A Complete Timeline of The Neolithic Period: The New Stone Age | Early Humans Documentary

Summary

The Neolithic period, marking humanity's shift from hunter-gatherers to settled farmers, began around 12,000 years ago in Western Asia. This era saw the first evidence of farming with crops like spelt wheat and the domestication of animals. It allowed for population growth and the formation of large-scale communities. Innovations like pottery and the construction of temples emerged. The period varied in different regions, with West Asia leading the way into the Bronze Age, while Africa and Europe followed. The Neolithic laid the groundwork for advanced societies, introducing agriculture, permanent settlements, and early religious practices.

Takeaways

• 🏞️ The Neolithic period marked the transition from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to settled farming communities, which is considered the first step towards civilization.
• 🌾 The first Agricultural Revolution occurred during the Neolithic, with early farming taking place in the Fertile Crescent of Western Asia around 12,000 years ago.
• 🌱 Early Neolithic farmers cultivated a limited range of crops such as spelt wheat, emmer wheat, and millet, and kept dogs for hunting.
• 🐷 By 8,000 BC, modern domesticated animals like pigs, goats, and sheep were integrated into human settlements.
• 🏡 Neolithic communities in the Levant had basic seed selection and cultivation techniques, and were among the first to establish permanent settlements.
• 🕍 The first known temple-like structure, dating back to 9,500 BC, was found in Göbekli Tepe, Turkey, indicating early religious practices.
• 🏠 Early Neolithic houses were circular and made of mud brick, evolving to rectangular or square structures with multiple rooms for increased privacy.
• 🗿 Figurines and evidence of skull preservation suggest that Neolithic people had complex religious beliefs and rituals, including veneration of the dead.
• 🍽️ Pottery, first developed in the Southern Levant, became a significant part of Neolithic life, used for food preparation and storage, and later for trade.
• 🌍 The Neolithic period varied in its onset across different regions, with West Asia being the earliest and Europe and Africa following later.
• 🛠️ The end of the Neolithic period saw the advent of metallurgy, leading to the Bronze Age and the development of new technologies and ways of living.

Q & A

What is the Neolithic Age and when did it begin?

The Neolithic Age, also known as the New Stone Age, was the final chapter of the Stone Age and marked the first step towards what we consider civilization. It began roughly 12,000 years ago and is marked by the first evidence of farming taking place in the Fertile Crescent of Western Asia.

What was the significance of the first Agricultural Revolution during the Neolithic Age?

The first Agricultural Revolution allowed human communities to transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming crops and livestock. This transition enabled populations to grow and led to the formation of the world's first large-scale communities.

What crops were cultivated by early Neolithic farmers in the Fertile Crescent?

Early Neolithic farmers in the Fertile Crescent cultivated a small range of crops such as spelt wheat, emmer wheat, and millet.

How did the development of agriculture impact the formation of permanent settlements?

The development of agriculture allowed for a more stable food supply, which in turn supported population growth and the spread of settlements, leading to the formation of the world's first large-scale communities.

What is the significance of the temple-like building found in Göbekli Tepe, Turkey?

The temple-like building at Göbekli Tepe, established around 9,500 BC, is significant as it is one of the earliest known places of worship and suggests that Neolithic humans had complex religious practices.

What changes in housing structures occurred during the Neolithic Age?

During the Neolithic Age, housing structures evolved from circular, single-room mud brick houses to rectangular or square houses with multiple rooms, providing more privacy and forming the basis of modern houses.

How did the Neolithic people of Europe differ in their lifestyle compared to those in Asia and Africa?

While Neolithic people in Asia were the first to establish stable farming communities, those in Europe often lived in small villages and engaged in a mix of farming, hunting, and pastoralism. In Africa, some regions developed agriculture independently, while others adopted it through contact with Asian cultures.

What role did pottery play in the late Neolithic period in the Middle East?

In the late Neolithic period, the first experiments with pottery were developed in the Middle East, particularly in Southern Mesopotamia. Pottery was used for storage and cooking, and later decorated with geometric shapes and patterns for trade.

How did the Neolithic people's religious beliefs manifest in their daily lives?

Neolithic people's religious beliefs manifested in various ways, such as the construction of temples, the creation of figurines representing deities or ancestors, and the practice of preserving and venerating the dead within their homes.

What is the significance of megalithic structures like Stonehenge in Neolithic Europe?

Megalithic structures like Stonehenge are significant as they represent advanced architectural skills and are thought to have had religious or ceremonial purposes. Stonehenge, for example, is aligned with the sun's movements during the summer and winter solstices.

