Slides___Stone_Age_Economics (1)

Introduction to Stone Age Economics

• Author: Juan Sebastian Salazar (18.02.C.11)

• Affiliation: Department of Economic History, UC3M, Madrid, Spain

• Date: February 11, 2025

Overview of Contents

1. Context

2. Stone Age Revolutions

   • Cognitive Revolution: The Dawn of History

   • Neolithic Revolution: Settlement and Growth

3. Determinants of Growth After Agriculture

Humanity’s Natural State: The Hunter-Gatherer Era

• Humanity’s natural state is defined as the life prior to agriculture.

• Timeframe: approximately 300,000 years ago to the Neolithic Revolution (circa 10,000 years ago)

• Characterized by small, mobile groups of around 150 individuals:

  • Egalitarian societies with little to no private property.

  • Major cognitive shift around 70,000 years ago led to structured cultures and innovations.

  • Early tool use, notably the control of fire, which expanded diet and metabolic efficiency:

    • Increased edible food variety

    • Redirected metabolic energy toward brain development

• These developments laid the groundwork for future agricultural advancements and civilization.

Cognitive Revolution: Colonization of the Globe

• Gradual productivity growth contributed to population expansion.

• Around 150,000 years ago, humans began dispersing from Africa, leading to global colonization:

  • Technological advancements, such as:

    • Ships for navigation

    • Bows for hunting efficiency

    • Oil lamps for nighttime activity

• This period also saw the eradication of other hominin species, due to enhanced creativity and communication of Homo sapiens.

The Agricultural Revolution: A Turning Point in Human History

Stage I: Shift to Agriculture

• Beginning around 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent of the Mediterranean Levant, this shift saw groups cultivating crops and domesticating animals:

  • Practices emerged independently in regions like North Africa (sorghum), China (rice), and Central America (maize).

Stage II: Challenges and Advancements

• Transition to farming faced initial challenges due to material scarcity from reliance on limited food supplies.

• However, agricultural productivity increased over time, facilitating improved living standards.

• Key developments included:

  • Establishment of property rights over land

  • Emergence of social stratification due to food surpluses

  • Formation of political structures to manage resources

• This shift marked the rise of organized societies, dramatically impacting economic development.

Social Dynamics and the 150 Threshold

Chimpanzee Politics

• Prior to the Cognitive Revolution, human groups rarely exceeded 150 individuals due to limitations in personal trust and social cohesion.

• In greater groups, hierarchies become necessary; in smaller groups, personal trust sustains social interactions.

• Human political dynamics at similar group sizes mirror those of chimpanzees, indicating that early human societies drew from primate behaviors.

Escaping Genetic Limitations

• Before the Cognitive Revolution, migration led to early Homo sapiens groups facing extinction against local hominids.

• Post-Cognitive Revolution, enhanced cognitive abilities allowed these groups to thrive and expand globally.

The Cognitive Revolution: Power of Social Constructs

• The Cognitive Revolution facilitated the emergence of social constructs, collective ideas shaping human behavior.

• These constructs allowed larger group cohesion beyond the 150-person threshold, enabling widespread cooperation.

• This formation of culture through accumulated shared constructs marked a pivotal point in human history, establishing Homo sapiens as the premier social species.

Innovations and Economic Growth

Early Innovations and Limits

• Key early innovations like fire increased hunting and gathering productivity, yet environmental factors constrained growth.

• Agriculture eventually overcame these limitations, enabling larger groups and long-term settlements, setting the stage for complex societies.

The Neolithic Revolution: Domesticating Plants and Animals

• Early humans faced significant challenges in plant domestication due to inedibility and toxicity of many wild plants.

• With the Cognitive Revolution aiding observation and knowledge transfer, early farmers gradually selected and domesticated plants for better cultivation.

Domestication of Animals

• Unlike plants, animals posed greater challenges due to their less cooperative nature.

• Successful domestication required specific circumstances akin to a ‘happy marriage,’ as most species struggle in captivity.

Geographical Luck

• The Neolithic Revolution's success was significantly influenced by geography, particularly in regions like the Fertile Crescent, rich in domesticable species.

• Agricultural diffusion allowed for the spread of techniques and species, albeit with environmental barriers hindering progress in other regions.

Economic Growth Leading to the Industrial Revolution

Proximity to Agricultural Centers

• Success in early agriculture arose from both luck regarding resource availability and geographical conditions favoring technological diffusion.

