ABSTRACT
In the period from 15,000 BP to 5000 BP, agriculture developed in several regions of the world. Agricultural development was mainly a long process of experimentation and discussion that led eventually to a new organization of work, though it was punctuated by at least one era of rapid change. Over the long term the result was an impressive advance in technology, an expansion and redistribution of human population, and new patterns of migration. This chapter reviews the rise of agriculture by exploring three related issues: Where and when did agriculture develop? How did agriculture develop? How did agriculture spread from one place to another?
