Neolithic Times New Stone Age

New Stone Age About 8000 B.C. people started producing food This brought about a great change in the way people lived – Farming The beginning of Farming was the Neolithic Revolution

New Stone Age Farming- people discovered that seeds from wild grains could be planted and harvested Herding- people learned they could build a fence to enclose a herd of wild animals Animals were killed one at a time- the rest saved for later Captured animals lost fear of humans and became tame or domesticated

New Stone Age People during this time bred animals to improve those animals qualities Used animals such as donkeys, camels, and llamas as pack animals The food supply increased, more food led to a growing population- about 5 million people in world at 8000 B.C. People also lived longer- life expectancy average of 30 years

New Stone Age Villages were established once people were able to produce food They no longer needed to follow their food sources- most developed near fertile soil and a water supply Earliest known villages are in southwestern Asia

New Stone Age Jericho (between Israel and Jordon) Abu Huerya (Syria) Catal Huyuk (Turkey)

New Stone Age Specialization- development of occupations Less people were needed to produce food- so people started to do other things- potters, weavers, metal workers Learned to bake clay to make pottery Weave cloth

New Stone Age Villages began to develop their own form of government Single chiefs were chosen to keep order Boundaries were set to protect belongings

New Stone Age Most of the chiefs were also the priests They handled the religious duties by offering prayers for good soil, healthy animals, rain At first they worshipped the things in nature around them. Eventually, Gods and Goddesses were created to represent these forces of nature Religious customs also developed at this time