Are we smarter than the rest of the animal kingdom? Of course. The human brain is extraordinary, but its power would have been wasted if humans were forever stuck in the Paleolithic Age. The Neolithic Revolution proved that humans are capable of greater things than just an endless search for food and allowed us to push our intellect to its fullest potential.  |
| image source: https://www.oaklandcc.edu/ASC/ASCah/images/math-calculus-diagram-DHD.gif |
When you're hungry, it's difficult to think about anything else than food - where do I find it, when can I eat. Prior to about 10,000
B.C.E., humans’ sources of food were not sustainable, and so their only goal in life was to find something to eat. Hunting and gathering
both involved risk, especially if one was hunting large animals, and they never
guaranteed success. Thus, the invention of agriculture (a 2,000 year process)
gave people a reliable source of food and consequentially laid the foundation
for all the other changes of the Neolithic Revolution by allowing people to focus their attention on other, more complicated tasks. This division of labor resulted in the invention of fields like architecture and metalurgy.
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| image source: http://aieseclife.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Midtown_Skyline_New_York_wallpaper.jpg |
Another important result of the Neolithic Revolution was the development of larger,
permanent communities. The birth of agriculture of course contributed to these
settlements but, once established, they gave rise to great cities and the idea
of a government, economy, and a religious body, all of which are unique to
humans. Structure and guidance in the form of a government and religion
promoted the development of written language, fine art, and scientific progress. This what
distinguishes humans from the rest of the animal kingdom – our ability to
change, adapt, and grow on the intellectual level.
Finally, I understand that the Neolithic Revolution established the framework for some of the world's biggest problems, such as gender inequality, the destruction of nature, and ultimately global warming. But it has also given us the means for solving these problems. We have time to go to school, read books, and talk about world issues. Humans were meant to think, a skill that would have been impossible to master without the Neolithic Revolution.
You have some fascinating ideas here. I am particularly interested in the point you make in the last paragraph about how our modern age both causes major problems, but also provides the potential for their solution. What a challenging idea that is!
ReplyDeleteI really like the images you include, but make sure that your words are connecting to them - I'm not entirely sure why you chose those particular ones.
Great job!
This is a really good post. Your ideas a great, and great, and you did a good job connecting them. You might want to expand on your points in the end, but it also works to leave the reader thinking, like you did. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you used images, but make sure you put them in places that fully connect to what you're saying. Aside from that, You have a lot of good points and I really enjoyed your last argument—that although the Neolithic Revolution caused these problems,it also gave us the intellect to solve them. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you acknowledged the arguments against the neolithic revolution and make counter arguments to them. I also liked how you explained how the Neolithic lead to everything we have today, and how all the progress we have no started with the invention of agriculture.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you used the photos to get your audience thinking about the long term results, they really add some punch to your point. I like your decisive points and your last paragraph adds some great points rather than just dying off. Great post
ReplyDeleteIt's very interesting your blog. I find the human memory fascinating and I like that you've linked it to food which is a key essential in survival. Did you know, that you can survive up to three weeks without food but only three days with out water?
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