1B.+The+Development+of+Ag.+and+Tech


 * The development of agriculture and technology**


 * a. Compare and contrast agricultural, pastoral, and foraging societies in Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia and their demographic characteristics.**
 * b. Identify the causes that led to the emergence of agriculture and technological change.**
 * c. Examine the impact of agriculture on the environment and the growth of villages.**
 * d. Determine the significance of the development of metal use and its impact.**

=**Comparison of agricultural, pastoral, and foraging societies in Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia and their demographic characteristics.**= Agriculture & Technology || Africa || Americas || Europe || Asia || Meroe Niger River valley Egypt || Inca Maya Aztec Pueblo Norte Chico || Greek city-states Rome Phoenicia || Xin Shang Zhou Qin Han Indus River valley Sumer Persia || Various tribes || Inuit Various tribes || Various tribes || Various tribes ||
 * Development of
 * Agricultural Societies || Axum
 * Foraging Societies || Pygmies
 * Pastoral Societies || Various tribes || Various tribes || Various tribes || Various tribes ||

The development of society has come a long way over many thousands of years. The types of societies can be categorized into three groups:


 * Agricultural** - A settled and self-sustaining society with a surplus of agricultural goods. Technologically advanced.
 * Foraging** - A settled society that may maintain some of its necessary food through agriculture, but still relies on hunting and gathering. Utilizes some technological advancements.
 * Pastoral** - A group of people that relies solely on hunting and gathering. They follow large herds of animals and hunt for the food they need, while gathering as they follow. Normally practices primitive technology.

There are differences within the three categories, and there are many factors attributed to the differences.

Different climates could alter technological progress. The technologies required by the Inuit tribes of Northern Canada are far different that those of Rome and the Greek city-states. The Inuit tribes are in an arctic climate, whereas Greece and Rome exist in a moderately warm climate. Due to these climates, the technological focus of the Inuit tribes was more on survival from freezing temperatures. Also, the Inuit peoples had no reason to invest in weapon advancements aside from hunting, because there were no hostile societies. This means that the Inuit could be less technologically developed due to their climate which caused a lack of proper hardships, such as war and large population growths. Comparatively, Greece and Rome were the center of war and large populations. To handle these large populations, increasingly complex technological advancements were required, such as the water supply systems found in Rome and Samos, and agricultural efficiency. Also, due to war, there was an ongoing battle to obtain technological superiority over a civilization's enemies. This effect can be seen today, where many new commercial technologies are primarily a result of publicized military technology in the world's superpowers.
 * The technological requirements to survive in the climates ancient societies lived in both induced technological development and limited it:**

Geographical obstacles and boundaries also alter technological progress. Many technological developments were required to overcome obstacles such as gorges and mountains. A good example of this innovation can be found in Rome, where sufficient fresh water is simply not available in the Tiber River, which borders Rome. Due to the large population of Rome, Roman officials found it necessary for engineers to construct a system of aqueducts to transport fresh water from streams found miles away. In Africa, however, the foraging Pygmy societies did not find it necessary to forge such technological feats, because they boasted a small population and could always move elsewhere in search of drinkable fresh water due to there lesser-developed settlements and existence in a less rugged terrain.
 * Geographical obstacles created technological variations in societies**:

The animals found in the regions where these societies lived had a large impact on the development of technology, too. Generally, Asia, Europe, and Africa had the luxury of a wide array of domesticable animals, whereas the Americas did not. Animals such as Oxen, Yak, Horses, and Cows lived throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa. These animals provided efficiency in farming, food production such as milk, and the capability of transporting larger amounts of goods. The increased efficiency in farming alone sparked a chain of events that arguably had the most impact. With a greater surplus of food, job specialization increased and many people were able to focus their time on the advancements of technology and academics. Also, with the capability of transporting larger amounts of goods, ideas and technologies were able to be shared more easily throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe. Because trade was nonexistent between the Americas and the rest of the world, the societies in the Americas did not benefit from this mix of technologies. Last, the production of milk, which was not possible at a sufficient level in the Americas, only increased the surplus of food. The only large domesticable animal in the Americas was the Llama, which could not effectively complete any of the large animals found elsewhere in the world.
 * The animals found in each region were partly responsible for technological differences**:


 * Theory**: Climate is the basis of technological and agricultural advancement, because plants and animals are found where they are due to the climate they live in. The greatest hardships that existed in the world's various societies were their greatest motivator for technological and agricultural advancement. For example, the most agriculturally developed and technologically superior peoples are found in a moderate and comfortable climate somewhat north of the equator. The cause of this is when a population does not have to devote much time and effort into survival from the elements, more time and effort can be used for improved technologies in other fields.

