Neolithic Revolution and Early River Valley Civilizations

  • The Neolithic Revolution was a time period about 10,000 years ago when man changed from hunting and gathering (which was dangerous) to settling down and domesticating plants and animals.
  • Basically people changed from cave men to farmers.
  • When people settled down and farmed, they had more food and populations grew.
  • Eventually cities formed.
  • These cities formed in river valleys because river valleys had rich soil (silt) for farming.
  • There were 4 important river valleys: The Nile (Africa), The Tigris-Euphrates (Mesopotamia), Yellow (China), and Indus (India) Rivers.
  • These were the places where organized, advanced civilizations began.



Sample Regents Question:

One reason for the development of an early civilization in the Tigris-Euphrates river valleys was that

1.  the location protected the people from land invasion
2.  periodic flooding left rich soil, which was ideal for farming
3.  these rivers provided a direct trade route between Europe and Asia
4.  these rivers flowed into the Mediterranean Sea












Answer: 2