The History of Man - Essay Example

The history of man tries to show the way of life that man followed as he evolved, and includes the social, cultural and economic evolution. Before man discovered agriculture, he used to survive by hunting and gathering and he did not bother where his food would come from because nature would provide. Agricultural revolution marked an important point in human history because man previously used to hunt and gather for his food in the forests in order to survive, and this was a new phenomenon (Matla). Hunting and gathering involved moving from place to place searching for any available food. In this movement, man walked for distances with his belongings and therefore, the onset of agricultural revolution changed this kind of lifestyle. Agricultural revolution occurred between the 18th and 19th centuries, and it was a period of great agricultural advancement. In this period, there was increased agricultural production and advancement in the type of technologies used in farming. The agricultural revolution implied that man would now live in a single permanent place and restrain from moving from one place to the other. This was very challenging to the first communities because they were used to a nomadic way of life (Matla). The agricultural revolution in this case also meant that settling in one place made man exploit small pieces of land to maximize production of food. This was very different from the hunting and gathering way of life where man exploited huge terrains of land to satisfy his need for food. Agricultural revolution also changed man’s history because it began with domestication of animals and plants (Beker). The animals that man hunted and the plants that he gathered were now reared and grown in places identified for such purposes. This marked a crucial point in the history of man because he had started venturing in agriculture. During this period, man started learning how to control his food supplies by cultivating and rearing animals and crops which was different from what he did before. Matla highlights that during the early stages of agricultural revolution, man started taming and domesticating wild animals (1). The animals which were first to be tamed were used for food purposes. This made man to become a pastoralist because he moved from territory to territory searching for pastures. Eventually, man settled in places where there was adequate pastures, water and land (Matla). The settling of man paved way for the beginning of cultivation of crops in order to supplement his food supplies (Beker). Domestication of plants ended man’s practice of gathering. In addition, man learnt how to sow and developed methods of storing food for future use. The domestication of crops also changed the history of man because he had to study the weather patterns and climate because it influenced production (Matla). The agricultural revolution also influenced the history of man’s through usage of tools. This revolution changed how man viewed and used his tools because it brought another purpose of his hunting tools, which were now used, for farming (Beker). It influenced the development of the plows and the hoe that were used to till the land. These tools helped man to improve agriculture production because he would till bigger pieces of land for cultivation. Agricultural revolution highlighted an important development in the history of man through development of trade (Matla). When man embraced agriculture, there was surplus food production and this led to the development of batter trade. During this period, there was need for high supply of labor to increase food production because food had become a significant measure of wealth (Matla). This then developed batter trade, which became slave trade whereby slaves were exchanged for food and animals. Batter trade also involved animal products such as skins that were used as leather and clothes. Lastly, agricultural revolution is a very important period in development of technology by man. Advancement in agriculture led to development of technologies such as farming machinery and food preservation methods, which were later developed for use in other areas (Matla). Agricultural machinery was developed to replace animal drawn tools such as plows. This led to a new chapter in the history of man that was marked by industrial and technological revolutions. Man developed engines that were used to power agricultural equipments and they have been developed over the years to suit other uses. The Paleolithic era is the earliest period of human history, which was marked by the invention of small hand tools that were used by man (Dictionary). It is usually referred to as Stone Age because most of them were made out of stones. One of the clearest distinctions between the early agricultural societies and the Paleolithic society is farming or agriculture. The early agricultural societies practiced agricultural activities such as farming and animal rearing such as pastoralist. On the other hand, Paleolithic era societies did not practice agricultural activities, and they were hunters and gatherers. They relied on nature to provide for their food needs, unlike in the early agricultural society (Wise Geek). The tools that were used in the Paleolithic era were used for hunting purposes but in the early agricultural societies, they were used for farming purposes. Secondly, low population unlike the early agricultural societies characterized the Paleolithic era. The Paleolithic era society was comfortable and there was no high competition for natural resources such as food (Wise Geek). This is different in the early agricultural societies because they had to engage in farming activities in order to feed their populations. Their high populations enabled them to divide labor among themselves unlike in the Paleolithic era. Thirdly, the early agricultural societies differed from the Paleolithic societies in their social structures. In the early agriculture society, there was division of labor according to gender, and man was farmers and women were given domestic roles. This was different in the Paleolithic era because men in this era were hunters while women were given the roles of gathering food to supplement the diet. Another difference between the early agriculture societies and the Paleolithic era societies is that Paleolithic societies did not have an economy. In the early agricultural societies, there was batter trade where people exchanged agricultural produce with labor such as slaves but in the Paleolithic era, there was no economy. Lastly, there were political structures in the early agricultural societies but they did not exist in the Paleolithic era societies (Wise Geek). In this society, social classes existed and there were masters and slaves. The socially strong people used their wealth in form of food produce to exercise authority in making decisions in the society. This was however not experienced in the Paleolithic era because people had no social structures. The agricultural revolution by man was inevitable, this is because there was increase in population and therefore, food was scarce. Hence, man had to find new methods of providing for basic needs of food. This came with agricultural revolution because man was able to feed the increasing population. Secondly, there was scarcity of resources and therefore, man had to find alternative ways of providing for his needs. Earlier, man used to move from one place to another looking for food, and when this resource got scarce, it necessitated for agricultural revolution. It made man settle down and start producing his own food through farming and animal rearing. Lastly, due to the development of social structures, wealth was measured by the amount of production one had. Hence, this led to agricultural revolution as man tried to maximize his wealth through agricultural production. Work Cited Beker, Donald. A Brief Excursism into Three Agricultural Revolutions. 2005. Web. 11 October 2012 < http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/kuehnast_lecture/l4-txt.htm > Matla, Ralipoli. Agricultural Revolution. The Silo. 2011. Web. 11 October 2012 < http://www.thesilo.co.ls/home/Vol2I17/ts/agricultural-revolution.html > Wise Geek. What is Paleolithic Era? 2012. Web. 11 October 2012 < http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-paleolithic-era.htm > Read More