An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools

Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae Scotland, Europe's most complete Neolithic village.

Skara Brae Scotland. Evidence of home furnishings i.e. shelves, in Europe's most complete Neolithic village

Map showing distribution of some of the main culture complexes in Neolithic Europe, ca.4500 BC

The Neolithic^[1], or "New" Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. The Neolithic era follows the terminal Holocene Epipalaeolithic periods, beginning with the rise of farming, which produced the "Neolithic Revolution" and ending when metal tools became widespread in the Copper Age (chalcolithic) or Bronze Age or developing directly into the Iron Age, depending on geographical region. The Holocene epoch is a geological period that extends from the present day back to about 10,000 radiocarbon years, approximately 11,430 ± 130 calendar years BP (between 9560 and 9300 BC). ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) is part of the geologic timescale. ... The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (Greek παλαιός paleos=old and λίθος lithos=stone or the Old Stone Age) was the first period in the development of human technology of the Stone Age. ... The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. ... The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. ... The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. ... Aurignacian is the name of a culture of the Upper Palaeolithic present in Europe and south west Asia. ... The Holocene epoch is a geological period that extends from the present day back to about 10,000 radiocarbon years, approximately 11,430 ± 130 calendar years BP (between 9560 and 9300 BC). ... The Mesolithic (Greek mesos=middle and lithos=stone or the Middle Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age. ... The Epipalaeolithic (or Epi-Palaeolithic, Epipaleolithic, or Epi-Paleolithic) was a period in the development of human technology that immediately precedes the neolithic period, as an alternative to mesolithic. ... Kebarans were the first anatomically modern humans to live in the eastern Mediterranean area (c. ... The Natufian culture existed in the Mediterranean region of the Levant. ... Hunting scene relief in basalt found at Tell Halaf, dated 850-830 BCE Tell Halaf is an archaeological site in the Al Hasakah governorate of northeastern Syria, near the Turkish border. ... Hassuna was a Mesopotamian town in Mosul, Iraq. ... The tell (mound) of Ubaid near Ur in southern Iraq has given its name to the prehistoric culture which represents the earliest settlement on the alluvial plain of southern Mesopotamia. ... Uruk (Sumerian Unug, Biblical Erech, Greek Orchoë and Arabic وركاء Warka), was an ancient city of Sumer and later Babylonia, situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates, on the line of the ancient Nil canal, in a region of marshes, about 140 miles (230 km) SSE from Baghdad. ... The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos copper stone) period, also known as the Eneolithic (Aeneolithic) or Copper Age period, is a phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early metal tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1704, 1054 KB) Description Photographie dobjets du néolithique. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1704, 1054 KB) Description Photographie dobjets du néolithique. ... A photograph of neolithic excavations at Skara Brae on Orkney in Scotland. ... A photograph of neolithic excavations at Skara Brae on Orkney in Scotland. ... Image File history File links SkaraBraeJM.jpg Summary Taken and donated by John Mullen www. ... Image File history File links SkaraBraeJM.jpg Summary Taken and donated by John Mullen www. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots 2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by Kenneth I... Download high resolution version (1320x663, 100 KB)Map of the second half European Middle Neolithic at the apogee of Danubian and Mediterranean expansion (c. ... Download high resolution version (1320x663, 100 KB)Map of the second half European Middle Neolithic at the apogee of Danubian and Mediterranean expansion (c. ... Map showing the Neolithic expansions from the 7th to the 5th millennium BC Europe in ca. ... Stone Age fishing hook. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a level of thinking mastery sufficient to leave the surface of the planet for the first time and explore space. ... Stone Age fishing hook. ... The Holocene epoch is a geological period that extends from the present day back to about 10,000 radiocarbon years, approximately 11,430 ± 130 calendar years BP (between 9560 and 9300 BC). ... The Epipalaeolithic (or Epi-Palaeolithic, Epipaleolithic, or Epi-Paleolithic) was a period in the development of human technology that immediately precedes the neolithic period, as an alternative to mesolithic. ... It has been suggested that First agricultural revolution be merged into this article or section. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms positive ions (cations) and has metallic bonds. ... A modern hammer is directly descended from ancient hand tools A tool or device is a piece of equipment which typically provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task. ... The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos copper stone) period, also known as the Eneolithic (Aeneolithic) or Copper Age period, is a phase in the development of human culture in which the use of early metal tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ...

