A main theme of Chapters 1 & 2 is how early humans responded to the challenges of nature. In some instances, humans sought to conform with "nature" by living in small groups and migrating to where the food and other needed resources were available, but at some point some early humans began to settle in particular regions, seeking to "control" nature, especially the production of food. The latter led to larger concentrations of people, but also to greater disparities in access to resources (ie. new social hierarchies of class, gender, and ethnicity). Historians tend to emphasize the big "civilizations, but it is clear that there were significant trade-offs in the Agricultural Revolution. Through Wednesday, let's focus our attention on Chapter 1 and the Agricultural Revolutions in Mesopotamia and Egypt. What were the most important causes of this dramatic revolution? What were the positives and the drawbacks of the "agricultural revolution"? Why is it called a "revolution"? Try to develop some specific examples

A main theme of Chapters 1 & 2 is how early humans responded to the challenges of nature. In some instances, humans sought to conform with "nature" by living in small groups and migrating to where the food and other needed resources were available, but at some point some early humans began to settle in particular regions, seeking to "control" nature, especially the production of food. The latter led to larger concentrations of people, but also to greater disparities in access to resources (ie. new social hierarchies of class, gender, and ethnicity). Historians tend to emphasize the big "civilizations, but it is clear that there were significant trade-offs in the Agricultural Revolution. Through Wednesday, let's focus our attention on Chapter 1 and the Agricultural Revolutions in Mesopotamia and Egypt. What were the most important causes of this dramatic revolution? What were the positives and the drawbacks of the "agricultural revolution"? Why is it called a "revolution"? Try to develop some specific examples