Origin:
– Agriculture emerged independently in various regions worldwide.
– Centers of origin include the Fertile Crescent, Yangtze and Yellow River basins, New Guinea Highlands, Central Mexico, Northern South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and eastern North America.
– Neolithic began around 10,200 BC in the Levant from the Natufian culture.
– Early farming involved plants like einkorn wheat, millet, spelt, and domesticated animals like dogs.
– Neolithic developments varied across regions, with some adopting pottery before agriculture.
Periods by region – Southwest Asia:
– Neolithic cultures appeared in the Middle East around the 10th millennium BC.
– Development started in the Levant and spread to Anatolia and Mesopotamia.
– Anatolian Neolithic farmers had ancestry from hunter-gatherers.
– Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) began around 10,000 BC in the Levant.
– Göbekli Tepe in Turkey is an early site with stone circles and animal carvings.
Periods by region – Southwest Asia (continued):
– Neolithic 1 saw the start of true farming and animal domestication.
– Jericho revealed early farming practices with fig cultivation.
– Settlements became more permanent with mudbrick houses and stone walls.
– Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) began around 8800 BC in the Levant.
– PPNB settlements had significant populations and evolved from PPNA.
(Additional subtopics and bullet list items can be provided upon request.)
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek νέος néos 'new' and λίθος líthos 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Europe, Asia and Africa. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. This "Neolithic package" included the introduction of farming, domestication of animals, and change from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of settlement. The term 'Neolithic' was coined by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system.
 The Neolithic is characterized by fixed human settlements. Reconstruction of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B housing in Aşıklı Höyük, modern Turkey. | |
| Period | Final period of Stone Age |
|---|---|
| Dates | 10,000–4,500 BCE |
| Preceded by | Mesolithic, Epipalaeolithic |
| Followed by | Chalcolithic |
The Neolithic began about 12,000 years ago when farming appeared in the Epipalaeolithic Near East, and later in other parts of the world. It lasted in the Near East until the transitional period of the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) from about 6,500 years ago (4500 BCE), marked by the development of metallurgy, leading up to the Bronze Age and Iron Age.
In other places, the Neolithic followed the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) and then lasted until later. In Ancient Egypt, the Neolithic lasted until the Protodynastic period, c. 3150 BCE. In China, it lasted until circa 2000 BCE with the rise of the pre-Shang Erlitou culture, and in Scandinavia, the Neolithic lasted until about 2000 BCE.