Neolithic culture appeared in the Levant (Jericho, Palestine) about 8500 BC. It developed directly from the Epipaleolithic Natufian culture in the region, whose people pioneered wild cereal use, which then evolved into true farming. The Natufians can thus be called "proto-Neolithic" (11,000-8500 BC). As the Natufians had become dependent on wild cereals in their diet, and a sedentary way of life had begun among them, the climatic changes associated with the Younger Dryas forced people to develop farming. By 8500-8000 BC farming communities arose in the Levant and spread to Anatolia, North Africa and North Mesopotamia. The Levant The Levant is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... The Epipalaeolithic (or Epi-Palaeolithic, Epipaleolithic, or Epi-Paleolithic) was a period in the development of human technology that immediately precedes the neolithic period, as an alternative to mesolithic. ... The Natufian culture existed in the Mediterranean region of the Levant. ... Three temperature records, the GRIP one clearly showing the Younger Dryas event at around 11 kyr BP The Younger Dryas stadial, named after the alpine / tundra wildflower Dryas octopetala, and also referred to as the Big Freeze [1], was a brief (approximately 1300 ± 70 years [1]) cold climate period following...

Early Neolithic farming was limited to a narrow range of crops, both wild and domesticated, which included einkorn wheat, millet and spelt and the keeping of sheep and goats. By about 7000 BC it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, and the use of pottery.^[2] Not all of these cultural elements characteristic of the Neolithic appeared in the same order: the earliest farming societies in the Near East did not use pottery, and, in Britain, it remains unclear to what extent plants were domesticated in the earliest Neolithic, or even whether permanently settled communities existed. In other parts of the world, such as Africa, India and Southeast Asia, independent domestication events led to their own regionally-distinctive Neolithic cultures which arose completely independent of those in Europe and Southwest Asia. Early Japanese societies used pottery in the Mesolithic for example. Dogs and sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated. ... Binomial name Triticum boeoticum Boss. ... Pearl millet in the field The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. ... Binomial name Triticum spelta L. Spelt (Triticum spelta) was an important wheat species in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times. ... Species See text. ... Species See Species and subspecies The goat is a mammal in the genus Capra, which consists of nine species: the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (often called cows in vernacular and contemporary usage, or kye as the Scots plural of cou) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... This article is about the pig genus. ... Overview map of the Ancient Near East The term Ancient Near East or Ancient Orient encompasses the early civilizations predating Classical Antiquity in the region roughly corresponding to that described by the modern term Middle East (Egypt, Iraq, Turkey), during the time roughly spanning the Bronze Age from the rise... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ...

Periods

In Southwest Asia (i.e., the Middle East), cultures identified as Neolithic began appearing soon after the 10th millennium BC. Early development occurred in the Levant (e.g., Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B) and from there spread eastwards and westwards. Neolithic cultures are also attested in southeastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia by ca. 8000 BC.  Southwest Asia in most contexts. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... See 1 E11 s for more remote dates. ... The Levant The Levant is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (short PPNA) represents the early neolithic in the Levantine and upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent. ... Pre-Pottery Neolithic B is a division of the Neolithic developed by Dame Kathleen Kenyon during her archaeological excavations at Jericho in Palestine. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ... (9th millennium BC – 8th millennium BC – 7th millennium BC – other millennia) Events The south area of Çatalhöyük. ...

Neolithic 1 - Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA)

The Neolithic 1 (PPNA) began in the Levant (Jericho, Palestine) around 8500 to 8000 BC. The actual date is not established with certainty due to different results in carbon dating by the British Museum and Philiadelphia laboratories.

The major advance of Neolithic 1 was true farming. In the proto-Neolithic Natufian cultures, wild cereals were harvested, and perhaps early seed selection and re-seeding occurred. The grain was ground into flour. By the Neolithic 1 true farming began, emmer wheat was domesticated, and animals were herded and domesticated (animal husbandry and animal breeding). Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ... The Natufian culture existed in the Mediterranean region of the Levant. ...

Settlements became more permanent with circular houses, much like those of the Natufians, with single rooms. However, these houses were for the first time made of mudbricks. The husband had one house, while each of his wives lived with their children in surrounding houses. The settlement had a surrounding stone wall and perhaps a stone tower (like Jericho). The wall served as protection from nearby groups, as protection from floods, or to keep animals penned. There are some enclosures that suggest grain storage.

