The Neolithic Revolution in the Middle East

This paper investigates the causes and the consequences of the emergence of agriculture in the Middle East. Agriculture has emerged in many parts of the world since the end of the last Ice Age about 15 000 years ago. The paper first surveys the Palaeolithic Period to understand why agriculture did n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Economic history review Vol. 77; no. 4; pp. 1154 - 1196
Main Author Allen, Robert C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2024
Subjects
Agriculture
Calories
Cultivation
Economic history
Inequality
Labor productivity
Malthusian demography
Neolithic
neolithic revolution
Pottery
Middle East
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Summary:This paper investigates the causes and the consequences of the emergence of agriculture in the Middle East. Agriculture has emerged in many parts of the world since the end of the last Ice Age about 15 000 years ago. The paper first surveys the Palaeolithic Period to understand why agriculture did not emerge earlier. Then the paper considers the processes that led to the emergence of agriculture in the Middle East. The question is approached as a problem in economic history, and the archaeological record is understood in terms of changes in labour productivity, as measured by calories produced per hour of work, and in the size of the associated agricultural surplus (the difference between the calories produced by a food procurement system and the calories required to sustain the people trying to support themselves with that system). The shift from foraging to the cultivation of wild seeds and the later impact of the emergence of domestic seed and improvements in tool design are assessed in this framework. It is also used to analyse the impact of agriculture on human wellbeing, the origin of manufacturing (e.g. pottery), and the emergence of inequality, states, and warfare.
Bibliography:https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/194451/version/V1/view
The paper surveys the foraging and early agriculture from 3 million to 8000 years ago. The causes and consequences of the invention of agriculture are discussed.
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Correction added on 3 October 2024, after first online publication: The title has been updated in this version.
The paper surveys the foraging and early agriculture from 3 million to 8000 years ago. Two structural factors led to the emergence of agriculture: Malthusian demography and the search by humans for ways to increase the energy they got from their food relative to the time and energy it took to get the food.
ISSN:0013-0117
1468-0289
DOI:10.1111/ehr.13307