Domestication in the Middle East - Chapter 7

WORLD PREHISTORY and ARCHAEOLOGY: PATHWAYS THROUGH TIME, 3rd EDITION

Michael Chazan

Chapter 7

TOWERS, VILLAGES, AND LONGHOUSES

Part Three:Perspectives On Agriculture

• The emergence of settled villages in the Middle East.

• The domestication of plants and animals in the Middle East.

• The relationship among domestication, villages, and technology in the development of agriculture in the Middle East.

• The questions surrounding the spread of agriculture to Europe.

Learning ObjectivesAfter reading the chapter, you should understand:Learning ObjectivesAfter reading the chapter, you should understand:

Centers and “Non-Centers” of Domestication

Plant characteristics that were selected for during domestication Reduction/loss of the

means of seed/fruit dispersal

- Brittle rachis - Shattering of pods

Reduction/loss of dormancy

More compact growth habit Shorter time to flowering

and maturity Gigantism Photoperiod insensitivity Reduction/loss of toxic

compounds

There were layoffs at the plant

Sorry Larry, we’re letting

you go

• ~ 15,000 years ago, the great ice sheets began to retreat, ushering in the Holocene (recent time)

• World sea levels rose rapidly some 300 feet, resulting in major changes to geography

• Asia was separated from North America and Indonesia became a string of islands, while Britain became an island

After the Ice Age

After the Ice Age• ~ 15,000 years ago, the great ice sheets began to

retreat, ushering in the Holocene (recent time)• World sea levels rose rapidly some 300 feet, resulting

in major changes to geography• Climate changes resulted in lush area becoming arid

while other areas became forested• Rainfall patterns changed• Warmer conditions resulted in new plant species into

higher elevation zones of mountains

Changes in Hunter-Gatherer Societies• Many late Ice Age and early Holocene hunter-

gatherer societies were preadapted to food production, as they were already exploiting some food resources intensively and living more sedentary lifeways

• In the Middle East, food resources were diverse and seasonally predictable

Origins of Food Production• In contrast to early theories that food production was

a revolutionary development, modern hypotheses invoke social relations, population growth, and ecological factors as multiple causes of food production

The Fertile Crescent

• Location In south from Israel and Jordan In north into Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon In east into northern Iraq and western Iran

• Geography Varies from northern woodlands through open park

woodlands to steppes and true deserts in the south and east

The First Farmers in Southwestern Asia

• Southwestern Asia was cool and dry immediately after the Ice Age, with dry steppe over much of the interior

• The first evidence for plant domestication comes from Abu Hureyra on the Euphrates River in about 10,000 B.C.

• Sheep and goats replaced gazelle hunting abruptly at the same site and other settlements after 9000 B.C.

TABLE 7.1 Stages in the Transition to Agriculture in the Middle East

The Early Neolithic

• Evidence of Wild Grains Used• Botanical remains• Harvest and processing tools• Not farmed—seeds not stored or planted• Did not need humans for protection or

reproduction

• Dogs domesticated• Wild gazelles, fish, birds

The Early Neolithic

• Development of Farming in Middle East Cereals—emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, and barley

– Increased grain size with tough rachis Pulses—lentils, peas Legumes—bitter vetch, chick peas

• Domestication of Animals in Latter PPNB Sheep

Natural range is northern mountains of Turkey, Iraq, and IranGoats

Specific place unknown Pigs and cattle

at end of PPNB

The Early Neolithic

• Shifts in Tools Technology From tools made on bladelets to tools

made on blades (PPNB) Used for sickles (polish indicates use)

Ground stone axes and adzes for wood working

Grinding stones for cereals Use of Plaster (PPNB)

Highly developed process of burning of limestone

Used on floors and in rituals Some bowls and basins

Plaster-covered human skull from Jericho

The Late Neolithic• Pottery Manufacture Small bowls, jars, cooking

vessels Hand formed, not wheel-

made Low temperature firing Variation across time and

space in form, decoration

• Plaster Making Ceases

• Stone Tools Expedient tools made of

local materials Minimal energy investment

in creating tools Serrated sickle blades are

common

Sickle Polish on Serrated Blade

The Late Neolithic in Middle East

• Fewer sites, smaller• Few large sites remainMany abandoned Remainder not densely packed

• Small, dispersed hamlets• Symbolic artifacts Stylized human figurines Plastered skulls not found

The Late Neolithic• Central and Western Turkey Dense villages continue

• Çatalhöyük site 9,000–8,000 years ago Rooms with frescoes

Animals, goddesses, geometrics, and vultures Ritual rooms or households

Bulls heads, horns Burials under floor Goddess figurines (cult?)

The Spread of Agriculture to Europe

• Origins in Middle East No indigenous domestication

• “Wave of Advance” 8,500 in Southeastern Europe 7,500 in Central and Western Europe 6,000 in far reaches of Western Europe

The Spread of Agriculture to Europe

• Spread of Farming—Migration or Continuity? Did farmers replace hunter-gatherers?

Population increase required expansion of territory Language dispersal hypothesis

Entire lifeway

The Spread of Agriculture to Europe

• Did Hunter-Gatherers Adopt Agriculture? Adapted well Used fire to manage landscape

Attract animals to grass Wild food plants

• Lepenski Vir Site 8,400–7,600 yrs agoMesolithic hunter-gathers living alongside farmers

The Spread of Agriculture to Europe

• Linear Band Keramik (LBK) culture 7,200 years ago People

Grew Middle Eastern crops and herded Middle Eastern animals

Lived as large extended families in lengthy longhouses (over 90 ft), unlike in Middle East

Rapid onset Uniform migration of people across area Interaction between farmers and hunters

– Trade and exchange– Violence – Variation across area

Key TermsKey Terms

Abu HureyraḈatalhöyükDomestication SyndromeFertile Crescentlanguage dispersal hypothesis

Lepenski VirLinear Band KeramiklunateNatufianplastered skullssicklesYounger Dryas