c. 5,500 BCE
Agriculture
Mesopotamia
The plough
The ard, dragged by cattle, breaks soil far faster than a hoe.
Why it mattered
Animal muscle substituted for human labour, multiplying arable land per farmer.
Stone Age
5,500 BCE
2 recorded milestones at this point in the record.
c. 5,500 BCE
Agriculture
Sahel
Sorghum and pearl millet in the Sahel
African farmers domesticated drought-tolerant grains suited to a short rainy season.
Why it mattered
Made permanent settlement possible across semi-arid Africa.
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Nearby in the record
c. 6,500 BCETechnology
Copper smelting
Balkans and Anatolia
c. 6,000 BCETechnology
Woven cloth loom
Southwest Asia
c. 6,000 BCEAgriculture
Wine making at Areni and Hajji Firuz
Caucasus
c. 6,000 BCETechnology
Silk in China
China
c. 5,400 BCETechnology
Copper smelting at Belovode
Balkans
c. 5,000 BCESociety
Norte Chico monumental building
Andes