Beginnings of Agriculture

After the Middle Stone Age came a period of time that scientists call the Neolithic (nee-uh-LI-thik) Era, or New Stone Age. It began as early as 10,000 years ago in Southwest Asia. In other places, this era began much later and lasted much longer than it did there. During the New Stone Age people learned to polish stones to make tools like saws and drills. People also learned how to make fire. Before, they could only use fire that had been started by natural causes such as lightning. The New Stone Age ended in Egypt and Southwest Asia about 5,000 years ago, when toolmakers began to make tools out of metal. But tools weren’t the only major change that occurred during the Neolithic Era. In fact, the biggest changes came in how people produced food. Plants After a warming trend brought an end to the ice ages, new plants began to grow in some areas. For example, wild barley and wheat plants started to spread throughout Southwest Asia. Over time, people came to depend on these wild plants for food. They began to settle where grains grew. People soon learned that they could plant seeds themselves to grow their own crops. Historians call the shift from food gathering to food producing the Neolithic Revolution. Most experts believe that this revolution, or change, first occurred in the societies of Southwest Asia. Eventually, people learned to change plants to make them more useful. They planted only the largest grains or the sweetest fruits. The process of changing plants or animals to make them more useful to humans is called domestication. The domestication of plants led to the development of agriculture, or farming. For the first time, people could produce their own food. This development changed human society forever. Animals Learning to produce food was a major accomplishment for early people. But learning how to use animals for their own purposes was almost equally important. Hunters didn’t have to follow wild herds anymore. Instead, farmers could keep sheep or goats for milk, food, and wool. Farmers could also use large animals like cattle to carry loads or to pull large tools used in farming. Using animals to help with farming greatly improved people’s chances of surviving. Farming Changes Societies The Neolithic Revolution brought huge changes to people’s lives. With survival more certain, people could focus on activities other than finding food. Domestication of plants and animals enabled people to use plant fibers to make cloth. The domestication of animals made it possible to use wool from goats and sheep and skins from horses for clothes. People also began to build permanent settlements. As they started raising crops and animals, they needed to stay in one place. Then, once people were able to control their own food production, the world’s population grew. In some areas farming communities developed into towns. As populations grew, groups of people gathered to perform religious ceremonies. Some put up megaliths. Megaliths are huge stones used as monuments or as the sites for religious gatherings. Early people probably believed in gods and goddesses associated with the four elements— air, water, fire, and earth—or with animals. For example, one European group honored a thunder god, while another group worshipped bulls. Some scholars also believe that prehistoric peoples also prayed to their ancestors. People in some societies today still hold many of these same beliefs. Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and People 1. a. What is domestication of a plant or animal? b. How did early people use domesticated animals? 2. a. What were gods and goddesses probably associated with in prehistoric religion? b. How did domestication of plants and animals lead to the development of towns?