Neolithic 2 - Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB)

The Neolithic 2 (PPNB) began around 7500 to 7000 BC in the Levant (Jericho, Palestine). Like the PPNA dates there are two versions from the same laboratories noted above.

Settlements have rectangular mudbrick houses where the family lived together in single or multiple rooms. Burial findings suggest an ancestor cult where people preserved skulls from the dead which were plastered with mud to make facial features. The dead skull may have been asked for advice and blessings. The rest of the corpse may have been left outside the settlement to decay until only the bones were left, then the bones were buried inside the settlement underneath the floor or between houses.

Neolithic 3 - Pottery Neolithic (PN)

The Neolithic 3 (PN) began around 6000 to 5500 BC in the Fertile Crescent. By then distinctive cultures emerged, with pottery like the Halafian (Turkey, Syria, Northern Mesopotamia) and Ubaid (Southern Mesopotamia). Hunting scene relief in basalt found at Tell Halaf, dated 850-830 BCE Tell Halaf is an archaeological site in the Al Hasakah governorate of northeastern Syria, near the Turkish border. ... The tell (mound) of Ubaid near Ur in southern Iraq has given its name to the prehistoric culture which represents the earliest settlement on the alluvial plain of southern Mesopotamia. ...

The Chalcolithic period began about 4500 BC, then the Bronze Age began about 3500 BC, replacing the Neolithic cultures.

In the Fertile Crescent

The Levant, Syria, Anatolia, Northen Mesopotamia. Halafian culture (5500 BC) more...

Southern Mesoptamia

Alluvial plains (Sumer/Elam). Little rainfall, makes irrigation systems necessary. Ubaid culture from 5500... more. High-altitude aerial view of irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara ( ) Irrigation is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops or plants. ... Pottery jar from Late Ubaid Period The tell (mound) of Ubaid near Ur in southern Iraq has given its name to the prehistoric chalcolithic culture which represents the earliest settlement on the alluvial plain of southern Mesopotamia. ...

Egypt

In Egypt pre-dynastic farming communities emerged after 8000 BC, as farming was introduced from the Levant. Two cultures emerged; one in the Upper Nile Region and one in the Lower Nile Region.

Europe

In southeast Europe agrarian societies first appeared by ca. 7000 BC, and in Central Europe by ca. 5500 BC. Among the earliest cultural complexes of this area are included the Starčevo-Körös (Cris), Linearbandkeramic, and Vinča. Through a combination of cultural diffusion and migration of peoples, the Neolithic traditions spread west and northwards to reach northwestern Europe by around 4500 BC. Map showing the Neolithic expansions from the 7th to the 5th millennium BC Europe in ca. ... Central Europe The Alpine Countries and the Visegrád Group (Political map, 2004) Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... (7th millennium BC – 6th millennium BC – 5th millennium BC – other millennia) Events c. ... The Starčevo-Körös culture is the name given by archaeologists to a widespread early Neolithic archaeological culture from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. ... Sherds of the late Linearbandkeramik, Rhine-Main area The Linearbandkeramic (abbreviated LBK) is the earliest neolithic culture of Central Europe. ... Map of European Neolithic at the apogee of Danubian expansion, c. ... Cultural diffusion refers to the spread of ideas and material culture, especially if this diffusion occurs independently of population movement. ... mtDNA-based chart of large human migrations. ... (6th millennium BC – 5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – other millennia) Events 4860 BC - Mount Mazama in Oregon collapses, forming a caldera that later fills with water and becomes Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the United States. ...

