OCN-105

Studies of mouse molars from the wild verses house mice revealed that:

- Hunter-gatherers alternated between nomadic and sedentary lifestyles for thousands of years before settling into agriculture The critical new understanding that resulted from this study on mice was the transitions back and forth from wild to house to wild to house mice dominating the mice population in the area - this meant that hunter-gatherers probably alternated between nomadic and sedentary lifestyles for thousands of years before settling into agriculture.

What was NOT an impact of the Agricultural Revolution?

more diverse diets More diverse diets was not an impact of the Agricultural Revolution. It was quite the opposite, in fact. Farmers/herders, eating mostly grains supplemented with some meat, had less nutritious, less diverse diets than HFGs. This led to smaller brain size and new diseases related to diet (obesity, heart disease, diabetes). In addition, large organized communities were living in close quarters with other humans and also with animals, contributing to the spread of new parasites and pathogens (disease causing agents). Farming itself was also time consuming and required specialization of labor. New types of repetitive use injuries occurred, e.g. strain on knees and shoulders from grinding grains all day. Cereal grains were particularly valuable because they could be stored long term. However, someone needed to protect the storage of grain so militias developed and were dedicated to that task.

Why is it important to understand the cause and impacts of the Younger Dryas?

- to predict the impact of current continental ice melt - to know that climate change can occur quickly - to understand the transition to agriculture in our ancestral history - to understand the sustainability and survival of human civilization The Younger Dryas corresponds with the disappearance of the Clovis culture which was one of the first widespread cultures on the American continent. The drought during the Younger Dryas had a critical impact on the transition to depending on agriculture. Before studying the Younger Dryas and mega floods, scientists were reluctant to believe that geological processes impacting climate could happen so rapidly. Current global warming has led to polar ice melting which has feedback to global climate. Studying past climate events triggered by ice melt may help us predict future conditions.

The Natufians

- were egalitarian hunter-gatherers - lived in the Levant region - developed the first sedentary society - lived 13,000-10,500 years ago in the Mesolithic The Mesolithic Natufians were egalitarian hunter-gatherers that developed the first sedentary lifestyle in the Levant region. Into the Neolithic, they became more reliant on domesticated plants and animals and lived in villages year round.

What is the correct sequence of events that contributed to the Younger Dryas?

1. The melting of the Laurentide ice sheet 2. The melting of glacial dams containing Agassiz Lake 3. A mega flood of fresh water running into the Arctic Ocean 4. Partially fresh water from the Arctic mixing with the Atlantic Ocean 5. The slowing or stopping of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) which transport heat from the tropics 6. A 1,000 year long drought The Laurentide ice sheet melted to form Agassiz Lake but was contained by massive glacial dams. As temperatures continued to rise, the dams melted and Agassiz Lake flowed across the landscape to the Arctic Ocean as a mega flood. The fresh water mixed with the Arctic and then the Atlantic Ocean, modifying the efficiency of the AMOC at dispersing heat in the ocean. This triggered a small ice age and a 1,000 year long drought across the globe.

Why is Gibekli Tepe so important?

- It shows collaboration between different HFG groups as a communal ritual site - The artwork features the human form rather than just animals - It may provide a connection to the development of written language While Göbekli Tepe was one of the first permanent structures to be built by humans, but there were many non-permanent structures built before the Göbekli Tepe. The Göbekli Tepe was a shared, communal site which required collaboration between different groups and tribes with artwork and T-structures that represent people. The architecture as well as communication between different tribes has led scientists to hypothesize that Göbekli Tepe might be a link to the development of written language.

Paleoenvironmental records records from Mesoamerican lake sediment cores show that:

- Precipitation increased between 12,000-9,000 years ago - forbs dominated until 9,000 years ago Precipitation, measured by % titanium oxide, did increase from 12,000 - 9,000 years ago. Forbs, measured by % Forbs pollen, dominated until ~ 9,000 years ago when Ramon took over. Ramon dominated during the Holocene Thermal Maximum. The shift from Forbs (grasses) to Ramon (a tropic tree) indicated a shift from grasslands to rainforests.

How did the advent of agriculture radically change human cultural evolution?

- people began to see themselves as caretakers of the world rather than part of nature - a food surplus allowed for advancements in technology, arts, and trade - people began to value and take ownership of objects and property As food supply became more secure and dependable through farming and herding, people began to see themselves as caretakers, or "shepards," of the world which is reflected in religion. There was higher value in particular objects and locations because life was now sedentary rather than nomadic. With the storage of grains, there could be a surplus of food so people could do work outside of food collection. This allowed for advancements in technology, arts, and trade. As populations grew dramatically in localized areas, these communities actually became less egalitarian, with more social structure and the need for leadership.

Which of the statements about the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) are true?

- the ITCZ is band of clouds and rainfall in the tropics that migrates north and south depending on the season - during the northern hemisphere summer, compared to the northern hemisphere winter, the ITCZ migrates to a more northern latitude - the ITCZ is responsible for summer monsoons in India

What happened during the "4.2k event"?

- there was a shift in climate that led to aridification of the region - there was a decline in rainfall - the amount of water flowing in the rivers declines The answer is D. There was a cooling of near-surface ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic that coincided with the period, that could have changed the atmospheric circulation patterns. This pushed the rain into different latitude bands from where they had been for the previous several thousand years.

