Unit 0: The Environment & The Neolithic Revolution

Unit 0: The Environment

Recommended Supplemental Viewing

• The Great Human Odyssey
• Crash Course Big History #7: Migration and Intensification
• Crash Course World History #1: The Agricultural Revolution
• History of Mankind: Domestication of the Dog
• Khan Academy: The Neolithic Revolution

Peopling the Planet: Migration Out of Africa

Chronological Expansion of Homo Sapiens

• Circa $90,000 - 80,000$ years ago
      - Migration across the Sahara and Arabian Deserts.
      - Technological capabilities: Humans were able to store and preserve food and water using fire and salt as a preservative.
      - Arrival regions: Middle East and North Africa.
• Circa $60,000$ years ago
      - Arrival regions: East Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.
      - Technological milestone: First documented use of boating technology.
      - Environmental impact: Migration caused large-scale extinction of large mammals in the region.
• Circa $50,000 - 45,000$ years ago
      - Arrival regions: Europe, Northern Asia, and Siberia.
      - Adaptation: Humans adapted to colder climates and began hunting new animal species.
      - Hominid interaction: Encountered Neanderthals; this species went extinct within $10,000 - 15,000$ years of Homo sapien arrival.
• Circa $30,000 - 15,000$ years ago
      - Migration into the Americas via the "Land Bridge" (Beringia).
      - Expansion pattern: Filtered south; evidence of human activity is found in Peru by $12,000$ years ago.
      - Environmental impact: Large-scale extinction of large mammals throughout the Americas.

Migration Routes and Evidence

• Foundational Fossil and Artifact Evidence:
      - Omo Kibish, Ethiopia: $-195,000$ years ago.
      - Herto, Ethiopia: $-160,000$ years ago.
      - Skhul and Qatzeh, Israel: $120,000 - 90,000$ years ago (shell beads $-110,000$ years old).
      - Blombos Caves, South Africa: $75,000 - 65,000$ years ago (engraved ochre $-77,000$ years old, shell beads $-75,000$ years old).
      - Lake Mungo, Australia: $-46,000$ years ago.
      - Pestera cu Oase, Romania: $-40,000$ years ago.
      - Tianyuan, China: $-40,000$ years ago.
      - Cactus Hill, US: Small blades dated $20,000 - 17,000$ years ago.
      - Monte Verde, Chile: Flake tools and stone points dated $-15,000$ years ago.
• The Two Prime Candidate Routes (EFCHED Study):
      - The Northern Route: Ancestors moved from East Sub-Saharan Africa across the Sahara Desert, through Sinai, and into the Levant. Historically possible during "humid corridors" when huge lakes existed in Chad and Libya (around $115,000$ and $10,000$ years ago).
      - The Southern Route: Migration from Djibouti/Eritrea (Horn of Africa) across the Bab el-Mandeb strait into Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula.
      - Environmental Factor: During the last Ice Age ($80,000 - 11,000$ years ago), sea levels dropped, making the Bab el-Mandeb strait a narrow, shallow channel rather than its current $30\,km$ width.

Early Life: The Paleolithic Era

Social and Economic Structure

• Group Organization: Small groups consisting of $20 - 40$ individuals, primarily organized based on kinship.
• Lifestyle: Hunter-gatherer (H/G) existence.
• Gender Roles and Status:
      - Men: Generally hunted; often away for multiple days.
      - Women: Gathered food closer to home. Gathering was more productive than hunting. This productivity, combined with childbearing, afforded women a high social status.
• Mobility: Nomadic, following seasonal food sources.
• Environmental Relationship: Technology allowed humans to advance up the food chain, but they remained at the mercy of conditions like drought, flooding, and disease.

The Transition: Settling Down

The End of the Last Ice Age ($20,000 - 15,000$ years ago)

• Climate Shift: Global climate became warmer, leading to an explosion of plant and animal life.
• Impact on Mobility: Greater access to food meant less nomadism was required; kinship groups began settling in permanent locations.
• Consequences of Sedentism:
      - Storage of surplus goods.
      - Accumulation of wealth.
      - Expansion of exchange networks.
      - Cultural and technical diffusion.

