Legend:

✓ Bernades
✓ Agregado
✓ Diampoc
✓ Jabonero
✓ Atong
✓ Escorel

Section 1: Cultural and Sociopolitical Evolution

Cultural Evolution before the Rise of Agriculture BERNADES

It has been emphasized from the start of our discussions in this book the evolution is
not limited to a fribogil process only Evolution is also present in the development of
human culture from the most primitive such as the Oldowan tradition to the westem
ciation of the modem world. Before we stan discussions the rise of agriculture and
domestication of food and how it paved ay for sodeties and giant states, it is noteworthy
to recapitulate first how cultuse evolved from the lower Paleolithic to the upper
Paleolithic period.
The lower or early Paleolithic was dominated by the transition from the Oldewan
tradition of the late hominids and early Homos to the acheulas tradition of the Humo
erectus. In this period, refinement of stone tools and in standardization were prominent.
The Homo erectus was also capable of creating fire. This made them more confident
and adaptable to live event in areas where predators äved because they could use tire
to wanit off predators and created fine to illuminate the abyss of the night. The Homo
erectus also started to explore other geographical regions which made them wide
spread in many places around the world. They were also adeptable to many
environments because of their growing intelligence and knowledge of the world. The
way of life of the Homo erectus was also characterized by a diversified culture because
fossil finds in different regiona seemed to have slight differences as to other erectus
located in other places Chr of the most important of the characteristics of the Homo
erectus was their semi sedentary life. This means that the Homo erectus from time to
time constructed seasonal camps and stayed there for quite some time until they
decided to go to another place in search of a better environment. This marked a
milestone in the origin of social life.
Note: Paghatiin niyo na lang itong paragraph kasi masyadong mahaba,
pagtulungan niyo na lang kayo mag-usap paano hahatiin.
Daring the middle Paleolithic period, the fossil remains of the Homo erectis which
dominated the lower Paleolithic period slowly vartished and were replaced by the fossil
remains of Archaic Homo sapiens and the Neanderthals What wat prevalent during this
time was the Mousterian tool tradition that was utilized by both the Neanderthals and
Archaichomo sapiens. It can be seen from different fo remains that the tools used
during the middle Paleolithic were more sophisticated and were localized. This means
that cultural diversity was increasing. It was also shown by many fosell finds that people
during this period considered a kind of religion or cult because they have burial sites
which means that they were already speculating about life after death which was a
common characteristic of mod humans Aesthetic designs were also present in the
implements used by the people of the middle Paleolithic At the center of all these
cultural trends and traits was tha Increasing sedentary lifestyle In the upper or late
Paleolithic, things began to stir in a fast phase cult evolution. During this time which
began to occur around 35.000 years ag anatomically modern humans or Homo sapiens
sapens appeared Their lifestyle wascomparable the latest test the mode Pattutt was
more sophisticated and far ripame to the use and creation of ste the more specialized
Aratoma all, mater tuman alueet the art of hutting and were using different hurting the
van graphical atons Hompas sapuns also explored more undesvered lands compared
tothest pederses Then was alwacomiderable increase in the use of seasonal base
camps Ritualistic behaviors were al present in the life of the people of the upper
Paleolithic The most prominent characteristic of the late Paleolith pers was the dramatic
and fast phasing of cultural progress which was not avtated with physical solution. This
means that physical evolution became less and less significant during this time It merely
took 350 wears for the upper Paleolithic culture to evolve into the kind of culture modern
men have today.

The Mesolithic Period: Hunting and Gathering Culture

Some 10.000 years ago, the Mesolithic or middle stone age period began. During this
time, big game animals such as the intamous mammoth were beginning to disappear
This was probably because the climate was changing from a colder period of the
Peistocene epoch from a more tropical and hotter climate. As the larger animals which
were being hunted by humans were beginning to go to extinction, big game prey
became very scarce which forced humans to devise other strategies in order to survive.
The scarcity of food sources led human beings to explore other alternative food sources
Thus humans began to explore the possibility of domesticating food and doing,
agriculture.
The Holocene period started when the ice and tundra began to melt from 15,000 to
10,000 years ago The earth’s climate was beginning to become the climate that we
have today The land bridges were being engulted once again by water because the sea
level was rising because of the melting of the ice sheets. This melting of ice sheets are
still continuing even up to this point The Antarctic continent which is covered by ice was
merely a temnant of the last ice age. With this, it signaled the dawn of a new day, the
rise of agriculture and domestication of food

