Emergence of Sedentary Communities

There are many reasons why there was the emergence of sedentary communities. Previously, the nomadic lifestyle had dominated the majority of communities because these people found it easy to move from one place to another; following migrating herds of animals as they hunted and gathered. With the adoption of agriculture, however, many nomadic communities came to settle down and adopted a more sedentary lifestyle. The development of agriculture enabled these formerly nomadic peoples to completely concentrate on farming as a source of livelihood and this ensured that they had a constant supply of food which discouraged them from moving from place to place foraging for it (al-Jahwari, 122). Agriculture can be said to have changed the habits and cultures of nomadic communities, not only making them sedentary but also ensuring that they had a more agriculturally based cultures and practices.

The emergence of sectors other than agriculture such as mining also contributed to some early communities choosing to end their nomadic way of life and adopting the sedentary one. The mining of those minerals which people found valuable was a great incentive for many to adopt the sedentary life because they not only managed to make better tools than they previously had, but they also gained a great deal of wealth trading with those communities which valued their minerals. As a consequence of this, there emerged a class of specialists who were not directly involved in the agricultural way of life of the community. Such people as craftsmen, chiefs and priests came to dominate the society and it is these people who led the way to the emergence of writing, city planning and principles which were later to develop into science.

Another major factor that led to many nomadic communities adopting a sedentary life was the rapid increase in the human population which meant that resources available for hunter – gatherer communities were quickly being depleted or that some of the animals which they had hunted for generations were becoming extinct (Hambrecht, 60). It is for this reason that many such communities chose to adopt agriculture as an alternative to ensure their long term survival. The nomadic way of life was a very cumbersome way of living especially when there were very young children involved. It can also be said that agricultural productivity also went decreased when people moved from place to place and this encouraged many to choose to settle down so that they could produce more food for themselves.

The evolution and growth of the human civilization has also contributed to the emergence of sedentary communities because changes in lifestyle has force many communities which had previously been nomadic to change their lifestyle to a more sedentary one (Liu, 261). Many of these communities have done so due to the fact that a sedentary way of life is more economical than a non - sedentary one. In addition, changes in the global climate changed the conditions which had previously been so favorable for those living a nomadic lifestyle. This forced many communities to seek a sedentary lifestyle in order to ensure that they had a more comfortable life.