India and East Asia

Neolithic sites and traditions in South Asia include Mehrgarh in the Balochistan region from ca. 7000 BC, and Lahuradewa from ca. 6200 BC in the Ganges valley of the Indian subcontinent. Earlier-dated finds (ca. 8000 BC) of charcoal in some Lahuradewa sites provide indications of slash and burn cultivation techniques present in the area.^[3] This article is about the geopolitical region in Asia. ... Mehrgarh was an ancient settlement in South Asia and is one of the most important sites in archaeology for the study of the earliest neolithic settlements in that region. ... Major ethnic groups in Pakistan and surrounding areas, in 1980. ... (8th millennium BC – 7th millennium BC – 6th millennium BC – other millennia) Events circa 7000 BC – Agriculture and settlement at Mehrgarh in South Asia circa 6500 BC – English Channel formed circa 6100 BC – The Storegga Slide, causing a megatsunami in the Norwegian Sea circa 6000... During the 7th millennium BC, agriculture spreads from Anatolia to the Balkans. ... Early morning on the Ganges The River Ganges (Ganga in Indian languages) (Devanagiri गंगा) is a major river in northern India. ... Satellite image of the Indian subcontinent Map of South Asia (see note) This article deals with the geophysical region in Asia. ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. ... Assarting in Finland in 1892 Slash and burn (a specific practice that may be part of shifting cultivation or swidden-fallow agriculture) is an agricultural procedure widely used in forested areas. ...

In East Asia the earliest sites include Pengtoushan culture around 7500 BC to 6100 BC, Peiligang culture around 7000 BC to 5000 BC. East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ... The Pengtoushan culture (彭頭山文化) (7500-6100 BC [1]) was a Neolithic culture centered primarily around the central Yangtze River region in northwestern Hunan, China. ... (9th millennium BC – 8th millennium BC – 7th millennium BC – other millennia) Events The south area of Çatalhöyük. ... (8th millennium BC – 7th millennium BC – 6th millennium BC – other millennia) Events circa 7000 BC – Agriculture and settlement at Mehrgarh in South Asia circa 6500 BC – English Channel formed circa 6100 BC – The Storegga Slide, causing a megatsunami in the Norwegian Sea circa 6000... The Peiligang culture (裴李崗文化) is a name given by archaeologists to a group of Neolithic communities who lived in the Yiluo river valley in Henan Province, China. ... (8th millennium BC – 7th millennium BC – 6th millennium BC – other millennia) Events circa 7000 BC – Agriculture and settlement at Mehrgarh in South Asia circa 6500 BC – English Channel formed circa 6100 BC – The Storegga Slide, causing a megatsunami in the Norwegian Sea circa 6000... (6th millennium BC – 5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – other millennia) Events 4713 BC – The epoch (origin) of the Julian Period described by Joseph Justus Scaliger occurred on January 1, the astronomical Julian day number zero. ...

America

In Mesoamerica a similar set of events (i.e., crop domestication and sedentary lifestyles) occurred at about 4500 BC, although here the term Pre-Classic (or Formative) is used instead of Neolithic. Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ...

Social organization

Anthropomorphic Neolithic figurine

There is little scientific evidence for developed hierarchies in the Neolithic; hierarchies are more closely associated with the later Bronze Age. Families and households were still largely economically independent. Excavations in Central Europe have, however, revealed that early Neolithic Linear Ceramic cultures ("Linearbandkeramik") were building large arrangements of circular ditches between 4800 BC and 4600 BC. These structures (and their later Neolithic equivalents such as causewayed enclosures, burial mounds, and henges) required considerable time and labour to construct, which suggests that some influential individuals were able to organise and direct human labour. There is also good evidence for fortified settlements at Linearbandkeramik sites along the Rhine, as well as evidence for inter-group conflict from Neolithic sites in Britain. Control of labour and inter-group conflict is characteristic of corporate-level or 'tribal' groups, headed by a charismatic individual, whether a 'big man', or proto-chief or a matriarch, functioning as a lineage-group head. These sociopolitical entities later developed into the chiefdoms of the European Early Bronze Age. In the New world, the Iroquois, Pueblo people, Maya civilization and in Oceania the Māori are all examples of stone-tool-dependent cultures with complex social and political systems. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1704, 1066 KB) Description Photographie dobjets du néolithique. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1704, 1066 KB) Description Photographie dobjets du néolithique. ... The scientific method or process is fundamental to the scientific investigation and acquisition of new knowledge based upon physical evidence. ... A hierarchy (in Greek: , it is derived from -hieros, sacred, and -arkho, rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things or people, where each element of the system (except for the top element) is subordinate to a single other element. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Central Europe The Alpine Countries and the Visegrád Group (Political map, 2004) Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... The Linear Ceramic Culture (German: Linearbandkeramik-Kultur, or LBK) was a Neolithic culture of central Europe. ... Reconstruction of circular ditches at Heldenberg, Lower Austria About 150 arrangements of prehistoric circular ditches are known to archaeologists spread over Germany, Austria and Slovakia and the Czech Republic. ... (6th millennium BC – 5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – other millennia) Events 4713 BC – The epoch (origin) of the Julian Period described by Joseph Justus Scaliger occurred on January 1, the astronomical Julian day number zero. ... (6th millennium BC – 5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – other millennia) Events 4713 BC – The epoch (origin) of the Julian Period described by Joseph Justus Scaliger occurred on January 1, the astronomical Julian day number zero. ... Causewayed enclosures are a type of large prehistoric earthworks common to the early Neolithic Europe. ... Alternate meanings of barrow: see Barrow_in_Furness for the town of Barrow in Cumbria, England; also Barrow, Alaska in the U.S.; also River Barrow in Ireland. ... A henge is a roughly circular or oval-shaped flat area over 20m in diameter which is enclosed and delimited by a boundary earthwork that usually comprises a ditch with an external bank. ... Loreley At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (Dutch Rijn, French Rhin, German Rhein, Italian: Reno, Romansch: Rein, ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ... Mobutu Sésé Seko: a big man of African politics. ... The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view. ... ... A chiefdom is any community led by an individual known as a chief. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... The Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee, also known as the League of Peace and Power, Five Nations, or Six Nations) is a group of First Nations/Native Americans. ... The Zia symbol is on the New Mexico state flag. ... 74. ... Languages Māori, English Religions Māori religion, Christianity Related ethnic groups other Polynesian peoples, Austronesian peoples The word Māori refers to the indigenous people of New Zealand and their language. ...

