Silk Road Settlement and Agriculture

Neolithic Era: 9,000-2,000 BCE

What distinguishes the Neolithic period in World History?

Earliest Neolithic in Middle East

Fertile Crescent

Transition to agriculture, 10,000-9,000 BCE

Neolithic Era

9,000-4,000 BCE

Early Wheat

Why would human harvesting and planting have encouraged fuller heads of grain? Tougher stalks, thinner husks, fatter grains

Çatal Höyük

Modern Turkey

7000-5000 BCE

Neolithic town

32 acres

Irrigated agriculture

Barley

Emmer wheat

Growth of town

1-2,000 houses

5-8,000 inhabitants

Saddle Quern (mortar)

Abu Hureyra, Syria

Only women’s bones reveal bone wear

Neolithic Period in East Asia

Transitional Cultures in North China

North China, ca. 6500-5000 BCE

Evidence of hunting

Wild animal bones

Fishing & hunting implements

Evidence of gathering

Wild millet native to region

Domesticated pig and dog bones

Early Neolithic in North China

Yangshao (ca. 4500-3000 BCE)

Domesticated Dogs and Pigs

Painted Pottery

Tools for hunting, fishing and weaving

Village Life: Model of Banpo

Relatively arid climate

4-6 month growing season

One crop of millet

Foods made from millet

Porridge

Noodles, 2000 BCE or earlier

Steamed bread ?

Theories of China’s Neolithic Origins

Chinese agriculture derived from W. Asia?

Theory of J. G. Andersson

Discovered first Chinese Neolithic village at Yangshao, Henan in 1920

Why have sites with millet in North China disproved Andersson’s thesis?

Would you expect that wheat or millet would arrive earlier in Central Eurasia?

Robert Spengler’s Millet thesis

Earliest site outside of China

Begash, 2200 BCE

Discussion: Christian, "Silk Roads or Steppe Roads? The Silk Roads in World History"

1. According to Christian, what is the conventional view of the Silk Roads (pp. 3-6)? How does he differ in defining the Silk Roads?

2. What does he mean by steppe roads? Why does he argue for their importance? What types of exchanges seem to have been carried out on the steppe roads?

3. When Christian says that “modern historiography…still finds it difficult to perceive the underlying unity of Afro-Eurasian history” (p. 25). What does he mean? How do the Silk Roads fit into this?