World History - The Beginning of Agriculture

1. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2
Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• The New Stone Age
• Development of Agriculture
• Map: Growth of Agriculture
• Agriculture Changes Society
The Beginning of Agriculture

2. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2
Reading Focus
• What new tools and technologies did early humans develop
during the New Stone Age?
• How did early agriculture develop and spread?
• In what ways did the development of agriculture change Stone
Age society?
Main Idea
1. The development of agriculture was a major turning point in
human history and significantly changed the way in which many
people lived.
The Beginning of Agriculture

3. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2
As prehistoric people developed more sophisticated tools,
the Paleolithic Era gave way to the Neolithic Era.
• Stones chipped to make
points
• Wood and bone tools
• Nets from plant fibers and
animal sinew
Paleolithic Tools
• Polished stones to make
points
• More specialized tools:
– chisels
– drills
– saws
Neolithic Tools
The New Stone Age

4. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2
Contrast
How did toolmaking in the New Stone Age
differ from toolmaking in the Old Stone
Age?
Answer(s): Old Stone Age—chipped stones to
produce sharp edges; New Stone Age—polished
and ground stones to shape tools

5. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2
2. The development of agriculture, about 10,000 years
ago, radically changed how people lived. This shift to
farming is referred to as the Neolithic Revolution.
• End of Ice Age
• New plants
• New food source
• People learned to
farm
• Domestication
• Larger food supply
Plants
• Domesticating
animals
• Careful selection
and breeding
• 10,000 BC – dogs
• Larger and more
stable supply of
meat, milk, skins,
wool
Animals
• Available plants,
domesticated
animals
• Spread to regions:
– Asia: rice
– Africa: cattle
– Mexico: corn
– South America:
potatoes
Growth of
Agriculture
Development of Agriculture

6. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2

7. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2
Identify Cause and Effect
How did people benefit from farming and the
domestication of plants and animals?
Answer(s): more reliable food supply; people
could pool labor and resources

8. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2
• As people began to make items from bronze, the Stone Age gave way to the Bronze
Age, which began as early as 3000 BC in some areas.
• 3. Agriculture dramatically changed Stone Age societies by providing a larger and
more reliable food supply. Some people began to live as nomadic pastoralists. Others
gave up the nomadic lifestyle and formed settlements, pooling their resources.
• Small settlements
• Villages and towns
• Increase in trade
• Societies became more complex
• Social status, authority
• Religion, megaliths
• Warfare, disease increased
Early Farming Societies
Agriculture Changes Society
• New tools and methods
• Animals working in fields
• Grindstones, pestles, pottery
• Wool from sheep for yarn
• Spinning and weaving
• Copper, bronze, tin
New Technologies

9. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2
Çatal Hüyuk
A Neolithic settlement in what is now Turkey
• Largest Neolithic site found
– Home to 5,000–6,000 people in 6000 BC
– Covered more than 30 acres
– People raised barley, wheat, sheep, goats
• Houses
– One main room with areas for sleeping and
domestic tasks like cooking
– Religious shrines

10. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2
Discoveries added to our knowledge of Neolithic societies
• 1991- hikers discover frozen male body
• Scientific tests performed
• 5,300 years old, from Neolithic Era
Scientists’ theories
• Diet included coarse grains
• Did not live in location where found
• Might have been murdered
Ötzi and belongings well preserved
• Clothes: three types of animal skins stitched together
• Leather shoes, woven grass cape, fur hat, backpack
• Quiver with arrows, dagger, ax with copper blade
Ötzi the Iceman

11. The Beginnings of Civilization Section 2
Summarize
How did the development of agriculture
affect Neolithic societies?
Answer(s): revolutionary changes; men and
women assumed different roles; led to towns,
government, religion, trade