The author discusses what is known, surmised, or guessed about the Magdalenian peoples who produced this burst of art in the form of engraved and colored bulls, bison, horses, and other animals that flow and posture along the cave's walls and ceilings. Includes informative sidebars, time lines, maps, and glossaries.

Overview that includes a general chapter on the Stone Age as well as chapters on ancient America, Greece, and Rome. Focuses on basic agricultural information while offering plenty of interesting and detailed asides. Well-placed and well-captioned full-color photographs and reproductions enhance the text; chapter openers and sidebars are set off on parchmentlike backgrounds. A useful map at the beginning of the book shows the geographical areas where the cultures flourished as well as the time frames for each civilization.

Ancient Romans invented a machine to harvest grain and farmers in ancient China destroyed pests that harmed crops by brining in natural predators. The ancient Mayans restored nutrients to the soil by planting corn and beans together. People learned to farm more than 12,000 years ago. The first farmers used simple technology. They carried water to their crops by hand. They made farm tools from wood and animals bones. Over the centuries, ancient farmers devised better technology. Ancient Middle Easterners learned to breed sheep to produce different colors of wool. The ancient Chinese learned how to gro more rice using irrigation techniques. The ancient Greeks built machines for pumping water, grinding grain and crushing grapes and olives. What kinds of crops did ancient farmers grow? What kinds of animals did they raise? And how did people get their food before agriculture?