ANTH 125 Lecture 6: E2 Lecture Notes-Lecture 3/9
10 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Mesolithic middle stone age (transition to/set up for agriculture: as early as 20,000 bp in near east mesolithic, a generalized adaptation seeds. Grains must be ground up or popped for them to have nutritional value: new technology microliths, grinding tools. Centers of origin for agriculture not a universal transformation: near east barley and wheat 10,000 bp, china millet 8,000 bp, s. e. Changes wrought by agriculture: hunting & gathering not a bad life, h & g"s have art, dance, myth, do not work hard, diet varied with some meat. Variety of grains and fruits: high infant mortality but long life. Limited food that they can digest: little social control no one owns anything. Living in constant close contact: positive aspects of agriculture, lower infant mortality, increased production population growth, control of resources h & g"s and periodic famines, sedentism, social domination, elite can extract surplus. Maybe by convincing others that they are a god: land as a controllable resource.
