Beginning of Urbanisation

Beginning of Urbanisation:

After settling down at one place for a long time, a feeling of ownership arose among the neolithic people. This feeling was focused on their individual dwellings and the piece of land cultivated by them. This has been already mentioned in the context of social organization and administration. Eventually, the villages expanded. Along with it, awareness of collective landholdings and the village boundaries became prominent. Thus, it was felt that the village community had a natural right over the immediate territory around the village periphery. This kind of awareness of natural right over a particular region is known as ‘territoriality’. Rules and social norms were created in order to manage the collective resources, water sources, crafts dependent on it, trade and community life, etc. Consequently, rituals and their details gained importance. The need of managing and keeping records of trade, rituals, writing systems, and administrative machineries developed. It gave rise to administrative centres. Such administrative centres attract a large number of population which includes officials, people from various occupations. As a result, the periphery of the original settlement kept expanding and cities came into being. Thus began the process of urbanization in the neolithic age.