Farming

A significant and far-reaching shift in human subsistence and lifestyle was to be brought about in areas where crop farming and cultivation were first developed: the previous reliance upon an essentially nomadic hunter-gatherer subsistence technique or pastoral transhumance was at first supplemented, and then increasingly replaced by, a reliance upon the yield produced from cultivated lands. These developments are also believed to have greatly encouraged the growth of settlements, since it may be supposed that the increased need to spend more time and labour in tending crop fields required more localised dwellings. This trend would continue into the Bronze Age, eventually giving rise to towns, and later cities and states whose larger populations could be sustained by the increased productivity from cultivated lands. The following is a list of subsistence techniques: Hunting and Gathering, also known as Foraging freeganism involves gathering of discarded food in the context of an urban environment gleaning involves the gathering of food that traditional farmers have left behind in their fields Cultivation Horticulture - plant cultivation, based on the... A typical North American grain farm with farmstead in Ontario, Canada A farm is the basic unit in agriculture. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In anthropology, the hunter-gatherer way of life is that led by certain societies of the Neolithic Era based on the exploitation of wild plants and animals. ... Subsistence means living in a permanently fragile equilibrium between alimentary needs and the means for satisfying them. ... Transhumance is the seasonal movement of livestock between mountainous and lowland pastures. ... Main street in Bastrop, Texas, a small town A town is a residential community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ... The city of Chicago, as seen from the sky A city is an urban area that is differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or legal status. ... A state is a set of institutions that possess the authority to make the rules that govern the people in one or more societies, having internal and external sovereignty over a definite territory. ...

The profound differences in human interactions and subsistence methods associated with the onset of early agricultural practices in the Neolithic have been called the Neolithic Revolution, a term first coined by the Australian archaeologist Vere Gordon Childe. It has been suggested that First agricultural revolution be merged into this article or section. ... A neologism (from Greek νεολογισμός νέος [neos] = new; λόγος [logos] = word) is a word, term, or phrase which has been recently created (coined) — often to apply to new concepts, to synthesize pre-existing concepts, or to make older terminology sound more contemporary. ... Vere Gordon Childe (April 14, 1892–October 19, 1957) was an Australian philologist by training who later specialised in archaeology, perhaps best known for his excavation of the unique Neolithic site of Skara Brae in Orkney and for his Marxist views which informed his thinking about prehistory. ...

One potential benefit of the development and increasing sophistication of farming technology was an ability (if conditions allowed) to produce a crop yield which would be surplus to the immediate needs of the community. When such surpluses were produced they could be preserved and sequestered for later use during times of seasonal shortfalls, traded with other communities (giving rise to a nascent non-subsistence economy), and in general allowed larger populations to be sustained. The storage site might need to be defended from marauders, increasing the cultural investment in a particular site. Media:Example. ...

