{"id":311,"date":"2015-04-27T22:55:11","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T22:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/masteryart1x6xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=311"},"modified":"2015-08-31T16:27:46","modified_gmt":"2015-08-31T16:27:46","slug":"reading-the-neolithic-revolution","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/atd-herkimer-artappreciation\/chapter\/reading-the-neolithic-revolution\/","title":{"raw":"Reading: The Neolithic Revolution","rendered":"Reading: The Neolithic Revolution"},"content":{"raw":"

A Settled Life<\/h2>\r\nWhen people think of the Neolithic era, they often think of Stonehenge, the iconic image\r\nof this early era. Dating\u00a0to approximately 3000 B.C.E. and set on Salisbury Plain in\r\nEngland, it is a structure larger\u00a0and more complex than anything built before it in Europe.\r\n\r\nStonehenge is an example of the cultural\u00a0advances brought about by the Neolithic\r\nrevolution\u2014the most important development in\u00a0human history. The way we live today,\r\nsettled in homes, close to other people in towns and cities, protected by laws, eating\r\nfood grown on farms, and with leisure time to learn, explore and invent is all a result\r\nof the Neolithic revolution, which occurred approximately\u00a011,500-5,000 years ago. The\r\nrevolution which led to our way of life was the development of the technology needed\r\nto plant and harvest crops and to domesticate\u00a0animals.\r\n\u00a0<\/b>\r\nBefore the Neolithic revolution, it's likely you would have lived with your extended family\r\nas a nomad, never staying anywhere for more than a few months, always living in\r\ntemporary shelters, always searching for food and never owning anything you couldn\u2019t\r\neasily pack in a pocket or a sack. The change to the Neolithic way of life was huge and\r\nled to many of the pleasures (lots of food, friends and a comfortable home) that we\r\nstill enjoy today.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"500\"]\"Stonehenge<\/a> Stonehenge, c. 3,000 B.C.E., Salisbury Plain, England[\/caption]\r\n

Neolithic Art<\/h2>\r\nThe massive changes in the way people lived also changed the\u00a0types\u00a0of art they made.\r\nNeolithic sculpture became bigger, in part, because people didn\u2019t have to carry\u00a0it\r\naround anymore; pottery became more widespread and was used to store food\u00a0harvested from farms. This is\u00a0when alcohol was invented and when architecture, and its interior and exterior decoration,\u00a0first appears. In short, people settle down and begin to live in one place, year\u00a0after year.\r\n\r\n<\/b>It seems very unlikely that Stonehenge could have been made by earlier, Paleolithic,\r\nnomads. It would have been a waste to invest so much time and energy building a\r\nmonument in a place to which they might never return or might only return\r\ninfrequently. After all, the effort to build it was\u00a0extraordinary. Stonehenge is\r\napproximately 320 feet in circumference and the stones\u00a0which compose the outer ring\r\nweigh as much as 50 tons; the small stones, weighing\u00a0as much as 6 tons, were quarried\r\nfrom as far away as 450 miles. The use or meaning\u00a0of Stonehenge is not clear, but\r\nthe design, planning and execution could have only been carried out by a\u00a0culture in which\r\nauthority was unquestioned. Here is a culture that was\u00a0able to rally\u00a0hundreds\u00a0of people\u00a0to\r\nperform very hard work for extended\u00a0periods of time.\u00a0This is\u00a0another characteristic\u00a0of the\r\nNeolithic era.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"500\"]\"Plastered<\/a> Skulls with plaster and shell from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, 6,000-7,000 B.C.E., found at the Yiftah'el archeological site in the Lower Galilee, Israel[\/caption]\r\n

Plastered Skulls<\/h2>\r\nThe Neolithic period is also important because it is when we first find good evidence\r\nfor religious practice, a perpetual inspiration for the fine arts. Perhaps most fascinating\r\nare the plaster skulls found around the area of the Levant, at six sites,\u00a0including Jericho\r\nin Israel. At this time in the Neolithic, c. 7000-6,000 B.C.E., people\u00a0were often buried\r\nunder\u00a0the floors of homes, and in some cases their skulls were\u00a0removed and covered\r\nwith\u00a0plaster in order to create very life-like faces, complete with\u00a0shells inset for eyes\r\nand\u00a0paint to imitate hair and moustaches.\r\n\r\nThe traditional interpretation of these\u00a0the skulls has been that they offered a means of\r\npreserving and worshiping male ancestors. However,\u00a0recent research has shown that\r\namong the sixty-one plastered skulls that have been\u00a0found, there is a generous number\r\nthat come from the bodies of women and children. Perhaps the skulls are\u00a0not so much\r\nreligious objects but rather powerful images made to aid in mourning lost\u00a0loved ones.\r\nNeolithic peoples didn't have written language, so we may never know.1\r\n<\/sup>\r\n1<\/sup>\u00a0The earliest example of writing develops in Sumer in Mesopotamia in the late 4th\r\nmillennium B.C.E. However, there are scholars that believe that earlier proto-writing\r\ndeveloped during the Neolithic period.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/ld8kHvz1yN4","rendered":"