The Neolithic Period: The Rise of Agriculture

By the end of the Mesolithic period, people began exploring other alternative food
sources, this was called by Kent Flannery (1969) as the broad-spectrum. The broad
spectrum theory speculates that the people of the late Mesolithic up to the early
Neolithic began to experiment on new food sources that they never tried before. This
led them to discover not only new food sources but it also led them to new techniques
that could be used to gather and hunt for food During this time from 15,000 years ago to
10,000 years ago. People more species of animal and plant life were being used as
food source. People during this era also began exploring the water systems for fishes,
shellfish and other aquatic animals and plants for food 10,000 to 5,000 years ago, the
transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic began to take place.
Before man survived by attuning him with the nature Thy adapt and use their
strong intellect capace de top is sound with the natural flow of things Say for exam Novo
flowed the natural migration of they magnity basin nder to bust em suvetully. When the
mammoths not around they had to other other fost sources. It food became scarce the
moved to a dit pays changed, they adapted their suras techniques to the w In short
pople before the Neolithic never went aga nature, the reled on the rhythms of nature in
order to survive. By the beginning of the Neolithic things began to change because
people learned a more effices way to survive the learned how to domesticate their food
sources. People in the Neolithuc learned how to do agriculture, thus they planted and
raised livestock
In the Neolithic penod tood production began Food production is the cre or
manipulation of tood sources this was done through domestication of food
Domestication of food involved the taming of wild plants and animals for man food
consumption. When people started to domesticate food, they became good it and
eventually it led to an agricultural way of life. Agriculture is the cultivation of wild plants
based on a continuous and intensive labor and land resources/Howard and Hattis 2003.
Although stone implements were tool widely used in the Neolithic period
signaled a revolutionary step in the evolution of human culture. The significan of the
Neolithic was mainly attributed to the rise of an economic system the sustained the
growing needs of people. When people started to domesticate ther food, the nomadic
life became obsolete. This was so because there was also ne need to move from one
place to another. Sedentary life became the trend because the food could be grown as
long as there were land resources to be utilized.With this, more and more people began
to go to the small farming communities and soon, societies were born.
Section II: Origin of Agriculture
Agriculture attracted the attention of many anthropologists. It was because of
agriculture that man decided to choose a home base and stayed in it and lett nomadic
way of life for good. Earlier anthropologists suggested that agricultu started in a region
and was disseminated to other region afterward However, modem anthropologists now
believe that agriculture started ubiquitous manner. This means that agriculture began in
different places a evolved in different ways In this section, we will look into the different
them that were devised to explain the origin of agriculture

Ecological Theories
Some anthropologists believed that it is the ecological background of the swnt people
that became the motivation for them Here are some theories founding on way of life.
agricultural of niral
1. Oases Theory - This theory was devised by Y. Gondon Childe (194 1952) Childe
believed that apicultne started friten gab topical mate in the Middle East. The need for
agriculture probably stimulated by the climatic crisis in the region. Since the climate in
the mi conducive for growing crops because of vast desserts, people and animal troved
to the uses or water sources in some parts of the sleert Around springs and streams,
people began to domesticate wild crops and animals as found source
2. Nuclear Zone Hypothesis-Robert Baldwood (1958, 1971, 1925) devised this theory
because he was non cistociend of Chide's Cases theory, leandwood claimed that there
were no climatic shitts at the end of the Meistocene. Braidwal also contended that was
because of roar to understand the environment that the agricultion was to. Human
nature was the stimulus for the opment of Man understood that it was more efficient for
them to stop horaging and instrud explored other alternatives for survival such
Lagricudrune Ther was no more need for man to live rum and livestock for food
consumption psourc
3. Binfond's Criticisms- mond criticized the idea of Bosidwood. He contended that
human nature was not enough to fore dent people to change their lifestyle and turn to
agriculture. For convenient for them during that time so there start domesticating food
them to
4. Sauer Model-Cari Saner (1952) claimed that agriculture started in South East Asia
and later on spread thinoghout the other parts of the Sauer believed that agriculture was
a product of the interact marry emerging cultures in the Neolithic the accumulation id
innfester from soch cultural interactions was the key for the use of agriculture
Population Pressure
Population was also treated by anthropoligits as one of the less that
tevolutionized culture in the Neolithic and led to agriculture How are med these theories
1. Carrying Capacity Theory a considerable number of individuals the number
of indviduals sustained by the environmust exceeds the capacity of the winn the
population mont devo voy in onde to sustain the living of the event One of the
proponents of this way of thinking was Ester Boserup 11965 1961) He contended
that the ap growth of the population adaptations that wil trigger the would hael
the technolograt efficient for survival

2. Systematic Interaction Model-Laws Bafond proposed another made des to

explain the devin Pelationship betwe growth agriculture He pointed out the a
ronmental factors and the population individuals. Envinsental dungs forced
people to shape to it with the additional burden of sustaining growing population

Flannery’s Multi-causal Approach

The other thebes mentioned above are theortes that focus on a certain fol point
or lact only focus a that motivated the rise of agriculture Kent Flannery (1973) did
singular cause for agriculture but instead devised other factors that could have led to
the development of agriculture. Hence, a truly eclectic the bor. He catended that various
ways of life were already evolving and t cultural evolution coincided with the different
environmental factors that present during that time Flannery also proposed at t ast two
types of priminy agricultural techniques which can also be seen from some indigenous
peo today The first o these two is the Send-crop Cultivation. This technique invol simple
farming techniques that utilized the domestication of a few plant species The two was
called Vegeculture. This farming technique was c complicated than sed-crop cultivation.
It involved more species of domesticated plants that required more comples farming
techniques to grow.