NewStone Age

New Stone Age• People grow their own food

• People were no longer nomads

• Still needed stone tools

Farming• Farming began 11,000 years ago in

Southwest Asia

• Women were farmers and men were hunters

• Farming is more difficult than hunting and gathering but it provided a steady supply of food year round

• Allowed people to settle into places

Farming• Needed fertile soil,

water, and sunlight– Fertile – soil

contained substances that plants need to grow

– Irrigation – digging ditches/canals to move water from river to crops

– Surplus – more than they need/extra (stored for winter)

Results of Farming• Population growth

– More food = bigger families

• Civilizations

• Trade– Traded crops for

other needs– 3500 BC – Wheel

and Axle invented

Civilization• Lived in groups → villages → towns

• Started out as farming settlements

• Development of trade caused need for government and laws– More organized societies developed

Civilization• First civilizations developed around 4 great

river valleys– Water and fertile soil

• Cities– Larger than farming settlement– Had large public buildings

• Store surplus food• Worship gods• Marketplace

– Variety of jobs

Australian Aboriginal Dot Art

• Paintings created by the Australian Aborigines

• Elder clan members would share tribal knowledge with younger clan members through the process of painting

• The various symbols were interpreted and explained as lessons in the clan’s history, its creation story, and the location of sacred sites