Origin and Evolution of Human Settlements

Origin and Evolution of Human Settlements

Various Stages

Man as Nomad and Cave Dweller

(Up to 10,000 B. C.)

•Earth estimated to be formed about 4 billion years ago

•Homo Sapiens (the one existing species of man) believe to date from about 500,000 B. C.

•Earliest man did not settle anywhere as they wandered around in search of food

•Did not know how to construct buildings so lived in the open

•Occasionally took shelter on top of trees to protect themselves from wild animals.

Man as Nomad and Cave Dweller.

•Later man began to live in caves by the side of rivers, lakes and springs

•Sites protected by rivers, swamps or elevated terrain preferred

•Caves not used as places for fixed residence

•When food gathering in the vicinity became difficult, early man moved to another location.

Towards Settled Habitation

(Up to 10,000 B. C. - 5,000 B. C.)

•Man learned to practice cultivation

•Could stay at one place and produce food

•Began to settle down near the fields cultivated by them

•Choose fertile lands and where water was available in plenty

•Learned to build huts and mud houses.

Towards Settled Habitation

(Up to 10,000 B. C. - 5,000 B. C.)

•Some of the earliest settlements began to take shape

•Settlements then consisted of groups of houses built by the side of agricultural fields, a

shrine and a burial ground.

•Some inhabitants continued to live in caves and wander around for hunting animals - more

as a pastime rather than as a necessity.

The Common Habitat and Onset of Civilisation

•Inhabitants organized as a community under a recognized leader

•Began to get the first lessons of civilized living

•Started learning to provide for themselves the three basic necessities of life - food, clothing

and shelter.

Shifting Cultivation

•Shift to new location after experiencing decrease in fertility after successive cultivation

•Later learned that land regained fertility if it is left uncultivated for few years

•Began to cultivate fields by rotation

•Thus managed to stop shifting practice and settled down at on place.

Food Surplus

•Learned to make manure out of night soil and animal droppings

•Greatly increased food production

•As food became abundant, health of people improved

•Death rate dropped, birth rate increased and  population of many settlements began to

multiply rapidly through the natural process.

Beginning of permanent settlement

•Assured food supply through agriculture encouraged man to permanently settle by the side

of the fields he cultivated

•Compact settlement since agriculture could support up to 35 persons per sq. km  as

compared to 15 persons per sq. km applicable to hunting and food gathering societies.

Favorable Locations for Settlements

•Favorable environment for human existence and survival

•Climate not very harsh

•Epidemics not frequent

•Land fertile

•Good quality of water available in plenty

•River Valleys as popular places for settled habitation.

Why River Valleys

•Land was fertile, water and food (fishes and prongs)  extracted from rivers, and soft clay

good for constructing huts.

•River also used later as means of transportation.

•First settlements  in the river valleys of India, China, Egypt, and areas known as the Fertile

Crescent (modern Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Israel).

Other Factors Considered for Siting Settlements

•Took care to locate on higher ground for better drainage, protection from floods and

reasons of security.

•Spacing between settlements to leave space for future expansion.

Community Structuring

Division of Labour

•As food became abundant, all the inhabitants were not required to work on the fields

•Others thus began to practice various occupations.

•Working population got divided among farmers, cattle and poultry breeders, fishermen,

shepherds craftsmen(carpenters, potters, painters, engravers, makers of tools, weapons

and other implements), and weavers.

•Some engaged in  taming and domestication of animals for bearing load, plough fields,

protecting property and as source of milk, meat and wool.

Barter System

•The most ancient form of trading.

•Those who were not farmers were supplied food in exchange of goods they produced

•Shepherds got grains in exchange for milk, weavers for cloth, potters for utensils, and

craftsmen for tools and implements.

•Initially practiced within the community.

•Later as river and land routes developed for transportation, goods began to be exchanged

across communities.

Trading

•With transportation, reputation of some of the goods produced by craftsmen of particular

villages began to travel far and wide.

•As the demand of goods increased, trading of such goods began to grow.

•Traders emerged as a new class of people, trading as a new occupation and market place

as the new physical component of settlements.

Social Stratification

•Early traders most probably belonged to the hunting tribe - people already used to traveling

•They were also recognised as leaders as they provided protection to the community

against wild animals.

•After they began trading activity,they accumulated goods and became wealthy.

•They also accumulated knowledge as they traveled long distances and met many people.

•Their hold on the community increased and became quite powerful. One of them became a

chieftain.

Physical Structuring

New Physical Features

•The chieftain built for himself a castle which towered

over the other buildings,more so

because it was built at the highest point in the village.

•The rich traders and wealthy farmers built their houses near the castle - the new

distinguishing feature and a status symbol.

•Relatively poor artisans and ordinary peasants occupied quarters on the periphery.

•The community was divided between the rich and the poor and the two social classes

occupied different sections of the settlements.

New Physical Features

•The rich and the poor gradually grew antagonistic to each other.

•The rich became concerned about their life and property.

•Built a wall around their castle and thus created fortified castle.