A Settled Life<\/h2>\n

When people think of the Neolithic era, they often think of Stonehenge, the iconic image
\nof this early era. Dating\u00a0to approximately 3000 B.C.E. and set on Salisbury Plain in
\nEngland, it is a structure larger\u00a0and more complex than anything built before it in Europe.<\/p>\n

Stonehenge is an example of the cultural\u00a0advances brought about by the Neolithic
\nrevolution\u2014the most important development in\u00a0human history. The way we live today,
\nsettled in homes, close to other people in towns and cities, protected by laws, eating
\nfood grown on farms, and with leisure time to learn, explore and invent is all a result
\nof the Neolithic revolution, which occurred approximately\u00a011,500-5,000 years ago. The
\nrevolution which led to our way of life was the development of the technology needed
\nto plant and harvest crops and to domesticate\u00a0animals.
\n\u00a0<\/b>
\nBefore the Neolithic revolution, it’s likely you would have lived with your extended family
\nas a nomad, never staying anywhere for more than a few months, always living in
\ntemporary shelters, always searching for food and never owning anything you couldn\u2019t
\neasily pack in a pocket or a sack. The change to the Neolithic way of life was huge and
\nled to many of the pleasures (lots of food, friends and a comfortable home) that we
\nstill enjoy today.<\/p>\n

\"Stonehenge<\/a><\/p>\n

Stonehenge, c. 3,000 B.C.E., Salisbury Plain, England<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Neolithic Art<\/h2>\n

The massive changes in the way people lived also changed the\u00a0types\u00a0of art they made.
\nNeolithic sculpture became bigger, in part, because people didn\u2019t have to carry\u00a0it
\naround anymore; pottery became more widespread and was used to store food\u00a0harvested from farms. This is\u00a0when alcohol was invented and when architecture, and its interior and exterior decoration,\u00a0first appears. In short, people settle down and begin to live in one place, year\u00a0after year.
\n
\n<\/b>It seems very unlikely that Stonehenge could have been made by earlier, Paleolithic,
\nnomads. It would have been a waste to invest so much time and energy building a
\nmonument in a place to which they might never return or might only return
\ninfrequently. After all, the effort to build it was\u00a0extraordinary. Stonehenge is
\napproximately 320 feet in circumference and the stones\u00a0which compose the outer ring
\nweigh as much as 50 tons; the small stones, weighing\u00a0as much as 6 tons, were quarried
\nfrom as far away as 450 miles. The use or meaning\u00a0of Stonehenge is not clear, but
\nthe design, planning and execution could have only been carried out by a\u00a0culture in which
\nauthority was unquestioned. Here is a culture that was\u00a0able to rally\u00a0hundreds\u00a0of people\u00a0to
\nperform very hard work for extended\u00a0periods of time.\u00a0This is\u00a0another characteristic\u00a0of the
\nNeolithic era.<\/p>\n

\"Plastered<\/a><\/p>\n

Skulls with plaster and shell from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, 6,000-7,000 B.C.E., found at the Yiftah’el archeological site in the Lower Galilee, Israel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Plastered Skulls<\/h2>\n

The Neolithic period is also important because it is when we first find good evidence
\nfor religious practice, a perpetual inspiration for the fine arts. Perhaps most fascinating
\nare the plaster skulls found around the area of the Levant, at six sites,\u00a0including Jericho
\nin Israel. At this time in the Neolithic, c. 7000-6,000 B.C.E., people\u00a0were often buried
\nunder\u00a0the floors of homes, and in some cases their skulls were\u00a0removed and covered
\nwith\u00a0plaster in order to create very life-like faces, complete with\u00a0shells inset for eyes
\nand\u00a0paint to imitate hair and moustaches.<\/p>\n

The traditional interpretation of these\u00a0the skulls has been that they offered a means of
\npreserving and worshiping male ancestors. However,\u00a0recent research has shown that
\namong the sixty-one plastered skulls that have been\u00a0found, there is a generous number
\nthat come from the bodies of women and children. Perhaps the skulls are\u00a0not so much
\nreligious objects but rather powerful images made to aid in mourning lost\u00a0loved ones.
\nNeolithic peoples didn’t have written language, so we may never know.1
\n<\/sup>
\n1<\/sup>\u00a0The earliest example of writing develops in Sumer in Mesopotamia in the late 4th
\nmillennium B.C.E. However, there are scholars that believe that earlier proto-writing
\ndeveloped during the Neolithic period.<\/p>\n