Robert W.

Strayer

Ways of the World:

A Brief Global History
First Edition
CHAPTER 2
First Farmers: The Revolutions of Agriculture
10,000 B.C.E.–3000 B.C.E.

Copyright © 2009 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

Discussion Starter: During the Neolithic period, would
you have preferred to live in a(n)

a. agricultural village society?

b. chiefdom society?
c. gatherer-hunter society?
d. pastoral society?
The Agricultural Revolution
in World History
Comparing Agricultural Beginnings
Common Patterns
Comparison: When one compares the emergence of agriculture
in the Fertile Crescent of Southwest Asia to the same process in
Mesoamerica, the most striking similarity is that both

a. succeeded in domesticating a set of large animals that proved

useful for their milk, fur, meat, and muscle power.
b. developed crops independently that later spread to other
regions.
c. occurred at about the same time.
d. relied heavily on cereal grains as their main crops, unlike other
regions of the world where the main crop was maize.
Variations
Connection: All EXCEPT which of the following is a true statement
about the spread of agriculture from the various regions where it
originated?

a. In some cases agriculture diffused through a gradual spread of the techniques,

animals, and crops of agriculture.
b. In some cases agriculture spread through migration of agricultural peoples who
upon arrival displaced or absorbed gatherer-hunter populations.
c. The spread of agriculture was sometimes accompanied by the spread of
languages.
d. Sometimes agriculture disappeared entirely from the region where it
originated but continued to thrive elsewhere.
The Globalization of Agriculture
Change: Nearly everywhere that the agricultural
revolution took place

a. diets and health conditions of humans immediately

improved.
b. people enjoyed lifestyles that required less work to
produce the same amount of food.
c. the population grew as did the density of settlement.
d. people became less vulnerable to famine.
Triumph and Resistance
The Culture of Agriculture
Social Variation in the Age of Agriculture
Pastoral Societies
Agricultural Village Societies
Discussion Starter: For you, which of the following
developments associated with humans settling down to
an agricultural lifestyle was most revolutionary?

a. Living in larger communities and permanent settlements

b. The work regime required in an agricultural lifestyle
c. The explosion in technological innovation
d. The emergence of a more defined social structure
Chiefdoms
 Chapter 2
First Farmers: The Revolutions in Agriculture, 10,000
B.C.E.–3000 B.C.E.

• Map 2.1 The Fertile Crescent (p. 40)

• Map 2.2 The Global Spread of Agriculture (p. 44)
• Spot Map 2.1 Bantu Migrations (p. 46)
• Chinese Neolithic Pottery (p. 34)
• Teosinte and Maize/Corn (p. 42)
• Women and Weaving (p. 48)
• The Domestication of Animals (p. 49)
• Çatalhüyük (p. 50)
• Cahokia (p. 52)
Discussion Starter: Taken as a whole, do you
think the Agricultural Revolution was a good
thing?

a. The Agricultural Revolution represented

progress.
b. The Agricultural Revolution did not represent
progress.