However, it should be noted that early farmers were also adversely affected in times of famine, such as may be caused by drought or pestilence. In instances where agriculture had become the predominant way of life the sensitivity to these shortages could be particularly acute, affecting agrarian populations to an extent which otherwise may not have been routinely experienced by prior hunter-gatherer communities. Nevertheless, despite what must have been periodic setbacks, agrarian communities generally proved successful, and their growth and the expansion of territory under cultivation continued. A famine is a social and economic crisis that is commonly accompanied by widespread malnutrition, starvation, epidemic and increased mortality. ... A drought is a period of time when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban or environmental water needs. ... Pest control refers to the regulation or management of another species defined as a pest, usually because it is detrimental to a persons health, the ecology or the economy. ...

Another significant change undergone by many of these newly-agrarian communities was one of diet. Pre-agrarian diets varied by region, season, available local plant and animal resources and degree of pastoralism and hunting. Post-agrarian diet was restricted to a limited package of successfully cultivated cereal grains, plants and to variable extents domesticable animals and animal products. Supplementation of diet by hunting and gathering was to variable degrees precluded by increase of population above the carrying capacity of the land and high sedentary local population concentration. In some cultures there would have been a significant shift toward increased starch and plant protein. The relative nutritional benefits and disadvantages of these dietary changes, and their overall impact on early societal development is still the subject of some debate. In nutrition, the diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. ... The updated USDA food pyramid, published in 2005, is a general nutrition guide for recommended food consumption. ...

In addition, increased population density, decreased population mobility, increased continuous proximity to domesticated animals, and continuous occupation of comparatively population-dense sites would have altered patterns of disease and sanitary needs. A disease or medical condition is an abnormality of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, distress, or death to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person. ... Sanitation vehicle in New York City. ...

Technology

Neolithic peoples were skilled farmers, manufacturing a range of tools necessary for the tending, harvesting, and processing of crops (such as sickle blades and grinding stones) and food production (e.g. pottery, bone implements). They were also skilled manufacturers of a range of other types of stone tools and ornaments, including projectile points, beads, and statuettes. Neolithic peoples in the Levant, Anatolia, Syria, northern Mesopotamia and Central Asia were also accomplished builders, utilising mud-brick to construct houses and villages. At Çatalhöyük, houses were plastered and painted with elaborate scenes of humans and animals. In Europe, long houses built from wattle and daub were constructed. Elaborate tombs for the dead were also built. These tombs are particularly numerous in Ireland, where there are many thousand still in existence. Neolithic people in the British Isles built long barrows and chamber tombs for their dead and causewayed camps, henges, flint mines and cursus monuments. It was also important to figure out ways of preserving food for future months, such as fashioning relatively airtight containers, and using substances like salt as preservatives. Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ... In archaeology, a projectile point is an object that was hafted and used either as knife or projectile tip or both. ... The Levant The Levant is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Excavations at the South Area of Çatal Höyük Çatalhöyük (also Çatal Höyük and Çatal Hüyük, or any of the three without diacritics; çatal is Turkish for fork, höyük for mound) was a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern... Europe at its furthest extent, reaching to the Urals. ... The Neolithic long house was a long, narrow timber dwelling built by the first farmers in Europe around 7,000 years ago. ... Categories: Stub | Construction ... A long barrow is a prehistoric monument dating to the Neolithic period. ... A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. ... Causewayed enclosures are a type of large prehistoric earthworks common to the early Neolithic in southern Britain. ... A henge is a roughly circular or oval-shaped flat area over 20m in diameter which is enclosed and delimited by a boundary earthwork that usually comprises a ditch with an external bank. ... Cursus was a name given by early British archaeologists such as William Stukeley to the large parallel lengths of banks with external ditches which they thought were early Roman athletics tracks, hence the Latin name Cursus, meaning Circus. Cursus monuments are now understood to be Neolithic structures and may have... A magnified crystal of a salt (halite/sodium chloride) Salt covering the floor of Bad Water in Death Valley, CA, the lowest point in the US. A salt, in chemistry, is any ionic compound composed of cations (positively charged ions) and anions (negative ions) so that the product is neutral...

