Chapter 2 - Neolithic and Early Urban Characteristics Flashcards
Though what years were humans living in small permanent settlements?
12,500 - 10,000 BC
Through what years were increased settlements, domestication of plants, domestication of animals, and pottery production begin?
10,000 - 5000 BC
What is important about the Fertile Crescent?
It is the location of the domestication of plants
How do we know when humans domesticated plants?
Settlements leave plant remains, animal bones, tools, etc
Why is the development of early villages and domestication important in human history?
Relationship between city and countryside begins to form, family/tribe mentality vs. urban community mentality, population increase
Why is the variation in the landscape of the Near East important in the development of human settlement?
Create supply and demand on an intersettlement scale
What is the time period for pre-pottery neolithic (PPN)?
10,000 - 7000/6800 BC
What important events took place in the PPN?
Adoption or agriculture, sedentary communities
What is the time period of pottery neolithic (PN)?
7000/6800 - 5000 BC
What important events occurred during the PN?
Metallury/cermaic production, proto-urban/urban settlements
What are the typical size of the settlements in the PN?
10-20 houses,
What are the houses in the PN settlements typically made of?
Waddle and daub superstructure
Which city is sometimes called “the first city in the world”?
Jericho
What was Jericho built over?
The earliest hunter/gatherer evidence (ca. 9000)
What does the fact that Jericho is built over a hunter/gatherer site mean?
These humans may have been returning to a place their ancestors utilized
What does the presence of a fortification wall imply about Jericho and the humans who built it?
Specialized labour, maybe a government, need for protection (peer polity interaction), marking the boarder of a city
What are 3 characteristics of PPNA homes?
Sunken floors, circular, post holes
What are some characteristics of PPNB homes?
Rectilinear, architecturally complex, focus on individual households, maybe social stratification
Where are the burial grounds located in the PPNB era?
Intramural (usually beneath households)
What are secondary burials in the PPN era?
Bodies striped of flesh by carrion birds and other natural processes (only some received this process)
What evidence is there for ancestor worship in the PPN?
Skulls were found in shrines (maybe household identity)
What does the presence of imported good in the PPN settlements indicate?
Trade and a complex political economy
What urban characteristics do we see in the PPN settlements?
Nucleation, specialist labour force, architecture, maybe burial art, and trade
