As technology improved over time, farmers were able to use better techniques to produce greater amounts of food.  Eventually, one farmer was able to provide enough food for more than just himself and his family, and thus had a surplus available.

This increased food supply caused a jump in population.  It made farmers expand their farms and try to control and shape their farmland.  The food surplus also enabled urbanization, division of labor, and trade.

Civilizations began to spring up around 3500 BC.  Agriculture-based urban societies arose in Middle America, Mediterranean Europe, the Nile Valley, the Indus Valley, Lower Mesopotamia, and the Huang Ho Valley.

Urbanization had a profound impact on the environment, an impact that has increased remarkably over time.

In order to provide more farmland, as well as resources such as wood, massive forest areas were cut down.  Trees gave way to crops, and the wood was used for buildings and as fuel.  As in the modern world, the destruction of natural habitats in ancient times led to the loss of much animal life.

The environment itself also suffered considerably.  Soil erosion and deforestation resulted from clearing large areas and using them to raise livestock and grow crops.  Natural resources such as soil, water, forests, land, and animals were ruined.  Often, the success of a society greatly depended on how successful it was in preserving nature.

This tremendous historical movement also affected human views of nature.  People now began to see themselves as having moved out of nature, and no longer being part of the wild.