Glossary
Agriculture
The practice of cultivating land, growing crops, and raising livestock for food, raw materials, and other human needs.
Example:
The development of intensive rice agriculture in East Asia supported large populations and complex social structures.
Domestication
The process by which humans selectively breed wild plants and animals, adapting them for their own benefit and use.
Example:
The domestication of horses in Central Asia provided a new means of transportation and warfare for nomadic groups.
Neolithic Revolution
The pivotal historical period marking humanity's transition from nomadic hunting and gathering to settled agricultural lifestyles.
Example:
The Neolithic Revolution allowed early humans to build permanent villages, leading to the development of complex societies.
Pastoralism
A nomadic or semi-nomadic way of life based on the herding and breeding of domesticated animals, often in grasslands or arid regions.
Example:
Mongol societies thrived on pastoralism, moving their herds across vast steppes and developing formidable cavalry skills.
Specialization of Labor
The division of work into distinct tasks, with different individuals or groups focusing on specific skills or crafts.
Example:
With a food surplus, some people could engage in the specialization of labor as potters, weavers, or metalworkers, rather than farming.
Surplus
An amount of a resource, typically food, that is greater than what is immediately needed for consumption or survival.
Example:
A consistent grain surplus in ancient Egypt allowed for the construction of monumental pyramids, as not everyone had to farm.