The First Farmers

For most of human history, people found food by hunting wild animals and gathering berries, nuts and roots. They lived as nomads, following the herds of animals they hunted. Then, about 10,000 years ago in 8000 BC, a huge change took place. People learned how to grow crops and rear animals for food.

Instead of having to roam farther and farther afield to find foot to eat, people found they could grow enough for their families on a small patch of land. This meant that they had to settle in one place all year round and build permanent homes. These people were the first farmers. Their farming settlements grew to become the first villages, which in turn grew to become the first towns. Plants and animals that are grown or raised by people are known as ‘domesticated’. The first domesticated plants and animals were developed from those that were found in the wild. Wheat and barley, which had grown wild in parts of the Middle East for thousands of years, were two of the first crops to be domesticated. People collected seeds from these wild plants and sowed them in ground dug over with deer antlers.

Ploughs were not invented until about 6,000 years ago in 4000 BC. After the seeds had been planted, the crop was harvested and the grain ground into flour to make bread, which was baked on hot stones. Farmers also learned how to tame wild sheep, goats and pig and how to breed them, so that they no longer had to go hunting for their meat.

DESERT ROCK ART

Cave paintings in Algeria dating from 10,000 years ago show people hunting giraffe, hippos and elephant. Later paintings show farmer tending herds of cattle. After about 3000 BC, when the Sahara’s climate became drier, the rock art shows desert animals, such as camels.

On farms in Europe in about 3000 BC, people made clay pots, which they fired in kilns and used for storing grain and water. They used stone axes to fell trees and clear land, and stone sickles to harvest crops. They also spun wool and wove it into cloth on looms (far left).