Chapter 2 Targets

Question 1

Agricultural Revolution:

Answer 1

Also known as the Neolithic Revolution, this is the transformation of human (and world) existence caused by the deliberate cultivation of particular plants and the deliberate taming and breeding of particular animals.

Question 2

Austronesian:

Answer 2

An Asian-language family whose speakers gradually became the dominant culture of the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Pacific islands, thanks to
their mastery of agriculture.

Question 3

Banpo:

Answer 3

A Chinese archeological site, where the remains of a significant Neolithic village have been found. (pron.bahn-poe)

Question 4

Bantu:

Answer 4

An African-language family whose speakers gradually became the dominant culture of eastern and southern Africa, thanks to their agricultural
techniques and, later, their ironworking skills. (pron. BAHN-too)

Question 5

Bantu migration:

Answer 5

The spread of Bantu-speaking peoples from their homeland in what is now southern Nigeria or Cameroon to most of Africa, in a process that started ca. 3000 b.c.e. and continued for several millennia.

Question 6

broad spectrum diet:

Answer 6

Archeologists’ term for the diet of gathering and hunting societies, which included a wide array of plants and animals.

Question 7

Cahokia:

Answer 7

An important agricultural chiefdom of North America that flourished around 1100 C.E. (pron. cah-HOKE-ee-ah)

Question 8

Çatalhüyük:

Answer 8

An important Neolithic site in what is now Turkey. (pron. cha-TAHL-hoo-YOOK)

Question 9

chiefdom:

Answer 9

A societal grouping governed by a chief who typically relies on generosity, ritual status, or charisma rather than force to win obedience from the
people.

Question 10

diffusion:

Answer 10

The gradual spread of agricultural techniques without extensive population movement.

Question 11

domestication:

Answer 11

The taming and changing of nature for the benefit of humankind.

Question 12

end of the last Ice Age:

Answer 12

A process of global warming that began around 16,000 years ago and ended about 5,000 years later, with the earth enjoying a climate similar to that of our own time; the end of the Ice Age changed conditions for human beings, leading to increased population and helping to pave the way for agriculture.

Question 13

Fertile Crescent:

Answer 13

Region sometimes known as Southwest Asia that includes the modern states of Iraq, Syria, Israel/Palestine, and southern Turkey; the earliest home of agriculture.

Question 14

horticulture:

Answer 14

Hoe-based agriculture, typical of early agrarian societies.

Question 15

intensification:

Answer 15

The process of getting more in return for less; for example, growing more food on a smaller plot of land.

Question 16

Jericho:

Answer 16

Site of an important early agricultural settlement of perhaps 2,000 people in present-day Israel.

Question 17

Mesopotamia:

Answer 17

The valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in present-day Iraq.

Question 18

native Australians:

Answer 18

Often called “Aboriginals” (from the Latin ab origine, the people who had been there “from the beginning”), the natives of Australia continued (and to some extent still continue) to live by gathering and hunting, despite the transition to agriculture in nearby lands.

Question 19

pastoral society:

Answer 19

A human society that relies on domesticated animals rather than plants as the main source of food; pastoral nomads lead their animals to seasonal grazing grounds rather than settling permanently in a single location.

Question 20

“secondary products revolution”:

Answer 20

A term used to describe the series of technological changes that began ca. 4000 b.c.e., as people began to develop new uses for their domesticated animals, exploiting a revolutionary new source of power.

Question 21

stateless societies:

Answer 21

Village-based agricultural societies, usually organized by kinship groups, that functioned without a formal government apparatus.

Question 22

teosinte:

Answer 22

The wild ancestor of maize. (pron. tay-oh- SIN-tay)

Question 23

The Agricultural Revolution marked a decisive turning point in human history. What evidence might you offer to support this claim, and how might you argue against it?

Answer 23

The development of new domesticated plants/animals, new technologies, and larger and more complex societies mark progress. However, it isn’t really decisive because people could support themselves before agriculture. Also, these changes led to new negative things such as gender and social inequality and disease.

Question 24

How did early agricultural societies differ from those of the Paleolithic era? How does the example of settled gathering and hunting peoples such as the Chumash complicate this comparison?

Answer 24

Agricultural societies were permanently settled while (most) Paleolithic Era societies weren’t. Diets were also different; Paleolithic peoples were generally healthier. The Chumash complicate this comparison because they were permanently settled but also hunter-gatherers.

Question 25

Was the Agricultural Revolution inevitable? Why did it occur so late in the story of humankind?

Answer 25

I don’t think it was inevitable; favorable weather conditions weren’t always there and the revolution didn’t happen until the weather changed. It occurred so late because the optimal conditions didn’t come for a long time. There could have also been a need for more food that we don’t know about (larger population for example).

Question 26

“The Agricultural Revolution provides evidence for ‘progress’ in human affairs.” How would you evaluate this statement?

Answer 26

I think that there was some progress, but that there was also a lot of negatives with the development of Agriculture. Some progress includes: growth of population, the beginning of human dominance on the planet, and an explosion of technological innovation. Some negatives include: growing social and gender inequality, general decline in nutrition and healthy diet, and the emergence of new and deadly diseases.

Question 27

What accounts for the emergence of agriculture after countless millennia of human life without it?

Answer 27

The end of the Ice Age made the world much more suitable for farming, and there could have been a need for more food.

Question 28

In what different ways did the Agricultural Revolution take shape in various parts of the world?

Answer 28

The main differences were in when certain groups picked up agriculture (some didn’t because of bad climate/geography or because they didn’t have good plants/resources for it) and in the plants/animals they farmed. For example, the Chinese farmed things like rice while South Americans farmed things like yams.

Question 29

In what ways did agriculture spread? Where and why was it sometimes resisted?

Answer 29

It mainly spread through the Diffusion, Migration, and Colonization of Agricultural Peoples. It was mainly resisted in areas that couldn’t farm well, and by people that didn’t need to farm.

Question 30

What was revolutionary about the Agricultural Revolution?

Answer 30

People could live in permanent settlements, and more food meant that larger populations could be supported.

Question 31

What different kinds of societies emerged out of the Agricultural Revolution?

Answer 31

Pastoral Societies, Agricultural Village Societies, and Chiefdoms.

Question 32

How did chiefdoms differ from stateless agricultural village societies?

Answer 32

Chiefdoms had no formal rulers or organization. They used a family lineage system for rulers, and rulers generally kept power through kindness and religious significance.

Stateless agricultural villages had no rulers, everyone worked together.