What were characteristics of settled communities in the neolithic era?

One of the most momentous developments in human history was the domestication of plants, which we now call as agriculture, and animals, known as pastoralism, and the rise of permanent settlements in place of nomadic tribes. This era is known as the Neolithic Age.

The main distinguishing characteristic is the relocation of civilization in river valleys. The rich soil alongside the banks of the rivers was the perfect breeding ground for the developing technological advances in pastoralism and agriculture. These civilizations were also larger groupings of permanent abodes.

Around 3000 B. C, the Neolithic people discovered the process for creating bronze tools and weapons, and canal systems that could drain the massive floods that sometimes broke the river banks. The building of this canal system would have required organization and cooperation among people on a massive scale, which most likely lead to a system of government.

As the productivity of agriculture, less people were needed to work in the fields. These people who weren't needed to farm then become artisans, or merchants or traders and production of all sorts was able to increase, thereby providing a better standard of living for all. Religiously, the people in the Neolithic Age began believing in an afterlife.

Somehow, Neolithic people learned how to plant and raise crops and keep and raise livestock for food. Now people were put in the situation of living together permanently and as a result much cooperation was needed for survival and civilizations with government systems and skilled artisans and merchants started to rise.