RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MAN AND NATURE DURING AND AFTER NEOLITHIC
REVOLUTION AND HOW THE NATURE REMAIN ROBUST AND DESTROYED RESPECTIVELY
KIWALE BRASTO, FESTO.
©2016, IRINGA, TANZANIA.
RUAHA CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY
Kiwale Company Publishers
Neolithic
revolution refers to the transition from hunting gathering and scavenging to
agricultural production of dome 10,000BCE. Is undoubtedly one of the major
events in human history, an event which has been revolutionary in the sense
that it entailed radical changes in people’s relationship to nature and among themselves.
The process comprises many processes or comprises many revolutions, taking
place in different times and places for at least 99% of duration of their
existence, members of the Omnivorous genus Homo had lived by hunting and
gathering. OR
Neolithic
revolution, the transition from being solely hunter gatherers to the beginning
of independent food production is dearly the main change that defines the
Neolithic Revolution. The nomadic way of life supplementary scavenging, was
presumably, also shared by earliest hominids. Also Neolithic revolution was a
fundamental change in the way people lived, the shift from hunting and
gathering to agriculture which lead to permanents, settlement, social classes
and division of labor.
Nature
is the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animal,
the land scape and other features and products of the earth as opposed to human
creations, nature(environment) resources are used to satisfy the survival needs
of individual (Nagar, 1958).
The
relationship between man and nature during Neolithic revolution is based on economic system present
at a time, until the Neolithic and in most areas for a long time after all
human engaged in economic activities called hunting and gathering which is
exactly what it sounds like acquiring of food
by hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants. This system was
called “food extraction” as opposed to “food production” by agriculture and pastoralist.
Hunting and gathering were actually a very efficient system that much of the
time produces ample food. The main disadvantages were inability to maintain
surplus during the time of inefficient food or supply non-food extractors like
leaders and in fact that it can only maintain a very low population.
Relationship
between man and nature during Neolithic Revolution.
During
Neolithic revolution as population was low, the nature still remains stable as
not intensively exploitation used for production of food to support the
population. Since there is no archaeological evidence of food crises prior and
during the development of agriculture, hunter gatherer communities maintain
population size over time unless destructed by environmental shock, implying
that the
Adoption
of agriculture must have taken place as a result of unusual climate change in
early
(Bryne,
1989).
Another
relationship between man and nature during Neolithic revolution man started to
conduct the agriculture and pastoralism in the environment instead of hunting
and gathering. In this period there were series of discoveries like
domestication, culture and management of plants and animals. During Neolithic revolution
agriculture was adopted repeatedly and independently in the world. Most of the
parts of the world adopted agriculture and pastoralism like Middle East,
Northern China and Mesoamerica where agriculture begun man depended in land in
order to conduct these activities (Binford, 1968).
During
Neolithic revolution man was still in the state of transformation from being
controlled by nature in which characterized by low population and low
technology, but that time the nature were not being destructed by man
activities because the nature of technology used for exploiting resources were
still low which would prevents over
exploitation of resources (Bryne, 1989).
Relationship
between man and nature after Neolithic Revolution
After
Neolithic revolution population increased more, investment activities
increased, demanding for food to support population increased too and
production for commercial activities as well. In most case the availability of Neolithic
revolution paved the way to the growth of population pressure which forced the intensification of domestication
and food production, thus the growing population as people established
permanent settlement provide intensive agriculture which influence much the change of nature as the
environment violation increased (Bin ford, 1968).
On
other hand, the iron technology motivated the development of agriculture which
could provide both food crops and cash crops. Hence, as cash crops produced,
the industries developed in different parts of the world which highly demanded
cash crops in this state man practiced large scale agriculture associated with
violation of environment due to the clearing of forest for agriculture
production (Dow et al 2009).
Availability
of environmental resources are used to satisfy the survival need of individual
in this relationship individual are not attempting to subjugate nature instead
to live within the regularities of nature for example house constructed in
those area beyond the reach of flood water, but amount interaction depend on
nature with maximum amount of accommodation and minimum amount of manipulation,
(Nagar, 1959).