How did the end of the Neolithic Age pave the way for the development of later civilizations?

The end of the Neolithic Age marked the transition to the Bronze Age with the advent of metallurgy. This period introduced new technologies, weapons, and ways of living that significantly contributed to laying the foundations of the world as we know it today.

Outlines

00:00

🌾 The Dawn of Agriculture and the Neolithic Revolution

The script begins by discussing the transition from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic period, marking the end of the Stone Age and the start of civilization. The Neolithic, or New Stone Age, was characterized by the first Agricultural Revolution, where humans shifted from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to farming. This allowed for population growth and the formation of large-scale communities. The period began around 12,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent of Western Asia, where early farming of crops like spelt wheat, emmer wheat, and millet started. The domestication of animals such as pigs, goats, and sheep followed around 8,000 BC. The script also notes that the end of the Neolithic period varied by region, with West Asian cultures moving into the Bronze Age with the advent of metallurgy, while other regions like Africa and Europe took longer to progress.

05:01

🏗️ Early Neolithic Settlements and the Emergence of Religion

The second paragraph delves into the early Neolithic settlements in Western Asia, particularly in the Levant, which are believed to be the first stable farming communities. These communities developed basic agriculture, leading to the construction of the first permanent structures. The script mentions the discovery of an ancient temple-like building in Göbekli Tepe, Turkey, dating back to 9,500 BC, which is considered one of the earliest places of worship. It also discusses the evolution of housing from circular mud-brick structures to more complex rectangular houses with multiple rooms, indicating a shift towards a more settled lifestyle. The paragraph highlights early religious practices, including the veneration of the dead and the creation of figurines that may represent fertility deities or other cultural symbols.

10:01

🌍 The Spread of Agriculture and Cultural Developments in Africa

This section of the script explores the spread of agriculture and the Neolithic lifestyle to Africa. It discusses how early African cultures developed agriculture independently or through contact with Western Asian societies. The domestication of animals like sheep and goats reached Egypt around 6,000 BC, possibly due to trade across land bridges. The script also mentions the independent domestication of crops and animals in some African regions. It highlights the pastoralist lifestyle of early North Africans, who relied on the open plains for livestock grazing. The adoption of pottery and other agricultural technologies in regions like Morocco and the development of communal burial practices in sub-Saharan Africa are also discussed.

15:02

🏡 Neolithic Europe: Farming, Religion, and the Emergence of Megaliths

The final paragraph focuses on the Neolithic period in Europe, detailing the spread of farming technologies from the Mediterranean to Western Europe and Scandinavia. It describes the lifestyle of Neolithic Europeans, who lived in small villages and engaged in various tasks such as farming, hunting, and woodworking. The script mentions the construction of fortified villages with palisade walls and sentry towers for defense. It also discusses the pastoralist lifestyle of some communities and the religious practices of Neolithic Europeans, including the worship of mother goddesses and the construction of megaliths like Stonehenge. The paragraph concludes by noting the end of the Neolithic period and the transition to the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, which introduced new technologies and ways of living that laid the foundations for modern civilization.

Keywords

💡Neolithic

The Neolithic, or New Stone Age, marks a significant period in human history when the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to settled agricultural communities began. This era is characterized by the development of farming, which allowed for the establishment of permanent settlements and the growth of populations. In the video, the Neolithic is described as the 'first step towards what we would consider to be civilization,' highlighting its importance in the progression of human societies. The script mentions that the Neolithic began around 12,000 years ago with the first evidence of farming in the Fertile Crescent of Western Asia.

💡Agricultural Revolution

The Agricultural Revolution refers to the widespread adoption of farming practices, which replaced the previous reliance on hunting and gathering as the main means of sustenance. This revolution is a central theme in the video, as it allowed for the growth of populations and the formation of the world's first large-scale communities. The script specifically mentions that 'the first Agricultural Revolution' was part of the Neolithic period, where 'many human communities began transitioning away from life as hunter-gatherers in favor of farming crops and livestock.'

💡Fertile Crescent

The Fertile Crescent is a region in Western Asia that extends from the Nile Valley in Egypt through the Levant and into Mesopotamia. It is known for its fertile soil and arable land, which supported the early development of agriculture. In the context of the video, the Fertile Crescent is identified as the place 'where the first evidence of farming taking place' occurred, marking the beginning of the Neolithic period. The script describes how early farms in this region cultivated crops such as spelt wheat, emmer wheat, and millet.

