Rise of the First Civilizations

In understanding the transition from the Paleolithic Era to the Neolithic Era, I found the societal shifts which occurred as a result of the Agricultural Revolution to be extremely fascinating.  The notion that the Paleolithic Era makes up ninety five percent of the human evolution timeline brings up the question regarding how much our current society has changed and affected the planet Earth in its current era. This ties back to the Agricultural Revolution and how civilizations came to be.

The reasons upon which the Agricultural Revolution took place from a gatherer hunter practice is also intriguing in that it particularly involved the end of the Ice Age and climate conditions. The initial egalitarian approach which was established in gatherer hunter Paleolithic societies created a certain level of equality between men and women and rules upon which to share goods. These societies were "lacking the many inequalities of wealth and power...with agricultural and urban life" (Strayer, 2013). While Agricultural village societies retained many similar approaches, the new societal structure led to political organization with Chiefdoms. Despite retaining many of the societal rules established in the Paleolithic Era, the Agricultural Revolution marked a significant change regarding livestock, farming and technological innovation.

One of the accounts from descendants of the Paleolithic Era of gatherer hunters reveals a shift in societal values and goals. One of the descendants named Ishi, was the last of the Yahi gatherer hunters. With the rise of settlers, many Yahi were killed off. This reveals that with the Agricultural Revolution, a shift in values to possession of private property and personal goods took precedence over a more egalitarian value system. The fact that American surveyors came and "took away every moveable item"(Strayer, 2013) that Ishi’s mother possessed paints a starkly contrasting approach to the initial ways of the gatherer hunters who shared their food and goods.

Another account involving a Paleolithic woman named Nisa reveals the few possessions that gatherer hunters would carry with them, and furthermore the lifestyle of the gatherer hunters. In the account, gatherer hunters would share meat and possessions and treat others equally. The account also reveals how marriages were arranged, the established roles of husbands and wives, as well as the central role of family and the significance of each family member. In many ways these accounts from gatherer hunters reveal a value system in which greed is forsaken in favor of mutual respect and sympathy. So while the Agricultural Revolution paved the way for "more productive technologies" (Strayer, 2013), as well the mass production of crops (which was limited given the region one settled in), the value system of the gatherer hunters was in many ways lost, and this shift in many ways is still reflected in our society today.

This shift in values is further established in the societies or civilizations which arose from the Agricultural Revolution. One of the interesting parallels stated is "slavery and civilization...emerged together" (Strayer, 2013). In contrast to the Paleolithic Era, unequal distribution of wealth, war and political interests paved the way for a class hierarchy. The changes in farming techniques also contributed to gender inequality as well, leading to a more emphasized patriarchal society and doing away with the more gender equality based Paleolithic Era hunter gatherers. So while the new first civilizations provided many new innovations involving farming, irrigation, written language, artistic expression, etc. the values regarding human equality and treatment both class and gender wise has been compromised. It is interesting to note that many of the contributions that the first civilizations have brought are mainly material based and incentivized: meaning that they all reflect a shift in core values from human equality and the sharing of goods, to the desire for the acquisition of more power and control over one’s environment. The fascinating observation is this value system in many ways continues to be perpetuated today in society. So the question then remains, to what end?

Strayer, W. (2013). First Peoples; First Farmers, First Civilizations, Cities, States,  and Unequal                     Societies, 20-22, 36-37, 72-78, 89-90.