Essay

Impact of Agricultural Revolution on the Relation between Men and Women

The Agricultural Revolution was a turning point in the history of mankind. Change in the method of gathering and consuming food had vast cultural and social repercussions. People who depended on hunting for livelihood were now cultivating land, which meant a total deviation of sustenance. As a result in the change of mode of living, the relationship between men and women also changed drastically. In this essay, I will discuss the causes of the difference between the association of men and women after the agricultural revolution. The cultural shift caused by the agricultural revolution also influenced the subsequent civilizations. The causes of the male female relationship in Greek, Roman, Indian, Japanese, and medieval European civilizations can be traced back to the agriculture revolution and, therefore, we can guess the role of women in these societies by understanding the time before that.

Humans, scientifically known as homo-sapiens were able to survive and outcompete many other human species thousands of years ago. It is believed that homo-sapiens had an edge over other species due to the cognitive revolution which took place about 70,000 years ago. Homo sapiens were more intelligent than other species and, therefore, continuously devised new ways to hunt efficiently. With the passage of time, homo-sapiens domesticated fire, improved communication skills and started making art. The agricultural revolution started about 12000 years ago, when humans started domesticating different plants and animals. In order to understand the difference in the interaction of men and women before and after the agricultural revolution, it is necessary to understand the society before the revolution.

Foraging - hunting wild animals and collecting wild plants - remained the source of sustenance before the agricultural revolution. People used to live in small bands, with the largest group consisting of no more than 150 people. Small bands meant that everybody knew each other very well. In a hunting band women had a very significant part; they were involved in gathering plants, nuts, roots which substituted a large percentage of the food consumed. The San speakers of the Kalahari Desert in Namibia and Botswana, mainly depended on non-meat sources of diet - 60-80% - provided by women. Some theories suggest that women also participated in hunting or helped in hunting animals. As females provided a large portion of food and also gave birth, they had a high and respected position in the band. In order to ensure a healthy child, females chose males that were best suitable which is in contrast to the accepted notion of males always choosing females.

It took a very long time for the hunter gatherers to adopt an agricultural lifestyle. Theories suggest that a change in the climatic conditions of the region contributed in a decrease, in the amount of the game which eventually lead to the agricultural revolution. It is believed that adoption of agriculture as a primary source of subsistence, lead to the diminution of female status. Large fields of crops were cultivated ...