💡Domestication

Domestication is the process by which wild plants and animals are selectively bred and adapted to live alongside humans in a controlled environment. This concept is crucial to the video's narrative, as it allowed for the development of agriculture and the establishment of permanent settlements. The script discusses the domestication of animals such as pigs, goats, and sheep, which occurred around 8,000 BC, and how these animals were integrated into human settlements to support farming practices.

💡Settlements

Settlements refer to the permanent dwelling places established by humans as they transitioned from a nomadic lifestyle to a more settled, agricultural way of life. The video emphasizes the growth of settlements as a result of the Agricultural Revolution, with the script stating that 'populations to grow and some settlements spread out to support this.' Early settlements in the Neolithic period were often circular houses made of mud brick, which served as multi-purpose living spaces.

💡Megaliths

Megaliths are large stones used to construct monuments and structures, often associated with religious or ceremonial purposes. The video mentions megaliths in the context of the Neolithic period, highlighting the construction of Stonehenge as a prime example. Stonehenge, located in England, is described as 'one of the most sophisticated and advanced pieces of architecture of the entire Neolithic,' possibly used as an ancient temple aligned with the sun's movements.

💡Pottery

Pottery is the art of forming vessels and objects from clay and then hardening them by firing in a kiln. The video discusses the development of pottery as a significant technological advancement during the Neolithic period. In the script, it is noted that 'thick handmade pottery was developed' in the Southern Levant, and later, pottery became decorated with geometric shapes and patterns, which were traded with other settlements.

💡Pastoralism

Pastoralism is a way of life where people rely on raising livestock for their livelihood, often moving with their animals in search of fresh pastures. The video describes how some Neolithic communities adopted a pastoralist lifestyle, particularly in regions with open plains and scrublands. The script mentions that 'some pastoralists will occasionally move with the seasons and availability of resources, herding their animals to new locations when pastures are fully grazed,' which allowed for a flexible and adaptable way of life.

💡Religion and Beliefs

Religion and beliefs played a significant role in Neolithic societies, as evidenced by the construction of temples and the creation of figurines and other artifacts. The video script discusses how Neolithic humans 'were religious' and had complex beliefs, as seen in the creation of 'figurines of both men and women' and the possible veneration of the dead within their homes. The script also mentions the discovery of a 'head of a figure' that is thought to represent a mother goddess, suggesting a connection to fertility and other aspects of life.

💡Chalcolithic

The Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, is a transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, characterized by the use of copper tools. While not explicitly mentioned in the script, the Chalcolithic is implied as the next phase in human technological development following the Neolithic. The video suggests that the end of the Neolithic period led to the introduction of metallurgy and the use of metals like copper and tin, which would have significant impacts on technology, weapons, and ways of living.

Highlights

The Neolithic period marked the transition from hunter-gatherer to settled farming communities.

The first Agricultural Revolution occurred during the Neolithic, enabling population growth and large-scale communities.

The Neolithic began around 12,000 years ago, with the earliest evidence of farming in the Fertile Crescent.

Early Neolithic farms cultivated spelt wheat, emmer wheat, and millet, with dogs assisting in hunting.

The domestication of modern animals like pigs, goats, and sheep occurred around 8,000 BC.

The end of the Neolithic period varied by region, with West Asia being the first to progress into the Bronze Age.

Asian cultures were the first to show evidence of stable farming communities and early civilization.

Hunter-gatherers in Western Asia began to understand plant growth, leading to the first agricultural practices.

The first crop cultivated by humans was the fig, as evidenced by remains from a 9,400 BC settlement in Jericho.

Agriculture was independently invented by multiple cultures around the world, starting in Western Asia.

The first temple-like building was established in ancient Turkey around 9,500 BC, predating surrounding structures.

Early Neolithic houses were circular and multi-purpose, made of mud brick and air-dried blocks.

Around 8,800 BC, houses transitioned to rectangular shapes with multiple rooms, influencing modern home design.

Early human religious practices included venerating the dead, preserving skulls within houses.

The late Neolithic in the Middle East saw the first experiments with pottery and clay figurines.

African cultures developed agriculture and farming capabilities around 8,000 BC, with some domestication being independent.

In Europe, farming technologies spread from the Mediterranean to the western and northern regions.

Neolithic Europeans lived in small villages, with labor divided among farming, hunting, pottery, and woodworking.

Some Neolithic Britons practiced pastoralism, herding cattle and supplementing their diet with plants.

Religious artifacts like the 'mother goddess' figure and megaliths like Stonehenge were part of Neolithic European culture.

The Neolithic period ended with the advent of metallurgy and the beginning of the Bronze Age.

