Research Paper on:
Examining Ancient Civilizations

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
of the four major civilisations from the late Neolithic to the early Bronze period, all of which reflect various gradual but significant changes in technology, agriculture, development of language and  socio-cultural practices such as trade and migration. In Neolithic cultures, for instance, the great majority of the population were farmers, and there was no strict divide between different classes. There  were arable settlements, and domestication of animals, although the sophistication of agricultural techniques varied from region to region. Settlements tend to be insular, isolated and for the most part self-sufficient,  since the transport and communication facilities which characterised later periods had not yet been developed. However, by the end of the Neolithic period these settlements had achieved comparatively effective forms  of farming leading to balanced sustenance, and were able to make and use a wide variety of tools and implements.  In the Indus region, for instance, wooden ploughs were used extensively to cultivate barley, wheat and cotton to supplement fruit and vegetable crops,  and there is evidence of the domestication of a number of animals including sheep and goats. Ceramic ware was universally used in the Neolithic period: there are still many examples  extant of the distinctive grey geometric ware produced in Crete during this period. Towards  of the end of the late Neolithic, existing skills with metalware developed into the use of bronze, which characterises the transition between the two periods. Division of labour, and expansion  through trade, were two of the features which were significant in this later period. The population, formerly based in village communities and agricultural, diversified into other occupations and there was