The Ups and Downs of the Neolithic Revolution

 The Neolithic Revolution, also known as the Agricultural Revolution, began around 10,000 B.C.E., and was essential to the creation civilization, as we know it today.  Agriculture allowed humans to stay in one territory and develop expanding communities.  Paleolithic hunter-gatherer tribes before then could only be comprised of twenty to thirty people.  In Paleolithic tribes, everyone had more or less equal status and equal influence, since everyone performed the same tasks and contributed evenly.  While this method of government works well in small groups, it could not support the societies as large as those that formed in the Neolithic Age.  With the different jobs agriculture also brought, came social hierarchy, allowing for the governing of larger populations. Men, being typically physically stronger than women, rose to a higher social status, as they were the ones who would plow most frequently.  Although agriculture was the primary, source of food, it was not the only.  Another great advancement, domestication, provided meat without needing to roam in search of large animals that were hunted to near extinction.  Also, because they were able to settle down in one area, Neolithic cultures also developed a greater connection with their environment, so more complex belief systems and traditions, like complicated burials, were created.   

Without agriculture we would not be able have the complex societies we have today, however, this more modern life also had its downsides.  Because grains became a large staple in the Neolithic diet, average health decreased.  Working in fields was, and still is, extremely strenuous, so many people had hunched backs from stooping and bad joints from duress.  The larger communities also saw corrupt leaders who took advantage of their power over the masses.  This problem is one that we still struggle with today, and is arguably the most harmful aspect of society.  This downside however, is an unavoidable part of large civilizations, so with prosperity, will always come other obstacles .