THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

Mr. Korinek 7th Grade Social Studies

The Stone Age

Humans discovered farming toward the end of the Stone Age.

“Stone Age” got its name because it was the time period that humans made tools from stone 2,000,000 B.C.E to 3000 BCE.

Stone Age in Two Periods

Paleolithic Age Neolithic Age

“Old Stone Age” People got food by

hunting wild animals and gathering nuts, berries, and other plants.

People rarely stayed in one place for long.

“New Stone Age” People began settling

down to live in one place.

By 8,000 B.C.E, some groups of people had learned to raise animals and crops for food.

The Agricultural RevolutionTHE SHIFT FROM BEING HUNTER-GATHERERS TO BEING FARMERS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVANCES PEOPLE HAVE EVER MADE!

How it Began…

The discovery of farming did not happen all at once.

Over thousands of years, people gradually learned to raise animals and plant crops.

They began to rely on farms for their food.

Now they could settle down in one place instead of roaming for things to eat.

Where did it all begin?

Most early farming settlements were located in the middle east.

Land was fertile. With a stable food supply

people could build permanent shelters, and form lager communities.

They could trade with other people.

And life was safer, more comfortable, and more interesting.

Creating a Stable Food Supply Hunting and gathering was not very stable. Wild animals and plants grew scarce when

people stayed in one area for too long. Hunting was dangerous, and hunters were often

injured or killed. Early farmers learned how to domesticate

animals (raising and using them for their own purposes.

They raised sheep, goats and cattle for their meat and milk.

They also learned what seeds produced the most crops.

Making Permanent Shelters

Rather than live in caves or tents, people packed mud bricks together to build round or rectangular houses.

Houses had high wall and ladders to reach openings and enter homes.

Homes had several rooms with places to store food and pits for cooking.

THIS WAS IMPORTANT: Protection from harsh weather and wild animals, life was more comfortable, and people could live in larger communities.

Establishing Communities

In Paleolithic times, small bands of 20-60 people wandered from place to place to search for food.

When they settled down, villages and towns began.

THIS WAS IMPORTANT: People could organize themselves more efficiently, they could divide up the work and food, they learned to make things faster, they could also invent ways of more easily defend themselves against enemies.

Developing New Jobs

Stable food supplies allowed people to develop new jobs.

With farms providing food, Neolithic people could specialize their skills.

Besides farmers, there were weavers, basket makers, and traders.

Focusing on one job allowed people to get better at their works.

Beginning to Trade

Another major change was trade. Paleolithic hunter-gatherers rarely

traded, once people settled down trade became common.

The growth of trade brought people into contact with people from distant places. These contacts helped spread ideas and knowledge around the ancient world.

SUMMARY! Farming CHANGED people’s lives. For the first time, people had a stable supply of food. As a result, they could build permanent shelters and communities. They created new jobs and traded for the resources they needed.