With limited exceptions (a few copper hatchets and spear heads in the Great Lakes region), the peoples of the Americas and the Pacific retained the Neolithic level of tool technology up until the time of European contact. There are numerous examples(Inca, Maya, Aztec, Iroquois, Mississippian, Maiori), however, of development of complex socio-political organization, building technology, scientific knowledge and linguistic culture in these regions that parallel post-neolithic developments in Africa and Eurasia. Hatchet from the old French hachette a diminutive form of the word hache or axe. ... Hunting spear and knife, from Mesa Verde National Park. ... The Great Lakes from space The Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes on or near the United States-Canadian border. ... World map showing the Americas CIA map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a level of thinking mastery sufficient to leave the surface of the planet for the first time and explore space. ... For other meanings of Inca, see Inca (disambiguation). ... // Maya may refer to: The Maya, Native American peoples of southern Mexico and northern Central America Maya peoples, the contemporary indigenous peoples Maya civilization, their historical pre-Columbian civilization Mayan languages, the family of languages spoken by the Maya Yucatec Maya language, specific and most widespread Mayan language, frequently referred... The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries who built an extensive empire in the late Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology. ... The Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee, also known as the League of Peace and Power, Five Nations, or Six Nations) is a group of First Nations/Native Americans. ... The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 900 to 1500 CE, varying regionally. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Neolithic settlements include: This is a list of archaeological sites is sorted by country. ...

Franchthi Cave in Greece, epipalaeolithic (ca. 10,000 BC) settlement, reoccupied between 7500-6000 BC

Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, ca. 9000 BC

Gobustan in Azerbaijan, ca. 5000-8000 BC

Jericho in the Levant, Neolithic from around 8350 BC, arising from the earlier Epipaleolithic Natufian culture

Nevali Cori in Turkey, ca. 8000 BC

Çatalhöyük in Turkey, 7500 BC

Pengtoushan culture in China, 7500-6100 BC

'Ain Ghazal in Jordan, 7250-5000 BC

Dispilio in Greece, ca. 5500 BC

Jiahu in China, 7000 to 5800 BC

Mehrgarh in Pakistan, 7000 BC

Knossus on Crete, ca. 7000 BC

Lahuradewa in India, 6200 BC

Porodin in Republic of Macedonia, 6500 BC [1]

Vrshnik (Anzabegovo) in Republic of Macedonia, 6500 BC [2]

