Skip to content
Husfarm
Add offer

before c. 3000 BCE

Agriculture in prehistory

The first crops and herds, early villages, and the water systems that let farming spread across new landscapes. 13 topics from before c. 3000 BCE.

Topics
13
Time span
10,000 BCE – 3,350 BCE
Regions
5
Sources cited
132
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Harvesters (1565): peasants harvesting wheat and resting under a tree in summer
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Harvesters, 1565 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 19.164 · public domain

In brief

13 topics from 10,000 BCE to 3,350 BCE. Most of them come from Asia (5), Europe (3), Americas (2). The main subjects are domestication & settlement (9), land & water (2), food processing (1). The earliest is The origins of farming in the Fertile Crescent (c. 10,000–8000 BCE, Fertile Crescent); the most recent is Cacao in Amazonia: Growers, Beverages and Early Exchange (Approximately 5,300 years ago, Santa Ana–La Florida · Ecuador).

Prehistorybefore c. 3000 BCE13 topicsAntiquityc. 3000 BCE – 500 CE10 topicsMiddle Agesc. 500–150016 topicsEarly modernc. 1500–18007 topicsIndustrial erafrom c. 180054 topics

Topics in chronological order

  1. c. 10,000–8000 BCEPrehistoryThe origins of farming in the Fertile CrescentCultivating plants and keeping animals gradually transform food production and the organisation of settlements. Fertile CrescentDomestication & settlement5 min read
  2. c. 8000–4000 BCEPrehistoryThe history of rice cultivation and domesticationFrom gathering wild rice to cultivating plants whose grains are easier to harvest and retain. Yangtze basinDomestication & settlement6 min read
  3. c. 7000 BCEPrehistoryThe history of maize and Mesoamerican agricultureGenerations of selection transform teosinte into a crop that will underpin many economies across the Americas. Southern MexicoDomestication & settlement5 min read
  4. 6th–5th millennia BCEPrehistoryThe history of irrigation in ancient MesopotamiaIrrigation supports farming on the alluvial plains of southern Mesopotamia. Lower MesopotamiaLand & water5 min read
  5. 6th millennium BCEPrehistoryEarly dairying: evidence of cheesemaking in Neolithic KuyaviaFats preserved in pottery strainers reveal how early farmers processed milk and reorganised livestock husbandry. Kuyavia · PolandFood processing6 min read
  6. c. 5350–5050 BCEPrehistoryThe first farmers in the lands of modern PolandA Linear Pottery settlement documents early farming north of the Carpathians. Gwoździec · Lesser PolandDomestication & settlement5 min read
  7. c. 5000–4500 BCEPrehistoryKuk: independent agricultural origins in New GuineaCultivation mounds, taro and bananas reveal a distinct New Guinean pathway towards agriculture. Wahgi Valley · Papua New GuineaDomestication & settlement6 min read
  8. c. 5000 BCEPrehistoryThe First Olive Groves: The Emergence of Levantine HorticultureCharcoal, stones, oil residues and pollen reveal how long-lived plantings changed the organisation of farming. Jordan Valley · LevantDomestication & settlement7 min read
  9. c. 6600 cal BPPrehistoryBudj Bim: Gunditjmara Aquaculture and Water ManagementChannels, stone barriers and holding ponds enabled Gunditjmara communities to direct water, retain eels and sustain a long-lived food economy. Victoria · AustraliaLand & water6 min read
  10. Fourth–third millennia BCEPrehistoryNeolithic Flax: Fields, Oil and the Development of Fibre ProductionPreserved plants and objects reveal how flax cultivation connected seed production with fibres, fishing nets and woven textiles. Lake Constance · Alpine forelandTechnology & breeding6 min read
  11. 4th–3rd millennia BCEPrehistorySorghum and pearl millet: African pathways to farmingTwo different cereals, distinct domestication regions and agricultural connections between Africa and Asia. Sahel · Mali and SudanDomestication & settlement6 min read
  12. Fourth–third millennia BCEPrehistoryDate Palms: Mesopotamian Gardens and Oasis EconomiesPalm gardens combined long-term investment, variety propagation, skilled labour and rights to future harvests. Mesopotamia and the GulfDomestication & settlement7 min read
  13. Approximately 5,300 years agoPrehistoryCacao in Amazonia: Growers, Beverages and Early ExchangeStarch, theobromine and DNA document early cacao use, while further studies reveal agricultural networks of exchange. Santa Ana–La Florida · EcuadorDomestication & settlement6 min read

Where it happened

1Fertile Crescent2Yangtze basin3Southern Mexico4Lower Mesopotamia5Kuyavia · Poland6Gwoździec · Lesser Poland7Wahgi Valley · Papua New Guinea8Jordan Valley · Levant9Victoria · Australia10Lake Constance · Alpine foreland11Sahel · Mali and Sudan11Sahel · Mali and Sudan12Mesopotamia and the Gulf12Mesopotamia and the Gulf13Santa Ana–La Florida · Ecuador
Points mark approximate areas, not exact sites or the borders of ancient cultures. Base map: Natural Earth, public domain.

Browse by era

Prehistory 13Antiquity 10Middle Ages 16Early modern 7Industrial era 54

Browse by region

Asia 20Europe 34Americas 29Africa 5Oceania 4Intercontinental 8

Browse by subject

Domestication & settlement 11Land & water 17Food processing 3Technology & breeding 15Science & experiments 16Trade & exchange 9Environment & crises 11Society & land 16Crop exchange 2

Questions and answers

Which is the earliest topic in this era?

The origins of farming in the Fertile Crescent: c. 10,000–8000 BCE, Southwest Asia · Fertile Crescent.

Which is the most recent?

Cacao in Amazonia: Growers, Beverages and Early Exchange: approximately 5,300 years ago · Ecuadorian evidence, Santa Ana–La Florida, Palanda, Ecuador; later South America and Mesoamerica.

Which regions are covered?

Asia (5), Europe (3), Americas (2), Oceania (2), Africa (1).

Which subjects are covered?

Domestication & settlement (9), Land & water (2), Food processing (1), Technology & breeding (1).

Agriculture today on Husfarm

From history to the present: prices, shows and the companies that shape farming now.

Agricultural events 2027Archive of agricultural shows by yearThe world’s largest agricultural companiesToday’s agricultural wholesale prices

← History of agriculture: all topics