= = =** Causes that Led to the Emergence of Agriculture and Technological Change **=

Ever since human life began, our species has been gathering information about the planet that we live on. Humans learned about the land that the earth is made out of, and after thousands of years, began to grow plants on their own. In addition to this, humans began to manipulate the uses of everything around them. Many different factors contributed to the emergence of agriculture and technological change.

The need for food was a large reason for the emergence of agriculture of technological change. With humans having to rely on other animals and plants, food was not always available. This was especially prevalent in the Fertile Crescent, or Southwest Asia. Their agricultural revolution happened as a direct effect of a cold and dry spell between 11,000 and 9,500 B.C.E. Because of the lack of food that the people who existed in that area at the time were unable to get food, they had to resort to changing their ways. This was done for survival only, but in the end it turned out to be a much more efficient way to live. To start the process of changing their way of life, they domesticated plants and animals. This took many years, but in the end, it made food much more readily available. This model of agriculture revolution was used all around the world. When the civilization was having a hard time surviving, they either switched to an agricultural-based society, or they died out.
 * Agriculture: **



**Technology**: Agriculture itself was the main reason for the emergence of new technologies. When agriculture was introduced to a people, the people naturally wanted the work to be easier. To make agriculture easier, the digging stick or hoe was created. This tool allowed the people using it to clear weeds much easier, dig into the soil, and move soil from one place to another. This was especially useful in the America’s as the soil was not as fertile as it was in Africa or the Fertile Crescent. With the hoe, fertile soil could be moved to places that were not as fertile. Another example of technology coming straight from agriculture was corn in the Americas. Corn started out at a mountain grass called teosinte. Teosinte was little bigger than a quarter and could not sustain a human life. Over thousands of years, the people in the America’s were able to manipulate corn so that its cob was large enough, and had enough kernels on it, to support human life. Many people have called it man’s first and greatest feat of genetic engineering.

**The Spread of Agriculture:** Agriculture was spread in one of two ways. 1. Diffusion- This is the gradual spread of agricultural techniques without much movement from the people who already used the agricultural processes. The ideas were spread mostly from oral communication in this way. 2. Migration/colonization: This is the slow spreading of a entire civilization. The civilizations would either move to a new area and the people around them would learn their practices, or the civilizations would take over areas and people, while telling them their agricultural techniques.

**Need for food** > **Agriculture**>**Cities/Empires** > **More free time** > **Experiments** > **Technology**

C. When agriculture was invented, the people who used it started to settle. Agriculture started the trend of staying in one place, rather than being nomadic and traveling to get food. When food could be made in a small area without much movement from the humans, the humans began to band together to create small communities. They called them villages and began to create lives that revolved around providing for and being a part of those communities. Agriculture is an activity that any human can take part in, allowing the humans who started agriculture to bring it to other humans with ease. Without agriculture, the human existence would be entirely different. We would still be a nomadic people and villages, towns, cities, and countries would never have been created.
 * Impact of Agriculture on the Environment and the Growth of Villages **

One of agriculture's first notable impacts on the environment would be the **domestication** of plants and animals. A plant is “domesticated” when it has been altered to benefit humankind, and its native characteristics have been altered to the point that it can’t grow and reproduce without human intervention. This changing of nature creates a mutual dependence between humankind and the plants they domesticate. We continue to domesticate plants and create hybrids today in order to increase crop production and the efficiency of food cultivating. Some peoples depended on root crops, like potatoes in the Andes. Others relied on tree crops like bananas. Most valuable, though, were nutritious grains like rice, wheat, or corn that could be domesticated. Animals were domesticated through selective breeding.
 * Early Domesticated Plants**
 * Fig Trees || East Asia || 9000 BCE ||
 * Rice || East Asia || 9000 BCE ||
 * Barley || Near East || 9000 BCE ||
 * Chickpea || Anatolia || 8500 BCE ||
 * Bottle Gourd || Asia || 8000 BCE ||
 * Squash || Central America || 8000 BCE ||
 * Pigs, Chickens, Water Buffalo || China || 6500-5000 BCE ||
 * Cattle || Africa || 8000 BCE ||
 * Goats, Sheep, Cattle, Pigs || Southwest Asia || 8000 BCE ||


