Agriculture Timeline

10000 BCE
Beginnings of agriculture in the Middle East.

9000 BCE
Cultivation of wild cereals in the Fertile Crescent.

9000 BCE
Wild sheep flocks are managed in the Zagros mountains.

7700 BCE
First domesticated wheats in the Fertile Crescent.

7000 BCE
Domestication of goats.

7000 BCE
Plant cultivation in North America.

6700 BCE
Domestication of sheep.

6500 BCE
Domestication of pigs.

c. 6500 BCE
Cultivation of peas in the Eastern Mediterranean.

c. 6000 BCE
First irrigation.

6000 BCE
Domestication of cattle.

c. 6000 BCE - 2900 BCE

Neolithic Age settlements in Greece, beginning of agriculture.

5200 BCE
Domestication of chickens in China.

5000 BCE
Irrigation and agriculture begin in earnest in Mesopotamia.

5000 BCE
Villages arise in China around the Yellow River. Terraced farming begins and rice is cultivated.

c. 5000 BCE
Cultivation of peas in Europe.

5000 BCE
Organised farming begins in Egypt.

4500 BCE
Invention of the plow.

4000 BCE
Use of wool for textiles.

3500 BCE
Farming has spread across Europe.

3000 BCE
Domestication of alpacas and llamas in the Andes.

c. 3000 BCE
Potatoes are grown in the Andes.
c. 2700 BCE
Corn is first cultivated in Mesoamerica.

2000 BCE
Domesticated horses introduced in Mesopotamia.

1500 BCE
Pastoral farming spreads across Eurasian steppes.

1345 BCE
The world's first manual on training horses is written by the Mitanni horse trainer Kikkuli (found in Hattusa).