The Agricultural Revolution:

The earliest people were nomads who moved from place to place to hunt animals and gather plants. After the last Ice Age ended, Earth's temperatures rose. As the climate warmed, many nomads moved into areas with a mild climate and fertile land. Another historical revolution then occurred. For the first time, people began staying in one place to grow grains and vegetables. Gradually, farming replaced hunting and gathering as the main source of food. At the same time, people began to domesticate (duh • MEHS • tih • kayt), or tame, animals for human use. Animals transported goods and provided meat, milk, and wool.

This change in the way people lived marked the beginning of the Neolithic Age (nee • uh • LIH • thick). It began about 8000 b.c.e and lasted until around 4000 b.c.e—about 4,000 years. The word neolithic is Greek for "new stone." Calling this time period the New Stone Age, however, is somewhat misleading. Although new stone tools were made, the real change in the Neolithic Age was the shift from hunting and gathering to systematic agriculture. This is growing food on a regular basis. This shift from hunting and gathering to food production, however, did not happen quickly. Even during the Mesolithic Age, or Middle Stone Age, some people continued to hunt and gather, while others began to grow their own food.

Big Changes for Humankind:

Historians call this settled farming during the Neolithic Age the Agricultural Revolution. The word revolution refers to any change that has an enormous effect on people's ways of life. While hunter-gatherers ate wild grains that they collected, early farmers saved some of the grains to plant. Humans lived differently once they learned how to grow crops and tame animals that produced food. They now could produce a constant food supply. This allowed the population to grow at a faster rate. Nomads gave up their way of life and began living in settled communities. Some historians consider the Agricultural Revolution the most important event in human history.

Widespread Farming:

By 8000 b.c.e, people in Southwest Asia began growing wheat and barley. They also domesticated pigs, cows, goats, and sheep. From there, farming spread into southeastern Europe. By 4000 b.c.e, farming was an established economic activity in Europe.

At about the same time, around 6000 b.c.e, people had begun growing wheat and barley in the Nile Valley in Egypt. Farming soon spread along the Nile River and into other regions in Africa. In Central Africa, different types of crops emerged. There, people grew root crops called tubers, which included yams. They also grew fruit crops, such as bananas. Wheat and barley farming moved eastward into India between 8000 and 5000 b.c.e

By 6000 b.c.e, people in northern China were growing a food grain called millet and were domesticating dogs and pigs. By 5000 b.c.e, farmers in Southeast Asia were growing rice. From there, rice farming spread into southern China.

In the Western Hemisphere, between 7000 and 5000 b.c.e, people in Mexico and Central America were growing corn, squash, and potatoes. They also domesticated chickens and dogs.