Neolithic

The Neolithic, (Greek neos=new, lithos=stone, or "New Stone Age") was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. The name was invented by John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. The term is more commonly used in the Old World and its application to cultures in the Americas and Oceania is problematic. It follows the terminal Pleistocene Epipalaeolithic and early Holocene Mesolithic periods, beginning with the start of farming and ending when metal tools became widespread in the Copper Age (chalcolithic), Bronze Age or Iron Age, depending on geographical region. The term "Neolithic" thus does not refer to a specific chronological period but a suite of behavioural and cultural characteristics including the use of (both wild and domestic) crops and the use of domesticated animals. Some archaeologists have long advocated replacing "Neolithic" with a more descriptive term, such as "Early Village Communities", although this has not gained wide acceptance.

Origins and regional development

In Southwest Asia, Neolithic cultures appear soon after 10000 BC, initially in the Levant (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B) and from there spread eastwards and westwards. There are early Neolithic cultures in SE Anatolia, Syria and Iraq by 8000 BC, and food-producing societies first appear in southeast Europe by 7000 BC, and Central Europe by cal 5500 BC (of which the earliest cultural complexes include the Starčevo-Koros (Cris), Linearbandkeramic, and Vinča). From there, through a combination of diffusion of ideas and migration of peoples, the Neolithic phenomenon spreads westward to northwest Europe by 4500 BC. Early Neolithic farming is limited to a narrow range of crops (both wild and domestic) and the keeping of sheep and goats, but by about 7000 BC it included domestic cows, pigs, permanently or semi-permanently inhabited settlements and the use of pottery. Not all of the cultural elements characteristic of the Neolithic (e.g., pottery, permanent villages, and the farming of domestic crops and animals) appear in the same order -- e.g. the earliest farming societies in the Near East do not use pottery, and in Britain it remains unclear what the contribution of domestic plants was in the earliest Neolithic, or even whether permanently settled communities existed. In other parts of the world, such as Africa, India and SE Asia, there are independent domestication events leading to regionally-distinctive Neolithic cultures completely independent of Europe. Japanese societies used pottery in the Mesolithic for example. In Mesoamerica a similar set of events (i.e., crop domestication and sedentary lifestyles) occurred at about 4500 BC, although here the term 'Formative' is used instead of 'Neolithic'.

Related Topics:
Asia - Cultures - 10000 BC - Levant - Pre-Pottery Neolithic A - Pre-Pottery Neolithic B - 8000 BC - 7000 BC - 5500 BC - Starčevo-Koros (Cris) - Linearbandkeramic - Vinča - Idea - Migration - 4500 BC - Sheep - Goat - Cow - Pottery - Farming - Societies - Near East - Britain - 4500 BC

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