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The end of the Lesser Dryas period of global cooling, in the Quaternary Ice Age, leads highland hunter/gathering groups to gather in river valleys, such as the Tigris and Euphrates, where prey animals and wild-harvested food continues to flourish.
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Initially by selectively breeding particularly successful wild grasses, human groups learn to domesticate a variety of fruits and cereals. This causes them to stay put in one geographical location.
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After harnessing fire for food preparation and to heat newly-stable shelters, some groups turn their attention to heating clay mixes in various shapes for use in household production and storage and later on for artistic purposes.
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Groups begin to encounter others outside their immediate geographical area and trade objects specific to their own areas. The date of 7,500 BCE is the first evidence of long-distance trade in obsidian, a volcanic stone.
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Over the next 1,000 years, settled agriculturalists expand their husbandry efforts to include a variety of animals in addition to a growing suite of plants and foreign goods.
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Over the next 1,000 years, settled agriculturalists expand their husbandry efforts to include a variety of animals in addition to a growing suite of plants.
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The control of annual flooding, followed by dry seasons, is implemented.
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The moldboard plow is used to harness the power of a domesticated animal to cut through a line of earth more deeply than a hoe or simple scraping plow. This allows nutrient-rich soil below a dry layer to rise to the top and be useful for agriculture.