Theories of the Causes of the Neolithic Theory

Twenty thousand years ago the Ice Age was ending, and the Long Summer began. This period in time was the start of many changes that became known as the Neolithic. The Neolithic was a period during which humans started to abandon hunting and gathering. Instead, large scale agriculture was established. The development of agriculture led to technological advances. These big changes raised questions. What caused human beings to focus on agriculture as the main source of food supply? What caused the Neolithic? The first theory that was accepted was Childe’s theory. V. Gordon Childe, an archaeologist, proposed that non-human factors, specifically climate change and geography led to the development of agriculture. However, a more practical theory was proposed some time afterward, Watkins’s theory. The Neolithic was caused by the development of the human mind and cognitive ability, not geography and climate change.

The Neolithic is commonly known as a revolution. Revolution implies an event that occurred quickly and violently. However, the events that occurred during the Neolithic, agricultural and technological developments, happened gradually. There is evidence of agriculture before the Neolithic; humans were just not able to maintain it for a long period of time. During the Neolithic, this altered. Agriculture was large-scaled, and this allowed for technological advances. As farming grew, humans created tools that would help them with the process. They created tools that would help them with grinding, created pots to assist them in storing water, and used pottery to invent other forms of storage and cooking. The changes were feasible because of human civilizations and organization, not non-human factors.

V. Gordon Childe sided with ...

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...nitive ability, humans would not have been able to even understand how farming works. Therefore, the climate change and geography would have been useless and have no effect. The ability to process information takes priority, which is why Watkins’s theory is better and more comprehensive.

Human factors led to the Neolithic. The human mind allowed for civilizations to develop before agriculture did. Although Childe’s theory is widely accepted, Watkins’s theory includes aspects and considers evidence that Childe’s theory does not. Childe has failed to address the evidence discovered in Iraq, Euphrates, and Turkey. Watkins does not. Childe has failed to address factors other than climate change and geography. Watkins does not. The change of lifestyle from hunting and gathering to agriculture was a big transformation that was caused by more than just non-human factors.