The Neolithic Age
From 8,000 to 3,000 B.C.
By Mikayla Whipple

Vocabulary

• Nomad- highly mobile people who moved from place to place foraging.
• Hunter-gatherers- Nomadic groups whose food supply depends on hunting animals and collecting plant foods.
• Neolithic Age- the agricultural revolution, the far-reaching changes in human life resulting from the beginnings of farming.
• Slash-and-burn farming- cutting trees or grasses and burning them to clear a field.
• Domestication- the taming of animals.

Agricultural Revolution

• Scientists believe the change in climate was the main reason for the revolution.
• It turned into a steady source of food for all of the people.
• Scientists believe the change in climate was the main reason for the revolution.
• The shift from hunter-gathering to producing food, is a representation of one of the greatest breakthroughs in history.

Farming Methods

• Slash-and-burn farming was one of the main methods the Nomads used.
• They would plant crops in one place for a year or two, then move to another place and just switch back and forth.

Domestication of Animals

• Since hunters had a vast knowledge of wild animals, people started to domesticate them.
• They domesticated horses, dogs, goats, and pigs.
• Pastoral nomads, or wandering herders, domesticated sheep, goats, camels, and other animals.
• They took herds of different animals then put them into an enclosure to keep as a food source and to tame.

Jarmo

• Jarmo was an archaeological digging site in the Zagros Mountains in northeastern Iraq.
• According to an archaeologist named Robert Braidwood, the region favored the development of agriculture.
• Wild wheat and barley, along with wild goats, pigs, sheep, and horses all thrived near the Zagros Mountains.

Villages Grow and Prosper

• People changing from hunting and gathering to farming and herding took place more than one time.
• Neolithic people developed agriculture independently.
• From Africa to Peru, one by one they all discovered agriculture and farming.

Farming Developmentation

• Africa- Nile River Valley developed by growing wheat, barley, and other crops.
• China- Farmers along the middle stretches of the Yellow River domesticated wild rice.
• Mexico and Central America- Farmers cultivated corn, beans, and squash.
• Peru- Farmers in the Central Andes were the first to grow tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes.

Catal Huyuk

• It means the "forked mound", located on a fertile plain in south-central Turkey, near a twin-coned volcano.
• Farmers produced large amounts of wheat, barley, and peas.
• Villagers raised and domesticated sheep and cattle.
• The new way of life also had drawbacks, though.
• Floods, fire, drought, and other natural disasters along with diseases such as malaria were all drawbacks.