Introduction
Stories from the Stone Age is a documentary about the prehistoric era that started when humans decided to switch from the centuries-old nomadic lifestyle of hunting and gathering to a new lifestyle. They grew white cereals which, according to archaeologists, with the grains, one individual could feed a household of four for an entire year by harvesting for around three weeks (AllHistories, 2009, 7:50). They found a large species of plants called the grasses, which provided an abundant supply of grain and served as the catalyst for human civilization. The grain was unique in that it did not decompose when kept dry and could last for many years. Since there was a need to store the grains, they had to build shelters that remained for many generations (Mobolade et al., 2019). This shift to agriculture and grazing and the establishment of permanent settlements contributed to the emergence of the world’s first human civilization.
Claim
The primary claim presented in the video is centered on the transition from hunting to agriculture and its impact on human settlement and civilization. As hunter-gatherers, people traveled with their children to different places and could only have one meal away from starvation while they had no settlement. This changed when they shifted to farming, and they increased their harvest. Due to the large harvest, families needed shelters to store their harvest, leading them to construct storage facilities (AllHistories, 2009, 9:00). Due to climate change, farming was favored as yields increased, reducing starvation. They now had access to food that would sustain them for extended periods, which changed their way of life.
Conclusion
Large fields of grain were being grown due to the dramatic shift to farming, and to manage the yield, they had to create new structures of society, which promoted togetherness. After a challenging time, these societies were now exclusively agricultural, had made their homes in one area, and were in charge of cultivating and harvesting the grains. The Stone Age revolution paved the way for civilization and started humanity on the difficult path to the modern era.
References
AllHistories (2009). Stories from the Stone Age – 1of15. [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Mobolade, A., Bunindro, N., Sahoo, D., & Rajashekar, Y. (2019). Traditional methods of food grains preservation and storage.Annals of Agricultural Sciences, 64(2), 196-205. Web.