Developing Agricultural Foundations ($14,000 - 4,000$ years ago)

• Resource Management: Hunter-gatherers settled to take advantage of abundance.
• Technology for Harvesting: Development of the sickle, hoe, crude shovels, and the plow.
• Environmental Manipulation: Use of technology (fire and tools) to eradicate unwanted species and favor helpful species.
• Population Dynamics: Efficient foraging led to population growth, eventually creating population strains.

The Neolithic Revolution

Core Processes

• Agriculture: The cultivation of plants for food.
• Domestication: A slow, selective process taking thousands of years to tame animals and breed more productive crops.
      - Animals: Selecting and taming more docile individuals.
      - Crops: Selecting for productivity, crossbreeding, and weeding out underperforming breeds.
• Intensification: The need to get more food from existing land to meet population pressures, resulting in massive environmental impacts (clearing land, diverting water for irrigation).

Regional Origins of Resources

• North America: Sunflower, dogs.
• Mesoamerica: Beans, gourds, maize, amaranth, squash, turkey.
• South America: Llamas, alpacas, guinea pigs, cotton, gourds, squash, beans, maize, potatoes.
• Africa: Oil palm, millet, yams, sorghum, cattle, donkeys.
• Fertile Crescent (Middle East): Wheat, barley, sheep, goats, flax, pigs.
• East/South Asia: Rice, millet, chickens, pigs, cattle, dogs.

Societal Impact

• Codependency: Humans became dependent on animals for food and labor; animals became dependent on humans for feed.
• Assimilation: The wealth of agricultural societies enticed H/G groups to join or be absorbed.
• Displacement: Agricultural societies multiplied and displaced or destroyed H/G groups, pushing them to less favorable environments.

Consequences of Agriculture

• Disease: Close habitation with animals introduced pandemic diseases. Trade networks and cities became "hotspots."
• Diet: Transitioned to a less diverse diet; dependency on a few specific crops/animals.
• Physical Health: Shorter life spans and more physical ailments due to intense manual labor.
• Power Dynamics: Food surplus became the source of social, economic, and political power. Those who controlled the surplus could exploit those who did not.

Mastering the Environment (Terraforming)

Technology and Innovation

• Settled cities and food surpluses allowed for the specialization of labor.
• Landscape Modification:
      - Roads were leveled and stoned to improve trade/travel.
      - Deforestation provided building materials and space for settlements.
      - Water diversion for irrigation, sewers, and drinking water.
      - Reshaping unsuitable land to make agriculture possible.

Environmental Consequences

• Dams/Irrigation: Diverted water away from natural plant and animal populations.
• Mining: Denuded regions of stone and forest to provide materials for roads and walls.
• Soil Degradation: Over-farming led to erosion and desertification.
• Fortifications: Walls changed animal migratory patterns and destroyed seasonal hunting patterns.

Examples of Historical Terraforming and Infrastructure

• Terraced Farming: Reshaping mountainsides into steps for cultivation.
• Chinampa Farming: "Floating gardens" used in Mesoamerica.
• Qanat Irrigation System: An ancient Persian system involving:
      - Mother Well: Main water source.
      - Access Shaft: For construction and maintenance.
      - Qanat Channel: The water-carrying channel.
      - Distribution: Network of dams and gates.
• Roman Aqueducts: Sophisticated stone structures for transporting water.
• Egyptian/Canal Irrigation: Diverting river water for agriculture.
• Lake Homs Dam, Syria: Built circa $280\,CE$.
• Hadrian's Wall, Scotland: Built circa $120\,CE$.

Questions & Discussion

• 8WOL Activity: Describe how we changed environments or biomes we entered as we populated the planet.
• 8WOL Prediction: Predict 2 things that are going to happen in the near future for our species once we begin to settle into permanent locations.
• Opinion Prompt: Was settling down, domesticating plants and animals, and beginning agriculture GOOD FOR US as a species and WHY?
• Modern Terraforming: Give 2 modern ways in which we terraform the Earth, intentionally or unintentionally.