Historical Settlement

Abstract

This entry traces the evolution of world human settlement from roughly 12 000 bp to the end of the European colonial period. It begins with the Neolithic Age and explains how the agricultural revolution enabled settlements to develop. Over time key locations (or cultural hearths) blessed with fertile lands and abundant water (Mesopotamia, the Nile Valley, Indus Valley, and Huang He/Yellow Valley) saw their populations grow. Beginning in the fifteenth century bce , Greek cities emerged only to be supplanted by Roman influences. With the fall of the Roman Empire, settlement growth shifted to present‐day Europe where feudalistic influences shaped where people lived. As the age of enlightenment encouraged European governments to expand their zone of influence, distinct settlements emerged in the Western Hemisphere. The entry ends with an explanation of how European settlement of the New World progressed in three main stages.