The agricultural revolution occurred at different time and in different places around the world. In most regions it happened in river valleys, as it did in the Near East. Focus your attention on the similarity of the locations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Why did farming peoples, rather than hunters, start the world's earliest civilizations?
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In hunter-gatherer societies, everyone must work constantly to produce enough food for their families. No one had spare time for the luxury of a real civilization.
Farming peoples produced enough food so that some people had time to set up governments, write literature, and develop religions.
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why did farming peoples, rather than hunters, start the world's earliest civilization
The shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture marked the beginning of the world's earliest civilizations in regions like Mesopotamia and Egypt. To understand why farming peoples started these civilizations, we need to consider a few factors:
1. Access to a reliable food source: Farming provided a consistent and abundant food supply compared to relying on hunting and gathering. By cultivating crops and domesticating animals, early farming communities were able to settle in one place and no longer had to constantly search for food. This stability allowed them to develop complex societies and civilizations.
2. Fertile land: Both Mesopotamia and Egypt had river valleys with rich, fertile soil. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia and the Nile River in Egypt regularly flooded, depositing nutrient-rich sediments along their banks. These floodplains provided ideal conditions for agriculture, as farmers could easily grow crops in the fertile soil. The availability of fertile land played a crucial role in the development of agriculture and subsequent civilizations in these regions.
3. Geographic factors: Mesopotamia and Egypt were geographically favorable for early agricultural activities. The river valleys provided a source of water for irrigation, which was essential for farming in arid regions. The rivers also acted as natural transportation networks, facilitating trade and communication among different communities. These factors contributed to the growth and interaction of early civilizations.
4. Social changes: The shift to settled agriculture brought about social changes in farming communities. As people began to cultivate crops and raise livestock, they formed permanent settlements and developed more complex social structures. The ability to produce surplus food allowed for the emergence of specialized occupations and the rise of social hierarchies. This led to the development of organized systems of governance, religion, and infrastructure, all of which are characteristics of early civilizations.
In summary, farming peoples started the world's earliest civilizations because agriculture provided a reliable food source, access to fertile land, favorable geography, and triggered social changes that allowed for the formation of complex societies.