KEY IDEA60 i
CHAPTER
1
Development of Agriculture
and Technology
IN THIS CHAPTER
Summary:One of the most signifi cant developments in world history was
the independent emergence of agriculture, a process that had already taken
place in some locations throughout the Eastern Hemisphere by 8000 B.C.E.
The so-called Agricultural Revolution, or Neolithic Revolution, was in real-
ity more of a slow process resulting from the warming of global tempera-
tures. The accompanying historical period, known as the Neolithic Age (or
New Stone Age), was named for its characteristic tools made from stone.Key Terms
Agricultural Revolution* Neolithic Revolution
animism* Paleolithic Age
artifact* pastoralism*
foraging* slash-and-burn cultivation*
Neolithic Age specialization of labor*The Transition from Foraging to Agriculture
At the close of the Paleolithic Age (or Old Stone Age), the transition from foraging (hunt-
ing and gathering) arose as nomadic groups returned to favorite grazing areas year after
year. Perhaps some nomadic peoples made an effort to cultivate those crops that they
found most appealing; later they may have transplanted seeds from these same favored
crops to other areas through which they traveled. Because hunting required greater physical
strength, the early cultivation of plants was probably a task left to women, granting themCHAPTER