• Developed regions before the Industrial Revolution either independently developed agriculture or thrived along favorable axes for diffusion.

• Vertical continental orientations, like in America and Africa, faced challenges in agricultural transmission, affecting economic advancement.

Innovations Beyond Agriculture

• The success of agriculture enabled population specialization, contributing to social stratification and the creation of writing systems for record-keeping.

• Writing developed independently across various agricultural centers, although geographical barriers restricted the spread of innovative writing systems.

Introduction to Stone Age Economics

Author: Juan Sebastian SalazarAffiliation: Department of Economic History, UC3M, Madrid, SpainDate: February 11, 2025

Overview of Contents

Context

The Stone Age revolutions, encompassing the Cognitive Revolution and the Neolithic Revolution, mark significant shifts in human history.

Humanity’s Natural State: The Hunter-Gatherer Era

Humanity's natural state prior to agriculture spans approximately 300,000 years ago to the Neolithic Revolution, around 10,000 years ago. During this period, small, mobile groups consisting of around 150 individuals formed egalitarian societies with minimal private property. A major cognitive shift occurred approximately 70,000 years ago, leading to the development of structured cultures and innovations. The control of fire was an early tool use that expanded the human diet and improved metabolic efficiency, redirecting energy towards brain development—these crucial developments laid the foundation for future agricultural advancements and civilization.

Cognitive Revolution: Colonization of the Globe

About 150,000 years ago, humans began dispersing from Africa, leading to global colonization, facilitated by gradual productivity growth and technological advancements such as ships for navigation, bows for hunting efficiency, and oil lamps for nighttime use. This period also witnessed the extinction of other hominin species, driven by the enhanced creativity and communication of Homo sapiens.

The Agricultural Revolution: A Turning Point in Human History

The Agricultural Revolution began around 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent of the Mediterranean Levant, characterized by the cultivation of crops and domestication of animals. Similar agricultural practices developed independently in regions like North Africa (sorghum), China (rice), and Central America (maize). Farmers faced challenges initially due to reliance on limited food supplies, but over time, agricultural productivity improved, leading to better living standards. Key developments from this period included the establishment of property rights over land, the emergence of social stratification due to food surpluses, and the formation of political structures to manage resources. This marked the rise of organized societies and significantly impacted economic development.

Social Dynamics and the 150 Threshold

Prior to the Cognitive Revolution, human groups rarely exceeded 150 individuals due to the necessity of personal trust and social cohesion. As group size increased, hierarchies became necessary. The political dynamics of these groups mirror those of chimpanzees, reflecting the primate behaviors that influenced early human societies. Migration during this time often led Homo sapiens into extinction against local hominids. However, post-Cognitive Revolution, enhanced cognitive abilities allowed these groups to thrive and expand globally.

The Cognitive Revolution: Power of Social Constructs

The Cognitive Revolution facilitated the emergence of social constructs that shaped human behavior, allowing for greater group cohesion beyond the 150-person threshold and enabling widespread cooperation. This formation of culture through shared constructs was a pivotal point in human history that established Homo sapiens as the premier social species.

Innovations and Economic Growth

Key early innovations, such as the use of fire, increased the productivity of hunting and gathering, but environmental factors constrained growth until agriculture emerged. The Neolithic Revolution involved significant challenges in plant domestication due to the inedibility and toxicity of many wild plants. The Cognitive Revolution aided early farmers in selecting and cultivating more suitable plants. Successful domestication of animals required specific circumstances akin to a ‘happy marriage’ due to their less compliant nature. Geography played a crucial role in the success of the Neolithic Revolution, particularly in regions like the Fertile Crescent, rich in domesticable species, while agricultural diffusion allowed the spread of agricultural techniques and species despite environmental barriers.

Economic Growth Leading to the Industrial Revolution

Success in early agriculture stemmed from luck regarding resources and geographical conditions favorable to technological diffusion. Developed regions before the Industrial Revolution either independently cultivated agriculture or thrived along axes conducive to such diffusion. Certain vertical continental orientations, like those in America and Africa, faced challenges in the transmission of agricultural techniques, affecting future economic advancement. The success of agriculture also enabled specialization within populations, which contributed to social stratification and the creation of writing systems for record-keeping—writing developed independently across various agricultural centers, although geographical barriers restricted the spread of these innovative systems.