Neolithic Revolution begins in the Fertile Crescent
c. 10,000–9,000 BCE·Science, technology & invention·West Asia (Fertile Crescent)·
c. 10,000–9,000 BCEDate
Science, technology & inventionCategory
0Empires active
- Date
- c. 10,000–9,000 BCE
- Category
- Science, technology & invention
- Region
- West Asia (Fertile Crescent)
- Era
- Prehistory
- Significance
Independent domestication of wheat, barley, sheep, and goats begins in the Levant and surrounding regions. Transition from mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle to more sedentary farming and herding communities (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A).
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Related science, technology & invention events
- Australopithecus afarensis ('Lucy' and relatives)c. 3.9–2.9 million years ago
- Discovery of the Denisovans and archaic-modern interbreedingc. 100,000 – 40,000 years ago (interbreeding); identified 2010
- Domestication of maize from teosinte in Mesoamericac. 7000 BCE (c. 9,000 years ago)
- Domestication of rice in the Yangtze River basinc. 8000–6000 BCE
- Domestication of the dog, humanity's first domesticated animalc. 16,000 – 14,000 years ago
- Earliest Controlled Use of Fire by Homo erectusc. 1,000,000 BCE
Further reading
If you read one book
Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States
Provocative, readable rethink of farming, cities and the first states.
Get it on Amazon →Also worth reading
- After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20,000-5000 BC — Amazon →
After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20,000-5000 BC
Accessible narrative of the forager-to-farmer transition, Fertile Crescent front and center.
Get it on Amazon →
As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.