Hemudu culture in China, 5000-4500 BC, large scale rice plantation

around 2000 settlements of Trypillian culture, 5400 BC -- 2800 BC

Knap of Howar and Skara Brae, Orkney, Scotland, from 3500 BC

Brú na Bóinne in Ireland, ca. 3500 BC

lough gur in ireland from around 3000 BC

The world's oldest known engineered roadway, the Sweet Track in England, also dates from this time. Franchthi Cave (Greek Σπήλαιον Φράγχθη) is a cave overlooking the Argolic Gulf that has yielded large numbers of artifacts relating to Neolithic Greece. ... Göbekli Tepe is an early Neolithic site in southeastern Turkey. ... Qobustan is a rayon of Azerbaijan. ... The Taking of Jericho, by Jean Fouquet 2005- Entering Jericho from the South. ... The Levant The Levant is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... The Epipalaeolithic (or Epi-Palaeolithic, Epipaleolithic, or Epi-Paleolithic) was a period in the development of human technology that immediately precedes the neolithic period, as an alternative to mesolithic. ... The Natufian culture existed in the Mediterranean region of the Levant. ... Nevali Cori is an early Neolithic settlement in the upper Euphrates valley, eastern Turkey, around 490 m high. ... Excavations at the South Area of Çatal Höyük Çatalhöyük (also Çatal Höyük and Çatal Hüyük, or any of the three without diacritics; çatal is Turkish for fork, höyük for mound) was a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern... The Pengtoushan culture (彭頭山文化) (7500-6100 BC [1]) was a Neolithic culture centered primarily around the central Yangtze River region in northwestern Hunan, China. ... General Layout of Ain Ghazal, © 1996 Smithsonian Institution Ain Ghazal is a neolithic site located in North-Eastern Jordan, on the outskirts of Amman. ... The Dispilio Tablet, a wooden tablet bearing markings dated to 5250 BC, from the Dispilio lake settlement The Dispilio Tablet (also known as the Dispilio Scripture or Disk) is a wooden tablet bearing inscribed markings (charagmata), Carbon 14-dated to c7300 years b. ... Jiahu (賈湖) was the site of a Neolithic Yellow River culture based in the central plains of ancient China, modern Henan Province. ... Mehrgarh was an ancient settlement in South Asia and is one of the most important sites in archaeology for the study of the earliest neolithic settlements in that region. ... Knossos Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Gnossus, Greek Κνωσσός) is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete, probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan culture. ... For the famous World War II battle, see: Battle of Crete For other uses, see Crete (disambiguation). ... For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... The Hemudu culture (河姆渡文化) was a Neolithic culture that fluorished just south of the Hangzhou Bay in Jiangnan in modern Yuyao, Zhejiang, China. ... Trypillian culture is the culture of the Neolithic people identified on the territory of modern Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania, which existed between 5400 BC and 2700 BC. The name derives from the village of Trypillia (Трипiлля) near Kiev, Ukraine, where it was discovered... (7th millennium BC – 6th millennium BC – 5th millennium BC – other millennia) Events c. ... (Redirected from 2800 BC) (29th century BC - 28th century BC - 27th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2775 - 2650 BC - Second Dynasty wars in Egypt 2750 BC - End of the Early Dynastic I Period, and the beginning of the Early Dynastic II... At Knap of Howar on the Orkney island of Papa Westray a Neolithic farmstead has been wonderfully well preserved, and is claimed to be the oldest stone house in northern Europe, with radiocarbon dating showing that it was occupied from 3500 BC to 3100 BC, earlier than the very similar... Skara Brae is a large stone-built Neolithic settlement, located in the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of mainland Orkney, Scotland. ... Orkney (sometimes known as the Orkney Islands) is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles north of the coast of Caithness. ... Archaeology and geology continue to reveal the secrets of prehistoric Scotland, uncovering a complex and dramatic past before the Romans brought Scotland into the scope of recorded history. ... Aerial view of valley Brú na Bóinne (English: Palace on the Boyne) is an internationally important complex of Neolithic chamber tombs, standing stones, henges and other prehistoric enclosures located in a wide meander of the River Boyne in Ireland. ... This page is related to transport; you may be looking for the 2002 Bollywood movie Road. ... The Sweet Track is an ancient causeway in the Somerset Levels, England. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ...

The wheel was invented in the late Neolithic (5th millennium BC), and writing emerged from proto-writing at the period's end, in the 4th millennium BC. It has been suggested that Wheel and Axle be merged into this article or section. ... Scribe Writing Writing, in its most general sense, is the preservation and the preserved text on a medium, with the use of signs or symbols. ... Writing systems evolved in the 4th millennium BC out of neolithic proto-writing. ...

Notes

John Lubbock. ... The three-age system is a system of classifying human prehistory into three consecutive time periods, named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies: The Stone Age The Bronze Age The Iron Age The system is most apt in describing the progression of European society, although it has been used... The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans before the voyages of Christopher Columbus; it includes Europe, Asia, and Africa (collectively known as Africa-Eurasia), plus surrounding islands. ... World map showing the Americas CIA map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... For the fictional superstate in George Orwells novel, see Oceania (Nineteen Eighty-Four). ... Classic potters kick-wheel at Erfurt, Germany The potters wheel, also known as the potters lathe, is a machine used in the shaping of round ceramic wares. ...

Bibliography

See also

• European Megalithic Culture
• Neolithic Europe
• Neolithic Revolution
• Neolithic religion
• Ötzi the Iceman
• Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures

Development of the European Megalithic Culture The European Megalithic Culture was a prehistoric (and preliterate) civilisation based primarily in Western Europe, that has left a legacy of large stone monuments, or megaliths, scattered widely across the continent. ... Map showing the Neolithic expansions from the 7th to the 5th millennium BC Europe in ca. ... It has been suggested that First agricultural revolution be merged into this article or section. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ötzi the Iceman (also spelled Oetzi), Frozen Fritz, and Similaun Man are modern nicknames of a well-preserved natural mummy of a man from about 3300 BC [1], found in 1991 in a glacier of the Ötztal Alps, near the border between Austria and Italy. ... The table gives a rough picture of the relationships between the various principal cultures of Prehistory outside the Americas, Antarctica, Australia and Oceania. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Neolithic

• Neolithic Stone Tools and Artifacts - World Museum of Man
• Brutal lives of Stone Age Britons
• Vincha Neolithic Script
• The Ancient Near East

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...