The Causation and Significance of a Specific Historical Pattern in Ancient History

The Causation and Significance of a Specific Historical Pattern in Ancient History

Presented to

Presented by

Date

Name

Introduction

History plays significance role in the human life since it involves changes, role of material circumstances, and various historical events. Various historical patterns in the ancient history had a lot of significance to the people. From ancient times, man has been looking for ways and means of sustaining life. The ancestors never used the present technology but could manage to feed their families and live a healthy life. Agriculture is the ability of people to produce their own food supply and begun more than 10000 years ago. Agricultural revolution in Europe and Asia started with domestication of plants and the domestication of livestock. Adaptation of agriculture led to significant historical developments in different civilizations on the aspect of culture, and time periods. The beginning of agriculture caused a lot of civilizations that led to expansion and dominance in ancient Europe and Asia. In addition, the ancient Rome and ancient Egypt become more civilized due to introduction of agriculture. Civilized people changed their ways of living from cave dwellers to the present day humans. On the other hand, people’s cultures changed as they progressed from one generation to the other.

The beginning of agriculture and farming and effect on civilization

Agriculture started with cultivation of food crops and domestication of animals. People who first cultivated cereals had observed them grow for a long time in the bush, and developed an interest in their products. In addition, the ancient people domesticated animals that were human friendly and less aggressive. Some animals were already domesticated before the discovery of agriculture. The two processes, domestication of plants and domestication of animals made up the transformation in human culture known as the Neolithic revolution. Availability of better farming technologies provided more a stable food supply for the nations. In addition, the availability of fertile lands and suitable conditions for plant growth led to spread of cereal grains. These two provided adequate food supply that enabled people to settle in their villages and continue in agriculture development.

The development of agriculture led to transformation of humans in their environment. Men cleared lands near their dwelling places and controlled the growth of plants, while taking care of animals that grazed around their homesteads. Agriculture became more common creating conditions for further innovations in Europe and Asia. Civilization was one of the agricultural innovations that led into new inventions and development of organizations that had taken place. The successful agricultural communities were based on localized production that could sustain the population despite the presence of bad weather or poor harvests. Civilization was brought about by several factors even though the development of agriculture never guaranteed further changes, but introduced new forms of social organization. In 7,000 B.C., the big floods separating United Kingdom and Europe resulted in agriculture age in Europe. Farming was established in Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria. Civilization brought the introduction of new tools, and specializations in technological development at around 4000 B.C. these advancements addressed the problems faced by farmers who used the opportunities to improve their production and compete with other cultures. One of the key advancement in technology as a result of civilization in Europe was the introduction of metallic tools in about 3000 B.C.

Farming encouraged the formation of more stable families than those existed before in ancient Europe. Settlement in agriculture made people concentrate on their personal activities, which created room for more incentives that introduced improvements such as construction of wells and use of irrigation. In addition, introduction of agriculture resulted into a more civilized society because people could secure their own pieces of lands and develop them as their property. Agriculture civilization created opportunities for trade where different European and Asian societies could meet and exchange goods and ideas. Moreover, there was the introduction of new methods of governance and regulations.

The civilizations of ancient Egypt

Egypt is ruled by Greek Kings, Alexander the great, who took Egypt from Persians and made it part of the Greek Empire. The civilization of Egypt begun in 3100 B.C. after the foundation of Egyptian dynasty by King Menes. The ancient Egypt was under the Greek and Roman rule. Looking at the interaction between the Egyptians and foreigners, the aspect of civilization is fully understood. In the period of foreign rule, the Egyptians found ways of maintaining and emphasizing the distinctness of their cultural heritage. Irrigation technology shaped the nature of agriculture in Egypt. With the presence of adequate water from river Nile, improved agricultural productivity and led to introduction of more farming technologies. The frequent floods from river Nile reduced productivity. Farmers were forced to cultivate some distances from river banks to avoid erosion of their lands. On the other hand, agriculture played a role in formation of ethics in Egypt and those who breached them faced serious consequences. The Egyptians used pictures of their ancient kings as symbols of agriculture that referred to construction of canals for crop irrigation.

The most significant period for Egyptian civilization was from 3100BC to 969 BC, which started from the foundation of Egyptian dynasty to the discovery of Egyptian city Al-Qahirah, the modern day Cairo. In all these period, the Egyptians maintained their culture and ensured the foreigners could not interfere with their beliefs. Men and women participated in agriculture through harvesting since it was the heart of the ancient Egyptian beliefs whose motivation was from Baath, the ancient god. Agriculture played a great role in development of Egyptian civilization built on the stability on the Nile valley. The link of the Egyptian land established a significant agriculture civilization through the spirit of association. The association with Fdaf presented a defense of honor still today few marginal changes has been introduced, but the Egyptian civilization still continues in the form of Pharaonic Greek Romanian.

The civilization of ancient Rome

The Roman history is divided into three periods, 753-509 BC that concerns the Roman origin. From 509 BC Roman established itself whet it pushed Etruscans out of northern Italy. The final period ended in 31 B.C. that consists of the era of Roma Empire. The ancient Roman culture existed in about 1200 years of civilization. The culture of Roman republic was maintained throughout the entire period after the introduction of agriculture. The development of roman history and civilization together with understanding of its culture assists in understanding the Roman economy brought about by agriculture revolution. The Roman societies believed in hard work and new inventions in the field of agriculture because it sustained their life. In addition, the roman civilization was promoted by the desire of other people to grow and create wealth in the region. The introduction of agriculture in the Roman Empire in 900B.C. came up with new technologies and products that later led to the expansion of the agricultural sector, which became the main source of living.

The entry of new technologies through the introduction of new cultivars played a significant role in improving the Roman economy. The technology led to production of first maturing crops, which improved the entire Roman farming practices and spread all over the entire empire during the rule of Julius Caesar. The new wheat variety, in particular, reduced the amount of labour required in the production of wheat flour because it was easier to process. In addition, civilization brought about an amazing network on the transport sector. Farmers could easily transport their produce from their farms to the trading centers. Moreover, the supply of slaves increased their ability to produce more due to cheap labor. On the other hand, harvester’s technology was introduced that reduced the time spent on fields while harvesting. Agriculture promoted the roman economy to a higher level, as people maintained their culture and ethics.

Conclusion

The introduction of agriculture in the ancient history contributed a lot to the development of the current economy in many countries. Civilization introduced innovations that have continued to increase up to now. The causative and significance of agriculture in the ancient times resulted into development of various farming processes adopted by people from around the globe. The availability of agricultural civilization assisted the two countries, Egypt and Rome, develop a dominant economy.

Bibliography

Bender B. Farming in Prehistory: From hunter-gatherer to food producer, (London; John Baker,

1975); 75-81

Butler. C. The Birth of Agriculture and its Effects. (2007). Retrieved from:

http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/pre/1/FC4Fordham University. Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt. (1998). Retrieved from:

http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/asbook04.aspLichtheim, M. Demotic Ostraca from Medinet Habu,( University of Chicago Press, 1957); 120

125

UNRV History. Ancient Roman Economy. (2012). Retrieved from:

http://www.unrv.com/economy.phpWadley, G. and Martin.A. The origins of agriculture: a biological perspective and a new

hypothesis. (Australian Biologists, 1993).