229The Neolithic Revolution:
The Domestication
of Plants and Animals
CHAPTER 10
Chapter Preview
Why Did the Change Take Place?
Though the Neolithic revolution can appear to be a cultural
advancement because later cities and states developed from
Neolithic villages, food production is not necessarily a more secure means of subsistence than
food foraging. In the Neolithic, farming often limited the diversity of the human diet and re-
quired more work than hunting, gathering, and fishing. In addition, being sedentary created new
vulnerability to disease. It may be that people did not become food producers due to clear-cut
advantages of this way of life. Of various theories that have been proposed, the most likely is that
food production came about as a consequence of a chance convergence of separate natural events
and cultural developments.
When and Where Did the Change from
Food Foraging to Food Production Begin?
Independent centers of early plant and animal domestica-
tion exist in Africa, China, Mesoamerica, North and South
America, as well as Southwest and Southeast Asia. From
these places, food production spread to most other parts of
the world. Food production began independently at more
or less the same time around 10,000 years ago in these dif-
ferent places—perhaps a bit earlier in Southwest Asia than
elsewhere. Due to the breadth of changes induced by this
transition, it is commonly referred to as the Neolithic revolu-
tion. Though farming has changed dramatically over the mil-
lennia, crops people rely on today, such as rice, wheat, and
maize, originated with those earliest farmers.
What Were the Consequences of the
Neolithic Revolution?
Although food production generally leaves less leisure
time than food foraging, it does permit reallocation of
the workload. Some people can produce enough food to
support those who undertake other tasks, and so a num-
ber of technological developments, such as weaving and
pottery making, generally accompany food production.
In addition, a sedentary lifestyle in villages allows for the
construction of more substantial housing. Finally, the new
modes of work and resource allocation require new ways of
organizing people, generally into lineages, clans, and com-
mon-interest associations.