The
following are the factor which show the relationship on how nature remaining
robust and destroyed during and after Neolithic revolution;
Demographically
and Ecologically stressed civilization, for example Maya empire collapse
following a brief dry period and Mesopotamian civilization were destroyed after
their system of irrigation was destroyed by the Mongols. As many as 37,000 BC
Sumerian cities were deserted by their population because irrigation
technology, soil that had produced the world first agricultural surplus had
become saline and water logged. But this environment had begun to degenerate
long before this final disaster. Furthermore, Eastern philosopher MengTze
(Mencius) was aware with environmental degradation in Asia, warning the rulers
of imperial China of unsustainable use of resources land. Due to this facts
nature was started to be destroyed during the Neolithic revolution and was more
distracted after Neolithic revolution in which man had already mastered the
environment.
Emergence of sedentary and intensified forms of agriculture,
in part as a response to wild life scarcity, this revolution in food
procurement generally followed the collapse of the big game hunting culture in
northern Europe and America, initially what is generally known as Mesolithic
period or middle stone age. Hunting and gathering society were forced to
intensive domestication of animals and plants.
Due to these facts many of elephant, lion and leopard of Europe were gradually
disappeared following the change of nature due to human activities which
involves clearing of environment which was more favorable for wild animal and
plant species after being destroyed during Neolithic revolution. For example of
area were sedentary settlement was emerged was Babylon, Egypt, Greece, Rome,
Ancient China and Maya all of these areas forest were destroyed and their fertile soil were totally
destroyed and much of original fauna through combination of linear thinking and
their insatiable drives for material wealth (Broswimmer, 2002).
Technologically
(the rise of scientific and technological thinking). During Neolithic
revolution, the nature was still stable due to technology which used was poor
compared to the epoch after Neolithic revolution. During Neolithic revolution
man were still use poor tools even if were getting some changes (improvement).
So, the nature was not more destructed, while after Neolithic revolution man
has already been improve technology and started to use high machine in industry
which cause the destruction of natural intensively through practicing
deforestation to acquire area for both settlement and production of agriculture,
and through increase of industrial activities after Neolithic revolution
influence destruction of nature through the emission of gases from industry and
heavy machine (Dow et al, 2009)
In this both epoch
of Neolithic revolution (during and after Neolithic), the nature (environment)
become differ because during Neolithic Revolution the environment became stable
as there were no high exploitation of resources to support the population while
after the Neolithic revolution the intensive exploitation of resources
associated with agriculture activities lead the destruction of nature in
different parts of the world.
Binford,
L. (1968). “Post-Pleistocene adaptation”, new perspectives in
archaeology, Chicago, IL:
Archive publisher.
Broswimmer,
J. (2002). Ecocide, a short history of the mass extinction of species:
London, Pluto
press.
Byrne,
R. (1989). “Climatic change and the origin of agriculture” in Linda
Manzanilla, ed; stuidies
in Neolithic and urban
revolution Oxford; UK, British Archaeological reports publisher.
Dow,
G et al (2009). “Climate reversal and the transition to agriculture economic
growth,
new Haven, CT. Yale oriersity
press.
Nagar,
D. (1958), Environment Psychology, New Delhi, Concept Publishing Company
Reinfew,
C & Bahn, P. (2008). Archeology: Theories, methods and practice of
agriculture (5thed)
London, theme & Hudson.
Tanno,
K &Willcox, G (2006).Population, food and knowledge; A simple
unified growth theory,
Cambridge UK.Combridge University Press.
Reinfew, C &Bahn, P. (2008). Archeology:
Theories, methods and practice of agriculture (5thed)
London, theme & Hudson.
In this book of Archeology:
theory methods and practice of agriculture explain the case of hunter gatherers and extreme
climates of the productivity of intermediate goods which
involve further specialization
in the limited set of available species.
It's a very helpful & informative article about Relationship between man and nature during Neolithic Revolution & after Neolithic evolution and how the nature remain robust & destroyed respectively. Thanks to you a article share with us.
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