Exam 1: Becoming Human

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The agricultural villages that emerged as humans abandoned their hunting and gathering lifestyle represented a significant change in social organization. No longer did humans have to travel in small, kin-based groups foraging for food in seasonal migration patterns. Farming increased the caloric capacity of the land and allowed for denser settlement that meant increased numbers of humans could live in one place together. This radically changed the kind of work done within these communities. In smaller, hunting and gathering groups, men and women both had to contribute in order to guarantee the survival of the clan. Men usually hunted while women gathered and raised the children. But, despite this gendered difference in the kind of work done, both were essential to the success of the group. Thus, men and women existed in a more egalitarian society. The advent of agriculture and pastoralism eventually led to food surpluses that allowed some members of the community to do work other than farming and herding. They would then exchange their goods or services for food. Craft specialization and the build-up of surpluses led to social stratification as some people accumulated more wealth, land, prestige, and power than others. As human society and relationships became more complex, women were often collectively disadvantaged. When humans began to think in complex symbolic ways that gave cultural meaning to biological difference, biological identities like male and female began to take on cultural meanings like man and woman. The rough gender egalitarianism of hunter-gatherers was replaced by social stratification that increasingly placed men in positions of power over women. Women increasingly took on the most repetitive tasks of agricultural production. Men increasingly occupied public roles while women were relegated to domestic work. The places where the agricultural revolution was most widespread and where populations were most dense were also the places with the greatest social and political differences and inequalities. These inequalities affected gender relations in ways that disadvantaged women and advantaged men, leading to the emergence of patriarchy.