The First FarmersTechnology Irrigation c. 6,000 BCETurning point Farmers in Mesopotamia channel river water into canals, enabling reliable harvests and demanding large-scale cooperation. ▲ MattersSaveShareTrace roots Longest chain: The Big Bang → First stars ignite → Supernovae seed heavy elements → The Sun forms → Earth forms → First oceans → First life → Photosynthesis evolves → Great Oxidation Event → Complex cells (eukaryotes) → Multicellular life → First animals → Cambrian Explosion → First vertebrates → Jawed fish → Fish walk onto land → The amniotic egg → The Great Dying → Dinosaurs appear → Asteroid ends the dinosaurs → Early primates → Apes split from monkeys → Human line splits from chimpanzees → Walking upright → First stone tools → Genus Homo appears → Homo erectus → Control of fire → Habitual fire and cooking → Homo sapiens appears → Complex language → Natufian villages → Oldest known bread → Agriculture begins → Irrigation Community notesLoading notes… Learn more ranked by votesBookSteven SolomonWater: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization ↗Editor's pickVideoSearch on YouTubeancient Mesopotamia irrigation explained ↗Editor's pick