The Beginning of Farming
• The practice of Farming marked the
beginning of the New Stone Age
• 11,000 years ago, humans learned that if
they planted seeds of wild grasses, new
crops of grasses would come up
• Plentiful food
• Nomadic life no longer required
Pastoral Nomads
• Nomadic life no longer required however…
• Pastoral nomads raised livestock &
traveled from place to place in search of
grazing areas
• Pastoral nomads (desert-roaming
Bedouins) not uncommon today in Iraq, Syria
Pastoral Nomad /Bedouin
Global Climate & Agriculture
• Scientists believe no single place of origin
for farming
• Earliest evidence of farming coincides with
the of the last Ice Age
• Change in global climate made farming
easier?
Farming Around the World
• Humans gradually learned that locations
with long spring and summer seasons
were best places to plant
• 9,000 years ago, Chinese farmers began
planting rice
• Soon after, people in Central America
began growing corn, beans & squash
Domestication of Food
Plant Selection
• Products of early farming looked different
than today
• Farmers gradually learned that seeds from
the largest, best tasting crops were best
for planting
• Began to domesticate plants or wild plants
for human use
• Careful selection of seeds over time led to
kind of crops we see today
Terrace Farming
Raising Animals
• During Stone Age, humans learned to
tame wild animals and breed them for
human use
• First domesticated animals most likely
dogs (they were valuable in hunting)
• Sheep, goats & pigs provided ready
sources of meat, milk, wool & skins
• Careful breeding led to tamer animals
Raising Animals
• Careful breeding led to tamer animals
• 2500 B.C, cattle, camels, horses, donkeys
trained to carry heavy loads
• Humans tried & failed to domesticate
many other animals
– Ancient India tamed wild elephants for battle
– Ancient Assyrians & Egyptians trained wild
cheetahs for hunting
Elephants in Battle
Hunter-Gatherers
• Mammoths thrived during the last ice-age
which ended about 10,000 years ago
• Scientists have different ideas about how
such game was hunted
– Wounded by spears and lured into hidden pits
– Attacked near watering holes
– Herd until forced over bluffs
Hunter-Gatherers
Objective
• Students will be able to:
– describe the lifestyles of hunters-gathers
– describe the methods hunter-gathers used to
hunt/kill large animals
– Describe the importance of animals to the
survival of hunter-gathers long ago
– Explain the importance of ancient art to our
modern understanding of hunters-gatherers
Hunter-Gatherers
• Once mammoth killed
– hide removed it was stretched & scraped
clean
– Tusks and other useful parts removed from
carcass
– Damaged weapons repaired & made ready
for next hunt
Hunter-Gatherers
• Lived in the wild
• Lived in caves or built shelters
– Huts of tusks or mammoth bones
– Hides covered shelters
– Fire pits in floor for warmth
• Made clothes of hides
Ancient Art
• During last Ice Age when glaciers covered
the Earth, hunter-gatherers painted animal
forms and symbols o cave walls.
• Charcoal and other materials use or
pigmentation
• Paintings found in Africa, Europe,
Australia
ACTIVITY
In teams of 2-3 complete the
Stone Age Survival Worksheet
Each student must complete/submit a worksheet
Be prepared to share your findings
Complete sentences not required