Essay Sample on Neolithic Revolution: From Nomads to Early Civilization

Introduction

Neolithic Revolution, also known as the Agrarian Revolution, refers to a point in history when humans transitioned from nomadic life of hunting and gathering to early civilization of cultivating crops and domesticating animals. Before the Neolithic Revolution humans lived in small bands but afterward, they began to dwell in large settlements. Humans started farming in the Fertile Crescent located in the Middle East around 10,000 BC and that marked the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution (Weisdorf 561). After that, the practice of agriculture spread to other parts of the world. The period was marked with innovations that led to the growth of cities and civilizations.

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Scientists have suggested that the Neolithic Revolution happened as a result of climate change. After the last Ice Age in 12000 BC, global warming began to change animal and plant habitats (Weisdorf 565). Therefore, it became more challenging for humans to hunt and gather enough supplies to feed the growing populations. Due to warmer climate, wild barley and wheat began to grow in the Fertile Crescent, and that made the Pre-Neolithic people in the region to begin constructing permanent houses. Humans gradually transitioned from depending on wild plants for subsistence to tending small farms and later farming large fields.

With humans living in permanent settlements and practicing agriculture, populations increased significantly, creating the need for mass production. Population increase also meant a larger labor force for agriculture. The Neolithic Revolution was also characterized by creative inventions that signified advances in the human intellect. Human civilization progenitors such as artistic imagery and religious artifacts have been found at the earliest settlements of the Neolithic era (Weisdorf 578). Later, the Neolithic Revolution paved the way for advancements that resulted in the Iron Age and Bronze Age, when humans across the world began to make tools for agriculture, art, and war.

Middle Kingdom

The Middle Kingdom is a period of ancient civilization in Egypt covering the reign of Dynasty 11 through Dynasty 13. The period is approximated to have stretched from 2030 to 1650 BC (Ezzamel 498). The period was marked with the reimagining of the cultural principles established at the onset of Egyptian civilization and outlined during the Old Kingdom period. The principles included relations with neighbors, beliefs about the afterlife, religious practices, organization of the society and kingship. These changes were demonstrated in the literature, personal possessions, jewelry, relief decoration, sculpture painting, and architecture.

Although the Middle Kingdom society represents a great change from the culture of the Old Kingdom, it went through three different transitions itself. The first transition marked the end of Dynasty 11 and the ensuing beginning of Dynasty 12 (Ezzamel 506). The norms of representation in Egypt demanded that Theban art from the south display different local features at the initial stages of the Middle Kingdom. The traits include emphasized eyes, attenuated limbs, and forms with a highly patterned interior. The renewal of Old Kingdom forms which characterized the beginning of the Middle Kingdom went on to the early days of Dynasty 12. Under the reign of King Amenemhat I and King Senwosret I, a new capital was established in the north at Itjtawi (Ezzamel 504). Construction of pyramids and mastabas resumed during this period

The last Middle Kingdom transformation era took place in Dynasty 13, which lasted about 150 years (Ezzamel 534). Almost 50 kings reined in this era, with some even ruling for less than a year. In Dynasty 13, kingship was not hereditary; instead, it circled around certain families. It was a time when kingship was ceremonial to a large extent as political power was in the hands of a few high-profile officials.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is believed to be the oldest existing literary work in human history, and probably the second earliest surviving religious writing after the Egyptian Pyramid texts. It tells the story and adventures of Gilgamesh, who was king of a city-state in ancient Mesopotamia known as Uruk. Written in Akkadian language using cuneiform text, the epic was recorded on 12 incomplete clay tablets that historians believe were made between 1300 and 1000 BC (Abusch 614). The tablets were discovered in 1853 by Hormuzd Rassam who retrieved them from the ruins of Ashurbanipal's library in Nineveh (Abusch 614). Ashurbanipal was the king of Assyria between 668 and 627 BCE (Abusch 614). The gaps in the tablets have partly been filled with fragments discovered in other parts of Anatolia and Mesopotamia.

The epic discovered in Nineveh starts with a prologue praising Gilgamesh, describing as partly human and partly divine, a great warrior and builder, and one who knows all things. The first tablet narrates the creation of Enkindu by Anu the god and how he got to Uruk and met Gilgamesh. The second one describes how Gilgamesh defeated Enkindu in a power contest and made him his companion. The third, fourth and fifth tablets are about how the two engaged Huwawa. In the sixth tablet, Gilgamesh refuses to marry Ishtar and defeats her attempt to destroy him. Tablet seven and eight narrate the events around the death of Ekindu, Gilgamesh's companion. In tablets nine and ten, Gilgamesh sets out on a journey to find Utnapishtim to teach him how to escape death. Tablet ten gives an account of Gilgamesh's experience with Utnapishtim and his return to Uruk. The last tablet is about how Gilgamesh lost pukku and mikku, objects that Ishtar gave him, and the return of Enkindu's spirit.

Works Cited

Abusch, Tzvi. "The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay." Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 121, no. 4, 2001, p. 614.

Ezzamel, Mahmoud. "Work Organization in the Middle Kingdom, Ancient Egypt." The organization, vol. 11, no. 4, 2004, pp. 497-537.

Weisdorf, Jacob L. "From Foraging To Farming: Explaining The Neolithic Revolution." Journal of Economic Surveys, vol. 19, no. 4, 2005, pp. 561-586