From Hunter and Gatherer to Farmer and Cattle Breeder
In the New Stone Age (Neolithic period), one of the greatest transformations in human history took place: the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture and animal husbandry.
The New Stone Age lasted in Europe from about 5000 to 3000 B.C.. It was characterized by the perfection of stone tools and the beginning of settled life.
With improved tools and weapons, people could hunt more efficiently and supplement their diet. Stones were now polished smooth and drilled so that axes and adzes could be made, as shown by archaeological finds.
These new tools allowed people to fell trees and build canoes (dugouts) for fishing. This broadened their food sources and reduced the need to wander in search of food.
At the end of the New Stone Age, people used flint sickles, grinding stones for processing grains, and spindles and looms for weaving linen and wool. This marks a clear change in their way of life.
Lifestyle in the New Stone Age
The profound change in lifestyle was due to the transition to a sedentary life based on agriculture and livestock breeding.
This change began around 5000 B.C. in the Fertile Crescent (modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Turkey). Because of increasing dryness in many regions, people settled near rivers like the Euphrates and Tigris. There they began to cultivate plants and domesticate animals.
People learned to sow grains on prepared fields. Wild animals such as wolves, goats, sheep, pigs, and cattle were tamed and bred — a process known as domestication. Thus, the first farm animals and cultivated plants appeared.
Humans discovered that certain soils were more suitable for growing crops.
They plowed and irrigated the land to increase yields, built houses of wood, clay, and reeds, and created storage pits for food reserves.
Appropriative and Productive Economy
With the start of agriculture and livestock breeding, the economic system changed from appropriative economy (taking from nature) to productive economy (creating food). This shift, with its far-reaching consequences, is known as the Neolithic Revolution.
| Appropriative Economy | Productive Economy |
|---|---|
| Life in small groups (hordes) | Life in permanent settlements and villages |
| Hunting, gathering, fishing | Agriculture, livestock breeding, fishing |
| Hand axe: most important tool | Pottery, weaving, advanced tool and weapon making |
| Little specialization | Strong division of labor and craft specialization |
The transition led people to focus not only on food acquisition but also on crafts and trade. They began to produce pottery, textiles, tools, weapons, and jewelry. With increasing specialization, large families and the first organized communities emerged.
Regional Developments
The process did not happen everywhere at the same time. In southeastern Europe, agriculture appeared around 3000 B.C. and later spread north along rivers like the Danube. In northern Germany and Scandinavia, the oldest agricultural culture was the Funnel Beaker Culture (Trichterbecherkultur), named after its characteristic pottery. People lived in post-built houses, often surrounded by palisades or ditches for protection.
Formation of Socially Differentiated Societies
With settled life came the first social structures divided into groups and classes. Craftsmanship advanced, and people began working more carefully with materials like stone, clay, and later metal. The rise of trade led to regional exchange networks, which can be considered early forms of an interregional economy.
The Emergence of Villages and Cities
As people settled permanently, villages and later towns began to develop. Life became more organized and less dependent on nature, though humans became increasingly interdependent.
From the Neolithic onward, settlements in Europe included lake-dwelling villages (Pfahlbausiedlungen), especially in the Alpine foothills and around Swiss lakes. These houses, made of wood and clay, often stood on piles to protect against floods. Settlements were surrounded by ditches, ramparts, and palisades for defense.
In Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), people had already begun building city settlements over 5000 years ago. Cities such as Ur, Uruk, and Eridu had brick houses and temples and formed the earliest urban civilizations. They also developed writing, wheel-based transport, and large-scale trade.
Excavations in Jericho (modern Palestine) revealed one of the oldest fortified settlements, dating back to around 8000 B.C., a forerunner of later city cultures.