The First FarmersTechnology Sailing boats c. 5,000 BCEMajor Mesopotamians rig sails, harnessing wind for river and coastal trade. ▲ MattersSaveShareTrace roots Longest chain: The Big Bang → First stars ignite → Supernovae seed heavy elements → The Sun forms → Earth forms → First oceans → First life → Photosynthesis evolves → Great Oxidation Event → Complex cells (eukaryotes) → Multicellular life → First animals → Cambrian Explosion → First vertebrates → Jawed fish → Fish walk onto land → The amniotic egg → The Great Dying → Dinosaurs appear → Asteroid ends the dinosaurs → Early primates → Apes split from monkeys → Human line splits from chimpanzees → Walking upright → First stone tools → Genus Homo appears → Homo erectus → Control of fire → Habitual fire and cooking → Homo sapiens appears → First seagoing watercraft → Sailing boats Community notesLoading notes… Learn more ranked by votesBookLincoln PaineThe Sea and Civilization ↗Editor's pickBookBasil GreenhillThe Archaeology of Boats and Ships ↗Editor's pickVideoSearch on YouTubeinvention of the sail ancient boats ↗Editor's pick