The development of agriculture and the movement from a Paleolithic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a domesticated Neolithic society has long been regarded as arguably the greatest development in human history. Agriculture was developed around 7000 BC and began its widespread implication in Africa and across Europe. Colonizers began to settle along rivers in order to create farming societies, where they domesticated animals and. Farming was introduced to Greece between 6000 and 5000 BC, where they settled in fertile floodplains to raise sheep and goats as well as faming wheat.
Through trade and interaction in the Mediterranean Sea, this new innovation spread to modern-day Spain and from there north to the rest of Europe, including England. Without the need to move from place to place to hunt for food, cities and societies began to spring up. In the Paleolithic era of man, there were few societies, because the need to move from one place to another kept the social structure tight. There was no need for material possessions, as nomads carried only what they needed in small groups that amounted to little more than a few families.
Large, complex trade networks began with the establishment of settled civilizations. Agriculture and the domesticated way of life had spread and were adapted to quickly throughout the entire world, spanning from Africa to Asia to the Americas. With the first settlements and kingdoms, organized warfare was also first seen as complete farming communities grew and became more populated and in need of expansion. Warfare became inherent with the strategies of agricultural economics. There was increased competition over technologies that improved the efficiency of farming. Established states would fight for raw resources such as the ore that would be used to create copper. Copper tools made it easier to dig up the land and improved the efficiency of the output of the crops that were farmed in Greece.
Copper also had its significance outside of farming. With the smelting of copper for farming, other industries were also developed with the use of copper. Copper also found its uses in jewelry and ornaments that were used in ceremonies and rituals committed by the ancient Greeks. After the results of the smelting of copper, European and Asian societies looked for more advancement that would improve the efficiency of their farming. Iron and bronze metallurgies were developed and used in both farming and warfare. With such great improvements in agriculture, food output was at such a high rate that stockpiles of food were able to be made. This large increase in the food surplus started a drastic growth in population and the development of large kingdoms and empires, who it would not take more than a few years to begin warring over the most precious natural resource: the land that could be used to grow crops or house the population that grew as a result of the efficiency of farming.
Source:
Ancient Europe: Encyclopedia Of The Barbarian World by Peter Bogucki and Pam Crabtree.
