What Happened in History

Description

A clear and simple analysis of the consequences of what Childe calls 'the Neolithic Revolution', that is the development of agriculture. Childe's argument is that this produced a surplus of food for the first time in human history, allowing free time and the specialisation of labour, because some people could do something other than search for food. The major consequences were a huge expansion of the human population, since food became relatively plentiful, the building of cities and urban life, and the emergence of the role of priest and king and, in due course artisans and metal workers. This revolution in social and economic relations was the one of what we might now characterise as the three technological revolutions. What Childe has to say about the Stone Age gives us insight into our own place in history and social change.