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11,700 BCE
End of climate cooling cycle
Hunter-gatherer bands move to river valleys and congregate more densely. -
10,000 BCE
Beginnings of Agriculture
Denser, more stable human groups begin to settle in specific geographic areas. Some groups continue season migrations and others send out small bands to pursue nutritional variety. -
9000 BCE
Reduced Caloric Variety
A pronounced sexual division of labor emerges. Men wield heavy plows in the fields, and women spend more time on food preparation. The reliance on cereal grains however reduces vitamin intake. Almost all known agriculturalists grow shorter over the first thousand years of farming. -
7000 BCE
Domestication of Oxen, Pigs, Cattle, Sheep and Goats
Animal husbandry provides much-needed caloric variety as well as production power. Farmers don’t need to work as hard physically as before, and all members of the group improve nutrition. Diseases emerge. -
5000 BCE
Invention of Pottery
The caloric surplus generated by farming allows for the growth of artistic expression through the shaping and decoration of clay pots. -
4000 BCE
The City of Uruk
Uruk is the culmination of the concentration of human groups in Mesopotamia. We can still today read the epic poetry and stories of the people of Uruk, appreciate their visual arts, and see evidence of their use of mathematics and accounting. -
2500 BCE
Bronze!
The first groups to begin smelting bronze experience the light weight and superior strength of metal compared to the wood and stone of the Neolithic Age. Bronze Age civilizations continue to innovate and adaptively out-compete Stone Age farmers for resources over the next several thousand years.