•Man had originally learned to ward of danger from beasts and wild animals but now was

afraid of being attacked by fellow human beings.

The Walled Settlements

•The strife between the people of the same settlement  later supplemented by that between

the people of different settlements.

•The rich settlements were exposed to the danger of being raided by outsiders.

•The wall around the settlement  was built in addition to the one already existing around the

castle.

•This effectively curbed physical spread of settlements.

•People living outside moved in.

•The density of population began to rise.

New Community Structuring

Subjugation of Peasants

•The external threat brought forth the necessity of internal unity.

•Need for mutually defending themselves.

•But the new organization of the community was such that it resulted in the subjugation and

exploitation of a large majority of peasants by a small minority of the rich - the so called

nobles.

•The Chieftain claimed a share in the agricultural surplus in return for the protection

provided by him to the community.

•Initially it could be described as the beginning of the taxation system that was perhaps

willingly done.

•Placing more resources at the disposal of the Chieftain meant better equipped army and

better protection for the community.

•Soon the beneficent role of the Chieftain was corrupted by his lust for power.

•As his resources increased and he became more powerful, he began to demand a larger

share of the agricultural surplus.

•Ultimately leaving barely minimum for the survival of the peasant and his family

•Chieftain was supported in his exploitative pursuits by a large number of military and army

officers, governors, viziers, tax-gatherers, and soldiers.

Role of the Priests and New Physical Structuring

•When use of physical power was not enough to ensure complete obedience, the same was

achieved by exploiting the religious sensibilities of the people.

•The shrine moved within the precincts of the citadel.

•Priests were begun to be identified with the Chieftain.

•Often, the Chieftain even assumed the role of a priest.

•The Chieftain became all powerful and people willingly obeyed whatever he commanded

•He elevated himself to the status of the king - one who commanded a territory recognized

as his kingdom.

•The castle grew into a fort and the shrine into a temple.

Civilization

Labour Specialisation

•Under the centralised command of the king, many large scale constructions such as

protective walls, moats, forts and temples, network of irrigation channels, cisterns and

reservoirs were completed.

•Mines were found for quarrying building materials.

•Timber began to be used in buildings in combination with other materials.

•Labour Specialisation was carried a step further.

•New occupation groups such as engineers, construction labourers,  carpenters, miners and

transporters (boatmen, sailors, loaders and cart men), merchants ( including money-lenders

and bankers), soldiers and priests were added.

Caste Differentiation

•Members assumed or were assigned specific functions by the ruler

•Persons assigned jobs such as scavenging and cobbling were assigned low status in the

society, paid minimal wages and remained poor

•Whereas, people performing religious, administrative and intellectual functions were

accorded high status, were paid high salaries and became rich

•They were considered to be belonging to high caste categories

•Community was not only divided into rich and poor but also caste managed.

Language, Art and Technology

•Man developed new skills in art to create carvings, engravings and paintings

•Developed a kind of common language

•Learned the use of metals and acquired an array of new implements

•Used these houses to make bigger houses, temples and tombs.

Urban Settlement

Community Structure

•Labour specialisation

•New occupations – teachers, advocates, judges, government servants

•New class of people – philosophers, scientists, administrators, political leaders, dramatists,

sculpture artists, architects and town planners

•Distinct social classes

•Non-agricultural occupations expanded at a faster rate.

Community Structure

•Invention of new means of transport

•Expansion of trade

•Merchants organised themselves in the from of guilds

•Development of art and literature

•Acquisition of wealth and knowledge

•A general sense of appreciation for civic concerns

•Structural transformations continued over subsequent civilizations and cultural phases.

New Physical Structuring

The Urban Settlement

•The village evolved into its urban counterpart

•Difficult to say when the first urban settlement existed

•According to some historians, first settled habitation existed as early as about 13,000 B. C.

•First known settlement as claimed by archaeologists was Jericho in modern Israel and was

established in 7,800 B. C.

•First indisputable permanent settlement inhabited by farming community was Jarmo in

Khurdistan area of Iraq during 7,000 and 6,500 B. C.

•The first identifiable urban settlements are believed to have existed by 3,500 B. C.

Physical Form of Urban Settlement

•A common core consisting of the castle, fortress, fort, the temple, and houses of the nobles

and the priests.

•A public square which generally formed part of the core.

•A market place and perhaps a school.

•Tombs, statues, rock sculptures, colonnades, obelisks, fountains, parks, gardens and

canals.

•Protective inner and outer walls with moats and monumental gates.

Physical Form of Urban Settlement

•Dwellings of the common people.

•Theatre, government offices, gymnasiums, judicial courts and institutions of higher learning

(added during the Greek Period)

•Networks of water supply, sewerage, drainage, transportation systems, bath houses,

coliseums, and circuses (added by the Romans)

•Church became the central focus of medieval towns.

•Monasteries became new center of activity.

•Warehouses to store the wealth of the town.

•Guild halls and Town halls.

Physical Form of Urban Planning