The “First Agricultural Revolution,” also called the “Neolithic Revolution” first took place in a region of the modern-day Middle East called “Mesopotamia” or “The Fertile Crescent.” This occurred roughly ten thousand years ago. It most likely occurred next in the area surrounding the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers in China.

The Neolithic Agricultural Revolution refers to the process that happened roughly 12,000 years before the Common Era in which societies around the world developed agriculture. In the Middle East's Fertile Crescent, China's Yangtze River Valley, and Mesoamerica, sedentary agriculture made people less nomadic, develop city-states, and create non-portable arts. These changes did not revolutionize societal relationships, but instead built hierarchies and reinforced societal inequalities.

An agricultural hearth is known as the "birthplace" of a crop, or where a crop is known to have originated before its spread throughout the world. Squash, potato, cocoa, and maize (corn) are crops which originated in Southern Mexico. Southwest Asia was the agricultural hearth for barley and wheat. Ethiopia is the agricultural hearth for millet and sorghum. Australia is not considered a major agricultural hearth. Southern Europe is the agricultural hearth for olives and oats.

The Neolithic Revolution was when seed and root crops were first cultivated by humans and occurred at roughly 10,000 B.C.E.

The Fertile Crescent—also sometimes called Mesopotamia—is the name given to a region of the Middle East that was particularly fertile several thousand years ago; thus, it was the first place where the Neolithic Revolution took place. All of these countries, at least partially, reside inside the Fertile Crescent except Afghanistan, which has a much more mountainous and relatively barren terrain.

The Neolithic Revolution took place in the Americas for the first time in Central America, in territory that comprises parts of present-day Mexico and Guatemala. From there it spread southwards to modern-day Panama and northwards towards modern-day America.

Seed crops were first cultivated 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent region of Southwestern Asia.

The Agricultural Revolution of East Asia took place first in China, in the fertile valleys of the Yangtze River. From there it spread eastwards to Korea and Japan and southwards to Southeast Asia. The term "agricultural hearth" refers to early settled agricultural regions (usually along rivers).

The “Neolithic Revolution” is another name for the First Agricultural Revolution. The “Neolithic Revolution” happened at different times in different parts of the world, but it happened first in Ancient Mesopotamia (also called “The Fertile Crescent”) approximately ten-thousand years ago. The “Neolithic Revolution” marks the transition of human society from wandering hunter-gatherer societies into settled agricultural communities. This is one of the most important transitions in human history as it led to the rise of cities, civilizations, religions, culture, and a great many more things.

Most experts agree that the first animal to be domesticated by humans was the goat in modern-day Turkey or Syria, around ten thousand years ago. Dogs were also domesticated relatively early, and some agricultural historians contend that they were domesticated before goats and sheep. This is probably true for some parts of the world, but the general consensus is that goats and sheep were the first animals to be domesticated by humans in large numbers.