NEOLITHIC CULTURE

=Neolithic Tools (New Stone Age 10,000 year ago)= [image:http://i.imgur.com/eCPsYIA.png?1] Neolithic culture is defined by the development of '''agriculture''' and '''permanent settlements'''. This represents a shift away from the nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an economy that could provide a surplus of food, allowing greater population densities, specialization (division of labour) and trade. ==The development of farming== [image:http://i.imgur.com/YjlTM6D.png?1] The remains of figs were discovered in a house in Jericho dated to 9,400 BC. The figs are of a mutant variety that cannot be pollinated by insects, and therefore the trees can only reproduce from cuttings. This evidence suggests that figs were the first cultivated crop and mark the invention of the technology of farming. Neolithic people developed polished stone axes, where the stone was ground rather than chipped. These stone axes enabled them to clear land for agricultural use. Agricultural practices emerged throughout the '''‘fertile crescent’''', a region running from Egypt to the Persian Gulf about 10 000 years ago. By about 7 000 years ago, agriculture became established in China, followed by central / south America about 5,000 years ago. Neolithic peoples harvested cereals and used grinding stones to produce flour, while some of the grain was replanted to generate the next crop. Some seed selection may have occurred. Animals were also herded and domesticated (tamed) so that they could be selectively bred. With time, selective breeding would result in more productive crops / herds. Farming allowed excess food to be produced that could be stored or traded. This enabled Mesolithic people source food and materials year-round without relocating. As a result more sophisticated mud-brick and wooden dwellings emerged as part of much larger settlements that would later grow into cities. Some of these settlement were fortified and warfare between larger groups became more common.