The Neolithic revolution is the most important event in the entire history of mankind, which was the first noticeable step in the history of world history of the primitive man to turn into a civilized one.
For millennia, a primitive society existed, practically unchanged. Its development was so slow that it was almost imperceptible. Significant changes in various areas of society began only in the last centuries, before that the way of life of people has not changed for tens of thousands of years.
The most important event of the era of primitive communal society, which led to structural changes in people's lives, was the Neolithic revolution, which began about 10-15 thousand years ago. At this time, the emergence of grinding tools, the emergence of agriculture and cattle breeding. In this regard, human productivity increases significantly and begins to exceed consumption, an excess product appears. This means that the opportunity arises for the accumulation of wealth and the creation of reserves. A producing economy makes man less dependent on nature. The population begins to grow. At the same time, the preconditions for the exploitation of some people by others (those who accumulate wealth) are taking shape.
The Neolithic revolution was associated with the development of land cultivation technologies and the beginning of agriculture. For the first time, people began to sow grains of barley, wheat, beans, millet and other crops and harvest. Previously, one hunter needed about twenty square kilometers of land to ensure the normal life of the tribe, but now in this territory it has become possible to feed hundreds of farmers. Thus, the ecological niche has expanded tens and hundreds of times. Abundance came to people, in the history of mankind the “golden age” began.
The Neolithic revolution contributed to the beginning of the decomposition of the primitive communal system and the transition to the first forms of state formations. A new form of development and organization of society was called “proto-state”. At this time, large settlements began to emerge, turning into administrative, cultural and religious centers (cities). So far, the interests of the leader coincide with the interests of other members of society, but social inequality is already emerging, which leads to a gradual separation of these interests.
It is at this stage that the development paths are divided into “western” and “eastern”. The reasons for this lie in the fact that communities and public ownership of land have been preserved in the East. This was due to the need for irrigation work, which was beyond the power of individual families. In the West, where such work was not required, the community broke up much faster, and the land passed into private ownership.
Neolithic revolution and its consequences
The significance of the changes that have occurred in the life of primitive man is enormous. During the transition to a productive economy, processes were launched that eventually led to the almost universal change of primitive relations to civilized ones. A whole list of fundamentally new phenomena in human life has appeared, among which is the separation of cattle breeding from agriculture, and in the Bronze Age, the selection of crafts; deepening social and property differentiation within and between communities; the increasing role of the family; the transition from a clan community to a neighborhood; the emergence of a new type of large settlements. The Neolithic revolution marked the retreat of primitiveness, although this process was uneven. At first, only a few islands appeared, where all the conditions for the transition to civilization developed. Only much later did the process become more stable and progressive.