Final answer:
The Fertile Crescent, located in the Middle East, is recognized as the area where agriculture first flourished, featuring early sites like Jericho and Çatalhöyük and contributing to human civilization with the domestication of various plants and animals.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Fertile Crescent is the region where the earliest evidence of cultivation and domestication began. Located in the Middle East, this area includes parts of modern-day Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine. It features significant archaeological sites such as Jericho and Çatalhöyük that provide evidence of early agriculture and urban development. The region was ideal due to its fertile land, availability of nutritious staple crops like wheat and barley, and native domesticable animals such as goats, sheep, and cows. The shape of the area, resembling a large crescent on the map, is how it got its name, and it has been central to the development of human civilization due to its contributions in domesticating plants and animals.