Farming spreads through Europe

Whilst northern Europe was populated by hunters and fishermen, farming spread in southern and central Europe. As early as c. 9000 BC people had begun to grow wheat and barley in the Middle East. Goats, sheep, pigs and cattle were domesticated between 8000 and 7000 BC. Farming spread along the Mediterranean, where an agricultural society arose 7-6000 BC. From around 5500 BC a large part of central Europe north of the Alps was also populated by farmers. The next expansion took place around 4000 BC, when farming appeared in northern Europe and the British Isles.