Neolithic Societies and Early Civilizations

Key Terms:

• Domestication: Raising plants and animals for human use.
• Social Stratification: Different roles in society like pottery making or textile production.
• Sedentary Lifestyle: Settling down and living in houses rather than moving around.
• Civilization: Advanced societies with distinct features.

Key Points from Lecture:

1. Settling and Building Houses

• People began to live in constructed houses; example from Bosnia.
• Early villages had communal living arrangements for better support and childcare.
• Formation of tribes due to settled living and close familial relations.

2. Marriage and Community Relations

• Need to marry outside immediate village to avoid close genetic relationships.
• Marrying within distantly related tribes is generally safe.
• Settled agriculture increased fertility rates due to better nutrition.

3. Characteristics of Civilizations

• Domestication: Raising animals, planting crops.
• Social Stratification: Division of labor and social roles (pottery, textiles, farming).
• Writing: Emerged for record-keeping and financial transactions; earliest examples from Mesopotamia.
• Monumental Architecture: Building structures that last beyond a single generation (tangible legacies).
  • These four are essential for civilizations; other characteristics may vary.

4. Transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic

• Example: TV show The Walking Dead transitioning from hunting-gathering (Paleolithic) to settled farming in a prison (Neolithic).
• Results in social structure and differentiation of roles.

5. Examples of Early Neolithic Communities

• Jericho: Oldest known Neolithic community with significant structures like thick walls; located in the Levant.
• Stonehenge: Built over 1,600 years; believed to be a ceremonial center with astronomical purpose. Located in the UK.
• Easter Island: Known for its Moai statues; settled by Polynesians who thrived on local resources.

6. Additional Notes:

• Neolithic period marked by transition; gradual development of civilizations.
• Importance of understanding history with humility; a lot of it is speculative and influenced by current biases.
• Resources for further learning include English Heritage for Stonehenge and Smithsonian for Easter Island artifacts.