Question One
The Neolithic period refers to the cultural period of the Stone Age that is approximated to have begun about 10,000 in the Middle East and later extended in other regions of the world. This period is characterized by the development of agriculture in these regions as well as the making of polished stone implements (Ravilious, 2013, p. 38). This age is considered as the final part of the Stone Age. The era followed the terminal Holocene Epipalaeolithic periods and begun with the rise of farming that brought about agricultural revolution, also referred to as the Neolithic Revolution. In different regions of the world, depending on the metals that were available, the widespread of metal tools in the Bronze Age, Copper Age, and Iron Age ended the Neolithic Age. However, unlike other periods in history characterized by chronological events, this period is characterized by cultural and behavioral characteristics, which include the use of domestic and wild crops, as well as the domestication of animals.
The Neolithic Period is the China
The regional Neolithic period in China was a very long period that took about 2000 years. During this period, there were several distinct cultures of the southern and the Northern China based on rice and millet respectively. This period marks the transition from a nomadic hunting and gathering Chinese societies to settling agrarian societies. The Chinese societies also domesticated animals such as water buffalos, chickens, geese, dogs and pigs (Ravilious, 2013, p. 38). In addition to the staple millet and rice, the Chinese Neolithic societies supplemented their agricultural supplies with a variety of nuts, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and aquatic plants. Technology also improved during this period as better stone tools were used to clear and prepare the land. The tools varied from every region including oval-shaped axes in central and northwest China, square- and trapezoid-shaped axes in the east, and axes with stepped shoulders in the southeast (Ravilious, 2013, p. 38).
The Neolithic Period is the Middle East
During the Pleistocene (Ice Age), the Middle East was much colder and drier, but became warmer and wetter at the beginning of the Holocene (Bar-Yosef, 2011, p. 175). This climate brought about the widespread of pistachio and oak along the coasts of the Eastern Mediterranean. The grassland steppes also increased and were filled with grazing deer, gazelles, wild cattle and goats, and wild donkeys (Gibbons, 2006, p. 1292). Wild wheat and barley naturally grew at the coastal zone. Like the Chinese Neolithic societies, the Middle East hunters and gathers gave up their nomadic lifestyles to harvest the abundant wheat and barley.
However, by around 9,000 BC, the fluctuations in the climatic conditions narrowed the supply of food as wheat and barley could not perfectly grow in the regions as before. With the increase in population, the families needed more food (Bar-Yosef, 2011, p. 175). In some regions, the Natufians gave up farming and returned to mobile hunting and gathering. However, in other areas, especially around the Mediterranean, they resorted to watering of the plants to increase their agricultural productivity. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic period saw the major face of domestication of animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs (Zong, Chen, Innes, Chen, Wang, & Wang, 2007, p. 459). Iran was the first region to domesticate animals and the idea later spread to Levant, where the Pre-Pottery Neolithic societies adopted the same (Riehl, Zeidi, Conard, & Nicholas, 2013, p. 66).
Conclusion
The major similarities and differences between the Neolithic periods in China and the Middle East are based on the types of animals and plants that were domesticated in the region. While the Chinese domesticated millet and rice, wheat and barley were domesticated in the latter. Both societies gave up their former ways of life to adapt to agriculture. Additionally, they domesticated almost similar animals, which were formerly wild animals for food and for domestic usages such as water buffalos and donkeys in China and the Middle East respectively to carry goods.
Question Two
The evolution of agriculture is the most significant development in human history since it has made major contributions to the human society. The major development of the agricultural evolution is related to an increase in food production, which is also associated with several advantages such as motorization, large scale mechanization, specialization, use of chemicals, and biological selection in the developed countries (Robson, 2013, p. 32). It has also been attributed to expansion of irrigated surfaces from about 80 million ha in the 1950s to about 300 million ha today (Robson, 2013, 32). Arable land and land under permanent crops have also significantly increased with the development of several farming systems such as fish farming, livestock rearing, and combining crops among others.
The evolution of agriculture brought about significant changes in the human history. Significantly, this period brought about a change in the lifestyles of the human society. Before the agrarian revolution, the human society was only hunters and gatherers. Men went out to the field to hunt for wild animals as women were gathering. However, with the agricultural revolution, both men and women would require the farm for survival. A major change in the lifestyles was the family setup. Men married more women to increase the number of children, who would work, thereby, making a surplus in agricultural production. It led to an increase in the world population and the ability of the human population to experiment with more opportunities. As opposed to the previous ages when people only produced food for subsistence, extra food was produced to feed the increasingly larger families and to save for the droughts.
The henges and megaliths of Europe are some of the significant advantages of the agricultural revolution in human history. Before the 18th century, the British society was rural and agrarian. The strip system was used in the villages. In the strip system, individuals would own strips of land as other strips would be left for grazing (Bollongino et al., 2013, p. 480). Later the enclosure system was introduced. It entailed moving to a system of farming smaller enclosed lands that lie next to each other for small holdings (Bollongino et al., 2013, p. 481). With the introduction of the crop rotation system, the henges were introduced in Europe so as to ensure that each crop was grown in different henges. Additionally, the megaliths were used to develop stone tools. However, these megaliths were neglected in former periods.
Works Cited:
Bar-Yosef, Ofer. "Climatic Fluctuations And Early Farming In West And East Asia." Current Anthropology (2011): S175. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 1 July 2014.
Bollongino, RuthNehlich, OlafRichards, Michael P.Orschiedt, JörgThomas, Mark G.Sell, ChristianFajkošova, ZuzanaPowell, AdamBurger, Joachim. "2000 Years Of Parallel Societies In Stone Age Central Europe." Science 342.6157 (2013): 479-481. Professional Development Collection. Web. 1 July 2014.
Gibbons, Ann. "Ancient Figs Push Back Origin Of Plant Cultivation." Science 312.5778 (2006): 1292. Professional Development Collection. Web. 1 July 2014.
Ravilious, Kate. "Neolithic Europe's Remote Heart." Archaeology 66.1 (2013): 38. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 1 July 2014.
Riehl, SimoneZeidi, MohsenConard, Nicholas J. "Emergence Of Agriculture In The Foothills Of The Zagros Mountains Of Iran." Science 341.6141 (2013): 65-67. Professional Development Collection. Web. 1 July 2014.
Robson, David. "Civilisation's True Dawn. (Cover Story)." New Scientist 220.2937 (2013): 32. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 1 July 2014.
Zong, Y.Chen, Z.Innes, J. B.Chen, C.Wang, Z.Wang, H. "Fire And Flood Management Of Coastal Swamp Enabled First Rice Paddy Cultivation In East China." Nature 449.7161 (2007): 459. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 1 July 2014.