How did civilizations adapt to the unpredictable floodings of the rivers?

- they built reservoir dams to store water - they used water lifts to transport water to flood furrowed fields - they used sluices and diversion ditches to drain fields Because flooding was unpredictable, they had to adapt by inventing technologies that would help them when the rivers were at their highest and lowest.

What contributed to sedentary behavior in Mesoamerica 9,000 years ago?

Large, migratory herd animals disappeared Large, migratory herd animals disappeared due to a combination of climate and environmental changes (the climate warming coming out of the last glacial maximum) that resulted in the loss of the animals' preferred habit and food sources along with hunting pressure of the newly arrived hunter-fisher-gatherers to the region. With the loss of the migratory herd animals as a food source, the hunter-fisher-gathers had to adapt to meet their caloric needs and survive. Mesoamericans were forced to rely more heavily on localized food sources: smaller game animals and gathering nuts, seeds, and legumes. During this time, the average position of the ITCZ shifted more northward (rather than southward) thus bringing more rainfall over the course of a year to the areas that were previously grasslands. This additional rainfall supported the growth of trees that resulted in the ecosystem change from predominantly grasslands into seasonal tropical rainforests.

Which statement is false?

around the world, beer was discovered accidentally while people were collecting grains to make bread Recent evidence suggests that beer was actually being made before bread in many cases, as early as 10,000 years ago. Rigid social cooperation within Homo sapien clans did ensure safety and survival, and beer likely provided the social liberation from this rigidity that was necessary to become more expansive in their thinking, assisting the development of vibrant civilizations.

Cuneiform is a type of building structure.

false Cuneiform is a form of writing that was used by the Sumerians to record their annual amount of harvests, weather records, trade records, etc.

The benefits of farming were so abundant and apparent that HFGs switched to farming immediately when the technology was developed

false Early farmers actually spent more time and effort to acquire food than hunter-fisher-gatherers. The transition to farming was slow, stepwise, and in many cases people alternated between the lifestyles when it suited them or had a combination of both. In some cases the hunter-gatherers adopted the neighboring system of food production (cereal crops, pulse crops, and livestock) as a complete package; in others they chose only certain elements of it; and in still others they rejected food production entirely and remained hunter-gatherers. Ultimately though, they were displaced by neighboring farmers, or else they survived only by adopting food production themselves.

Mesopotamia is a Greek term that means "the land between rivers". The two rivers were the Nile River and Euphrates River.

false The two rivers were the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia that pushed civilizations to adapt their farming techniques.

There was an area within the Fertile Crescent where most of the technological advancements occurred called the Garden Square

false There was an area in the northern region of the Fertile Crescent where most of the technological advancements, but it is called the Golden Triangle. It contains the structures of Göbekli Tepe among others.

The Uruk model of city-states included houses that were spread out throughout the city. Each house had its own garden that they harvested. This model lacked walls that provided protection against enemies.

false This model was the opposite. It included a center core with houses, merchants, etc. providing the majority of the structures around the temple. A wall was also built around the center core. Orchards and gardens for fruits and other more seasonal crops were looked after as a community.

The relative scale of environmental manipulation was equivalent for HFGs and farming/herding communities

false While HFGs did manipulate their environment (e.g. through burns to promote grass growth, spreading seeds, hunting wild animals to collapse), farming/herding began an age of environmental impact on a much larger scale that has continued to today. The Agricultural Revolution led to deforestation to clear land or use ashes as fertilizer, desertification by diverting away natural water flow, removal of native plant species, large-scale urban development, changing the course of evolution for plants and animals through artificial selection of certain traits, soil erosion and nutrient depletion, mass extinction of wild animals in favor of domesticated ones. Today, wild animals are only 10% of all land animal biomass.

Sedentism, or staying in one place rather than moving with the seasons, was the result of the development of agriculture

false, sedentism did not result from the development of agriculture, but rather the changes in climate that made access to wild food more reliable reducing the need to migrate with seasonal changes

What is the paradox of farming/food production?

farming communities were less well nourished than HFGs because human population densities rose slightly more steeply than did the availability of food As described in the reading, the paradox is that food production, while increasing the quantity of edible calories per acre, left the food producers less well nourished than the hunter-gatherers whom they succeeded because of the positive feedback between food production and population growth. People did seek to maximize their return of calories, protein, or other specific food categories by foraging in a way that yields the most return with the greatest certainty in the least time for the least effort. While A and D are correct statements, they do not describe the paradox.

The Younger Dryas was a small ice age that occurred 13,000 years ago and lasted for 1,000 years

true About 14,500 years ago, Earth's climate began to shift from a cold glacial world to a warmer interglacial state. Partway through this transition, temperatures suddenly returned to near-glacial conditions which temporarily reversed the gradual climatic warming. This reversal event is called the Younger Dryas, a small ice age that occured 13,000 years ago and lasted for 1,000 years.

An agricultural society dependent on the rivers made them vulnerable to enemies who were situated upstream.

true Societies who lived upstream had the power to block, divert or manipulate water flow to those who lived downstream. This was a way to gain power or control over the downstream societies.