This week’s reading focused on society's development from scavengers into an organized, intentional civilization. The book discussed the agricultural revolution, from which humans evolved as gatherers and hunters, to eventually establishing civilizations and communities.
The Agricultural Revolution transformed the way that human beings lived on the planet, and the way that they related to one another. An interesting development described in the reading was the way that the agricultural revolution moved humans from the Paleolithic matriarchal society into one where men had control and power. This developed because women were no longer able to compete with men in supplying food for the community. Initially, the bulk of the food a group ate was “produced” by the gathering work of women. With the development of planting and plowing, men became more useful as providers for the community, and women’s roles became more focused on bearing and raising children and preparing food. Once men became the providers, they were able to take control of their society, and maintained this control with the use of economic and militaristic strength.
Throughout history, those who were unable to adapt to the needs of a growing community could not survive for long. Societies that were unable to develop an agricultural lifestyle or one that domesticated and bred animals for food eventually died out (i.e., the Clovis people). Eventually, this group used up all of the resources available to them. The land was unable to sustain the population growth, and the communities died out unless they were able to develop techniques for growing their own food, or unless they were able to migrate.
Migration played a key role in the development and expansion of human civilization. The societies that eventually became the strongest were those whose restless nature pushed them to explore and develop other lands. This suggests that the inherent desire in some people to learn more, to explore more, to be more curious and inventive, was the characteristic most important in the development and expansion into other lands, and therefore into the economic success of communities. For example, the desire to move across water led to the invention of canoes, which allowed expansion into Australia and the surrounding islands. The individuals who innovated rose to higher levels in the community and/or left a community to develop a new one.
One of the coolest things in the book so far is the “snapshot” on page xlii showing the history of the universe on a “cosmic calendar.” This is the first time that the scale of the evolution of life on earth made sense to me. This graphic illustration was a very clear rendering of how long it took for human life to evolve, and how quickly things have moved along since the first human-like creatures appeared, and particularly since the agricultural revolution.
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