Lecture 10: Food Production Flashcards
In general, foraging societies tend to be
egalitarian (equality for all people)
Kottak and the Bible place humans in an original ________ which is preferable to the kinds of societies we live in now
state of nature
Western history idealizes ________ societies
hunter/gatherer
Broad spectrum revolution
hunted, collected, and fished a broader spectrum of resources in multiple locations
-varied and diverse diets
was revolutionary in the middle east because it led to food production
The vertical economy
Consists of 4 geographically close, but very different env. zones:
- highland plateau (highest part of land)
- Hilly flanks (subtropical wooded zone)
- Piedmont steppe (treeless plain)
- Alluvial plain (very fertile soil region)
fertile crescent
middle east
spanning modern-day Iraq, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan as well as the southeastern fringe of Turkey and the western fringes of Iran.
The hilly flanks or vertical economy is analogous to the
garden of Eden (because food grew easily and didn’t require too much toil from humans)
Agriculture origination in the Middle East
- When? Around 10,000 BP
- Why? The end of the ice age brought greater regional and local variation in climatic conditions (foragers could adopt a sedentary lifestyle) also the Natufians needed to produce more food than what was available in the wild
- How? around 11,000 BP drier conditions forced the Natufians to adopt new subsistence strategies like moving the wild grains to a well watered area
social, economic, environmental, and political changes associated with the advent of agriculture
The growth of agriculture resulted in intensification, which had important consequences for social organization.
Larger groups gave rise to new challenges and required more sophisticated systems of social administration.
Complex societies took the forms of larger agricultural villages, cities, city-states, and states, which shared many features.
Specialized labor gave rise to distinct social classes and enabled creative and innovative developments.
Systems of record-keeping and symbolic expression grew more complex, and many societies had systems of writing.
In contrast with broad spectrum foraging, domestication was more specialized and focused on a smaller number of food sources
-Domestication was the gradual result of attempts to recreate the Hilly franks economy in new climates
-reduces ecological diversity by cutting down trees and focusing on a few staple foods
natufians
(12,500-10,500 BP)
- worked out the initial adaptation to this array of climates
- Built permanent villages in the Hilly Flanks
- became sedentary to remain close to their grain
- Surplus!!
Surplus challenges (4)
- greater organization of harvest
- greater limitation of access
- increased routinization of distribution
- new limits on on consumption
resulted in the emergence of the state
attributes of early states
- larger and more densely populated than previous settlements
- productive farming economies supporting dense populations, often including cities
- taxation (accumulate resources to support specialists, increased control and power)
- monumental architecture (signify the rights and status of the rulers)
- had some form of record-keeping, usually a written script (like cuneiform)
- social stratification (unequal access to wealth and power)
domesticated wheat/barley
-Hard axis, brittle husks
(hard axis stays on the stalk, makes it easier to cut and transport)
(brittle husks make it easier for people to break into)
domesticated goats/sheep
- bred to be smaller and more docile
- bred to be more efficient producers of wool, hair, milk, fat and meat
pyramidal social form
- Top tier= surplus takers, the ruling elite
- Middle tier = production organizers, includes artisans and specialists
- Bottom tier= food producers, commoners, peasants
