Domestication and Complexity

Question 1

When is the Mesolithic time period?

Answer 1

14000 - 10000 BP
Middle Stone Age
See Natuflans (13000 - 9800 BC in text)
Characterized by
1. Broad spectrum foraging (people gathering everything and staying in one place longer)
2. Sedentarism = permanent habitation increases
3. New tool types - composite microlithic tools

2 big questions from this era - why and how did people start to domesticate plants and animals
Why did we stop being hunted gathers and move into larger groups

Question 2

Highlighted question from slides -What is the Neolithic period?

Answer 2

Is the New Stone Age and the era when food production begins (domestication if plants and animals)

• also results in more dependence on people
• modification of the environment/niches
• location of early domesticates (see textbook)

Question 3

Highlighted question from slides - What is domestication?

Answer 3

Human modification of a species to make them more useful and productive

Question 4

Highlighted question from slides - Explain the model of how plants are domesticated

Answer 4

1. Wild plant is procured
2. Wild plant is produced from procured plants
3. Wild plant is cultivated
4. Ultimately leading to agriculture use (see textbook as well)

Question 5

Highlighted question from slides - What are the different ways that scientist can identify if domestication has occurred in plants

Answer 5

1. Rachis is stronger
2. Seeds/fruits are larger and more plentiful
3. Weaker husk
4. Seeds all mature at same time
5. Art and written record

Question 6

Highlighted question from slides - Describe the model for animal domestication

Answer 6

1. Random hunting moves to
2. Controlled hunting
3. Which is followed by herd following
4. Then loose herding
5. Which changes to close herding
6. And ultimately industrial farming

READ model in textbook

Question 7

Highlighted questions from slides - How can scientist tell if an animal has been domesticated

Answer 7

1. Outside its natural range
2. Morphological changes ( less or lose of horns, less robust, chance in hair)
3. Increase in relative numbers of a species
4. Gender ratio imbalance
   5 evidence of disease like tuberculosis
   6 art and written records

Question 8

Highlighted question from slides - What impacts did the Neolithic have?

Answer 8

Start of
domestication which lead to:
1. Increased sedentarism 
2. Population growth 
3. Environmental degradation 
4. Increased trade
5. Increased complexity
6. Decline in health - disease, war, work arthritis, famine and malnutrition