Man's Transition to Agriculture

During mans transition to agriculture human achievements were both interesting and essential even though archeologists needed to interpret the remains of tools, cave paintings and burial sites. The social norms adopted during this period led to the creation of society as we know it today. Agriculture led to the formation of more complex societies where people were able to settle in one place for longer periods focus on economic, political, and religious goals which helped to increase the number of people in the world.

On the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in Mesopotamia and the Nile in Egypt emerged civilizations affected the history of the eastern half of the Mediterranean. Theses civilizations led to formation of cities and increased urbanization over a vast period of time. On the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in Mesopotamia and the Nile in Egypt emerged civilizations that were to have profound influence on the history of the eastern half of the Mediterranean. The rise of these civilizations, led to increased urbanization, and the formation of states. (Bogucki, 1999)

During this period people lived off what they came across, off the animals they hunted, and the plants they gathered. The people were constantly moving to areas were animals were more abundant which kept them constantly on the moving to new areas in search of new food sources. This meant that some groups of people could remain in one area for longer periods of time, sheltered from the elements in primitive huts and caves. The next step in mans development was the transition to an entirely new way of life characterized by greater control of nature. Man started to cultivate the cereals which he had always gathered as wild plants, and domesticat...

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...as possible to stand with one foot in a green field and the other in the dry desert sand. Secondly, being totally surrounded by uninhabitable land Egypt was far less accessible than Mesopotamia and consequently far more isolated from the outside world. This difference had major political consequences in that the history of Egypt was fairly stable and static with little interference from the outside world. Mesopotamia faced constant invasions from others. Many of the invaders assumed control and founded new empires. However, a considerable degree of continuity was preserved in Mesopotamia because most newcomers adapted to the current cultural traditions. (Zvelebil, 2009)

With agriculture human beings were able to settle in one place and focus on economic, political, and religious goals and activities along with increasing the number of people in the world.