scale is created. People then move out of self-protective behavior and express an interest in exploring their surroundings. This is how new machines were invented, and people also started to show skill in artistic drawing. Religious rituals played a helpful role in their intellectual development. And from there, the idea of ​​planting crops in the soil was developed. And so many transformations did not happen overnight. Instead, thousands of years of development have given humans such a unified structure.

Another reason for the agricultural revolution could be security and accountability. When people once roamed here and there like nomads, they gathered food by hunting animals. And there is no chance that one day’s food will be eaten another day. As a result, there was no way to stay in one place for long.

Once they started growing crops, there was a need for a specific place to look after them. As a result, people build settlements around their crops. Earlier, people had nothing to say about their own property. The concept of ‘own property’ arose after the creation of cropland and settlement. And adequate security measures are needed to protect them. This is where family responsibilities as well as social security and accountability become important. This is how humans emerge as social beings.

Life style of people after agricultural revolution:

Çatalhüyü in southern Turkey is home to many settlements dating back to the Agrarian Revolution. These artifacts have been preserved by the archeology department there. As a result, many researchers from far and wide have conducted research activities in the protected area. Through their research, many unknown aspects of the Neolithic Age have come before us. In particular, we can get an idea of ​​how the daily life of the Neolithic people was.

Archaeologists have discovered more than a dozen settlements in Chatalhuyuk dating back to about 9,500 years ago. The settlements here are made of mud bricks. In settlements, every house is close to each other. As a result, there was a densely populated situation. Even the houses had no entrance doors, so one had to enter the house through the roof! They believe that more than 8000 people once lived in the settlements.

The people of Chatalhuyuk were very fond of art and spirituality. It can be easily identified from the walls of their houses. Wall paintings of men hunting cattle or mythical female goddesses were often painted in their interiors. Evidence of agriculture during that period is also found in the ancient village of Abu Hurairah on the banks of the Euphrates in present-day Syria. The village survived from 11,500 BC to 7000 BC.

The inhabitants of this village first took up animal hunting as part of their sport. Around 9,700 BC they began harvesting wild crops. Then they grind the grains and eat them as food. They used to flatten large stones as tools for grinding grains. During the Agricultural Revolution, farmers cultivated the first crops of wheat and barley in fertile lands. Then gradually they started sowing crops like lentils, chickpeas, peas etc. On the other hand, people were trying to tame the wandering animals and keep them close to the house. By doing this, some animals adapt to their pets, and some animals become separated from them. In this way diversity comes between livelihood and lifestyle.

It is important to know the reproductive characteristics of new crops before producing them. So the farmers used to produce any new crops experimentally. Then they mastered the associated aspects including breeding, harvesting and seeding times. After the discovery of the method of crop production, it started to spread everywhere. Scientists have found samples of rice seeds at least 7,700 years old from a swamp in China.

Squash production began in Mexico 10,000 years ago. Moreover, the production of corn started 9000 years ago. Along with agricultural products, the movement of cattle rearing which started, also started to spread in various areas. Among the native animals of these regions, several animals became domesticated. For example, goats are kept as domestic animals in Persian ibex. Later some other animals including sheep joined their group. Animal domestication, which originated in Mesopotamia between 10,000 and 13,000 years ago, spread to Asia within a few centuries. Then water buffalo and yak became domesticated animals in Tibet, China and India.

When people started transporting goods commercially from 4000 BC; The use of various animals such as donkeys, camels, cows etc. also increased. Another great success of the people of that time was to be able to associate these animals with different tasks including agriculture. Apart from this, the regular demand of meat and milk was also met from the animals. Along with a radical change in the human food cycle, the supply of nutrients also increased. This is how the story of the socialization of a nomadic community is written.

The outline of today’s civilization was formed in the Neolithic period. Every step they made and every paint scratch on the wall was a step towards civilization. The Neolithic followed by the Bronze Age and the Iron Age were accelerated by the Agricultural Revolution. In this way, people have passed each step and are sitting at the peak of civilization today. Did the people at that time think so much? And the journey of future civilization or which way? Only time will tell. As today’s civilization has told us, that’s just how high we are.

(Irfan Amin Patwary, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh)