How Did The Interaction Between Homo Sapiens And Forests Develop And Change Through Hunter-gatherer Times And The Age Of Agriculture?

The Neolithic Revolution

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The Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Revolution is also recognized as the Agricultural Revolution. It started 10,000 years ago and completely changed the human way of living, eating, and interacting with each other. It played a key role in clearing the way for modern civilization. The fundamental source of food for the hunter-gatherers was fishing and hunting of animals. They used to forage for some nutrients and vegetation like honey. Anthropologists have successfully found numerous evidence of hunting and gathering using the lives of Homo sapiens and their past ancestors. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"BvXqUveZ","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Society, 2019)","plainCitation":"(Society, 2019)"},"citationItems":[{"id":92,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/87ZAHpff/items/FAR4RD6Q"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/87ZAHpff/items/FAR4RD6Q"],"itemData":{"id":92,"type":"webpage","title":"Hunter-Gatherer Culture","container-title":"National Geographic Society","abstract":"Hunter-gatherer culture was the way of life for early humans until around 11 to 12,000 years ago. The lifestyle of hunter-gatherers was based on hunting animals and foraging for food.","URL":"http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/hunter-gatherer-culture/","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Society","given":"National Geographic"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019",8,19]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Society, 2019)

Before the practice of hunting and gathering, people used to hunt on the animal remains left behind by the predators. Mobility was used as one of the survival strategies by the hunter-gatherers as they were not dependent on agriculture for their food. A very large area of land (500-700 square miles) was required by the hunter-gatherers for their search for food and survival. This was one of the major reasons which made the establishment of life-long settlements impossible and impractical. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"jY6kXyYO","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Society, 2019)","plainCitation":"(Society, 2019)"},"citationItems":[{"id":92,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/87ZAHpff/items/FAR4RD6Q"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/87ZAHpff/items/FAR4RD6Q"],"itemData":{"id":92,"type":"webpage","title":"Hunter-Gatherer Culture","container-title":"National Geographic Society","abstract":"Hunter-gatherer culture was the way of life for early humans until around 11 to 12,000 years ago. The lifestyle of hunter-gatherers was based on hunting animals and foraging for food.","URL":"http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/hunter-gatherer-culture/","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Society","given":"National Geographic"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019",8,19]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Society, 2019)

Hunters and Gatherers used to travel around the world in search of food during the Neolithic period. But then a sudden change of events was recorded. The hunters became farmers, upgrading their lifestyles to a more peaceful and settled one. The exact reasons and dates for this tremendous change are still unclear and debated throughout the world. However, the evidence of this major shift is readily available and based on them, many documentaries have been developed. It is believed that people started the practice of Farming independently for the first time in the area of Fertile Crescent located in the Middle East. Therefore, the term, “agricultural revolution” is very broad and it covers a series of revolutionary events that happened in different places at different times. CITATION ERI19 \l 1033 (BLAKEMORE, 2019)

The reasons for the revolution are multiple and many hypotheses are developed to explain this complete turn of events. One possible reason may be the shortage of food. The increase in population may have increased the competition and requirement of food, developing a need for farming. There was no real work for the elders and children at that time. Thus, another possible reason why people may have started farming is to involve the children and elders in the process of growing food. Humans may have believed that their lives are dependent on the plants and alternatively, plants are dependent on them for their survival. The increasing and continuous advancements in technology gave rise to various theories, both new and ever-evolving, about the reasons of the agricultural revolution. CITATION ERI19 \l 1033 (BLAKEMORE, 2019)

However, the revolution of humans from foraging and hunting to farming has made them more civilized and settled. It is believed that humans started farming barley, and gathering seeds and plants, thousands of years ago. With the passage of time, these farmers became better at their work and started producing crops and seeds that required special storage for their growth. These events encouraged and stimulated population growth as the food available now was more than ever. However, the storage and preservation of these seeds and crops required a more settled and developed environment. CITATION ERI19 \l 1033 (BLAKEMORE, 2019)

Animal domestication

The domestication of animals was started as soon as humans started farming. Many pieces of evidence of goat and sheep herding have been discovered in Anatolia and Iraq about 10,000 years ago. Farming became more intensive when these domesticated animals were utilized as labor. They also proved to be a vital nutritional source at that time by providing meat and milk for the rapidly increasing populations. CITATION His18 \l 1033 (Editors, 2018)

When the Neolithic revolution started, many hunter-gatherers were not ready to accept it and many opposed it. The hunter-gatherer culture persisted and continued until modern times. There were numerous hunter-gatherers in different parts of Europe and America in 1500 C.E. However, a drastic decrease in the population of hunter-gatherers is recorded in the last five hundred years. ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"jH5RRp2U","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Society, 2019)","plainCitation":"(Society, 2019)"},"citationItems":[{"id":92,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/87ZAHpff/items/FAR4RD6Q"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/87ZAHpff/items/FAR4RD6Q"],"itemData":{"id":92,"type":"webpage","title":"Hunter-Gatherer Culture","container-title":"National Geographic Society","abstract":"Hunter-gatherer culture was the way of life for early humans until around 11 to 12,000 years ago. The lifestyle of hunter-gatherers was based on hunting animals and foraging for food.","URL":"http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/hunter-gatherer-culture/","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Society","given":"National Geographic"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019",8,19]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Society, 2019)

The consequences of the agricultural revolution were huge and quite difficult for humans to handle. They (consequences) have been linked from civil inequality (an aftereffect of increased human dependence on the fields) to lower nutritional levels. Also, a sudden rise of many infections (contracting from domesticated animals) was recorded. But the new era provided the people with improved and better technology and considerable advancements and improvements in arts, trade, and knowledge CITATION ERI19 \l 1033 (BLAKEMORE, 2019).

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY BLAKEMORE, E. (2019, April 5). What was the Neolithic Revolution? Retrieved from nationalgeographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/topics/reference/neolithic-agricultural-revolution/

Editors, H. (2018, January 12). Neolithic Revolution. Retrieved from HISTORY: https://www.history.com/topics/pre-history/neolithic-revolution

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Society, N. G. (2019, August 19). Hunter-Gatherer Culture. Retrieved from National Geographic Society website: http://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/hunter-gatherer-culture/