Neolithic Revolution Research Paper

Words: 612
Pages: 3

Around 8000 BCE, the Paleolithic Era was brought to an end by the Neolithic Revolution. Also known as the Agricultural Revolution, it marked the beginning of the Neolithic Era. While the Paleolithic Era had many discoveries, such as controlling fire, the Neolithic Era, beginning in different places at different times, led to many more important changes. Characterized by several major developments, the revolution had a major impact on the lives of women, changing their roles and lifestyle. The first changes of the revolution were agriculture and pastoralism. As the climate warmed, many hunter forager groups learned to plant seeds into the ground. This led them to give up their nomadic lifestyle and stay in one place to take up agriculture. This process resulted in people having food surpluses. Even though people still hunted and gathered, their diets lacked variety. Women had less work since most of the food came from …show more content…
Priests supervised religious ceremonies and taught basic morals. Women had different roles and powers in different civilizations. In Sumer, women had some freedom, since they could own property and have separate incomes from their husbands. However, only boys attended school and all marriages were arranged by men. In Babylon, women had more rights than the Sumerian women. They could be merchants, traders, and scribes. Marriages were arranged by parents, and women could divorce their cruel husband. In Egypt, women were granted more rights than most places. They could own property, make contracts, and divorce. Cleopatra and Hatshepsut even became pharaohs. Women could also become priestesses. Unpredictable weather would affect crops, so people would pray to the spirits to persuade the spirits to help them. Many priests and priestesses emerged to lead those prayers which gave women more importance. In