eful traits- for example small horns and high milk production- were bred. The wild aurochs was the ancestor of European cattle, and an Asian wild ox of the zebu, was the ancestor of the humped cattle of Asia. Cats, dogs, and chickens were tamed very early (Early Civilization).Neolithic farmers lived in simple swellings-caves and small houses of sun baked mud brick or wood and reeds. These homes were grouped into small villages or existed as single farmsteads surrounded by fields, sheltering animals, and humans in joined buildings. In the Neolithic Period, the growth of cities such as Jericho was stimulated by the production of surplus crops (Compton 95). Pastoralism was later developed. Evidence indicates the mixed farming, combining cultivation of crops and stock raising, was the most common Neolithic pattern. Nomadic herders, however, roamed the lands of Europe and Asia, where the horse and camel were domesticated.The earliest tools of the farmer were made of wood and stone. Some of which included the stone adz, an ax like tool with blades at right angles to the handle, used for woodworking; the sickle or reaping knife with sharpened stone blades, used to gather grain; the digging stick, used to plant seeds and as a spade or hoe; and a rudimentary plow, a restricted tree branch used to grate the surface of the soil and prepare it for planting (Compton 95). The plow was later adapted for pulling by oxen (Early Civilization). The improvements in tools and implements were particularly important. Tools of bronze and iron were longer lasting and more effectual, and cultivation was greatly improved by such aides as the ox-drawn plow fitted with an iron-tipped point. In Mesopotamia a funnel-like figure was attached to the plow to help in seeding, and other early forms of seed drills were used in China (What Life Was Like).The prominence areas of southwestern Asia and the forests of Europe had enough rain to sustain agriculture, ...