 * Gender inequality**

With the coming of intensified agricultural practices, and the use of large domesticated farming animals, gender inequality formed. Farming practices required men to labor in the fields, and required women to remain in the home taking care of children and doing domestic chores. This was the start of **patriarchy**, which is defined as a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization.


 * Increases in Population due to surplus**

With agricultural practices, for the first time in history people had an adequate supply of resources and didn’t need to spend their time hunting and gathering. Due to surpluses, larger populations had the ability to support themselves. Because of this, cities and political structures evolved.

Social classes and social hierarchies shaped based on what kind of work people did. Since civilizations could produce enough food to support the whole population, people weren't confined to just farming.
 * Job specialization** developed in societies.

=**Sources**= Strayer, Robert W. //Ways// //of the World: A Brief Global History with Sources//. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. Print.

D. The development of metal is a turning point for a civilization. If a civilization has the job specialization required to have metal tools, weapons, and art, it could be considered an empire to some people. To get metal, you have to have miners to mine the ore out of the ground, you have to have someone with a fire hot enough to melt the ore into liquid, you have to have a blacksmith to change the shape of the metal into something useful, and finally you have to have someone producing enough food to feed these other workers while they’re doing their jobs. Job specialization is a consistent feature found in all powerful empires. The things that were made out of metal had a large impact on civilizations. Metal plows were created, which increased the production of food needed for a civilization to expand. Metal weapons were created and it changed war. If you had metal weapons, you won wars, and expanded your civilization into an empire by taking over civilizations that did not have metal weapons. An example of the impact that metal has on civilizations the answer to the question why did Eurasian and African civilizations become empires while North and South American civilizations did not. Eurasian and African civilizations had metal tools, metal weapons, while the Americans did not. Metal tools like the plow lead to a surplus in food, which is necessary for a population to expand. Metal weapons lead to stronger and larger armies, which can be used to conquer other civilizations and spread your ideas. The American civilizations did not have metal available to them so they did not become empires.

** 5 Historical themes ** __ Interaction between humans and the environment __ When metal was developed, humans used it to improve their agricultural technologies. An example is the metal plow. With a metal plow, farmers could break up the soil much easier and faster, increasing their efficiency.

__ Development and Interaction of Cultures __ If a civilization had metal, they were considered advanced. This is because you had to have job specialization to get the metal ores, fire making people to smelt the ores, and lastly, a blacksmith to make the liquid metal into something useful. Having metal was just about essential for a civilization to have to become an empire. It also impacted the interaction of cultures because metal weapons were key for any civilization to have an advantage over their enemies in battle. If you had metal weapons, you won wars, wrote history, and spread your ideas.

__ State Building, Expansion, and Conflict __ Metal obviously had a large impact on conflict. Metal weapons were used to resolve conflicts with war. This also works with expansion, because a civilization that had metal weapons and tools was a growing one, and they could also take over civilizations that did not have metal weapons.

__Creation, Expansion, and Interaction of Social Systems__ Metal development had an impact on the expansion of social systems mostly because of the use of metal weapons for wars. So if you had metal weapons and tools, your social system and civilization would expand.

__ Development and transformation of Social Structure __ No effect

A- If a civilization has metal art, they are more advanced than a civilization with stone or marble art. It shows job specialization, which is essential for an empire to have. G- Geography played a part in the development of metal, because some areas didn’t have the ore that you make metal out of. M- A civilization that has developed metal weapons is going to have a stronger military than a civilization that uses stone, wood, or glass weapons. They have an advantage over all opposing militaries because they have stronger weapons. Metal weapons leads to a stronger military power, and larger armies. T- There are millions of technologies that metal has created. Tools, weapons, ways of transportation, etc.