Transcripts

as the world left the Paleolithic period

and traveled through the Mesolithic it

would not be long historically speaking

before humans started to settle down in

permanent farmsteads Villages and

communities the Neolithic or new stone

age was the final chapter of the Stone

Age and the first step towards what we

would consider to be civilization

loosely part of the Neolithic was the

first Agricultural Revolution where many

human communities began transitioning

away from life as hunter gatherers in

favor of farming crops and

livestock this in turn allowed for

populations to grow and some settlements

spread out to support this forming the

world's first largescale

communities the Neolithic began roughly

12,000 years ago and is actually Mar

marked by the first evidence of farming

taking place in the Fertile Crescent of

Western

Asia these early Farms cultivated a

small range of crops such as spelt wheat

in corn and Millet and still kept dogs

in their settlements to assist with

hunting for

meat it wasn't until 8,000 BC when

modern domesticated animals such as pigs

goats and sheep were brought into human

settlements where the Neolithic ends

depends on where you're located these

West Asian cultures were the first to

progress out of the Neolithic with the

Advent of Metallurgy as they headed into

the Bronze Age other regions of the

world took longer to advance with

cultures in Africa first progressing at

around

3,150 BC and Europe in 2000 BC

today we will be examining these

cultures in Greater detail how did the

Neolithic humans of Europe Asia and

Africa live their lives how did they

progress learn and thrive in the early

historical Landscapes they would grow to

call home join us as we answer these

questions and more exploring the

Neolithic the mysterious and ancient new

stone

age

Asian cultures were by far the first to

show evidence of stable farming

communities and the earliest forms of

civilization this technology first came

to light in Western Asia and the Levant

encompassing regions making up

modern-day turkey Syria Iraq and

Jordan This is suspected to have begun

when hunter gatherers began to

understand the process in which plants

grew it is thought that in the first

instance these hunter gatherers would

simply scatter seeds around the region

they found them in order to prompt the

growth of more plants thus resulting in

more

food there would have been a great deal

of trial and error involved in this as

is the way with any new

technology hunter gatherers are thought

have finally made the leap when

localized climate change forc parts of

the planet into long dry seasons a

climate that favors plants which

complete their life cycle in one year

certain grains and pulses were available

to be harvested at differing points in

the year leading to a wide variety of

food ready to eat year

round it was off the back of this that

the first settlements were able to

arise neolithic communities in the

Levant are thought to have had a basic

grasp over seed selection and and

receding allowing the finest crops to be

cultivated and harvested based on

preferences some grains were ground down

into flour using mortar and pestles

which as technology progressed would

eventually be used to make a range of

new

foods there is evidence from Jericho

however that figs were in fact the first

crop to be cultivated by humans fig

remains were discovered in an ancient

settlement which dated back to around

9,400

BC these figs were a domesticated

variety from trees that are only able to

reproduce from cuting selected by humans

unless another crop is discovered that

predates them scientists have reasoned

to believe that fig trees were the first

domesticated

plant agriculture is not a technology

that was discovered once and spread

across the globe but one that was

invented independently by many different

cultures who were progressing

technologically at the same

time there would have been plenty of

spread in the immediate regions it was

developed in but agriculture is thought

to have been instigated over 11 separate

times by different cultures across the

globe starting in Western

Asia Neolithic humans in Asia were also

the first to have set up a place of

worship ship a temple likee building

located in the ancient Turkish

archaeological site of gocke established

around

9,500 BC is thought to have being the

first of its kind and was actually

developed before the buildings around it

were established the people who built

this structure were still very much

living as hunter

gatherers around the temple lie Seven

Stone circles some of which are made of

up of limestone pillars engraved with

depictions of various species of mammal

bird and

invertebrate amazingly hundreds of

people are thought to have worked on

these structures which may have once

been shrines adjacent to the main Temple

covered by basic Roofing

mechanisms similar but slightly younger

sites have been uncovered in what is now

Israel Jordan and

Lebanon as as Asian settlements in the

early Neolithic became long-term people

started to abandon the nomadic lifestyle

in favor of a solid structure that would

keep them warm and sheltered year round

these early houses were circular in

shape with only one room that served as

a multi-purpose bedroom living area and

makeshift kitchen to prepare food from

cultivated

crops these earliest houses were made

made of mud brick air dried blocks

composed from mud bound with

straw in some cases early communities

had basic stone walls and even Stone

Towers these basic defenses were

sufficient to keep communities safe from

wild animals rival groups of humans and

natural hazards such as floods and

storms smaller walls can be found within

that may have served as animal pens or

food storage areas that would have been

used by the whole

settlement around

8,800 BC we start to see evidence of

what has been coined the pre potery

Neolithic b

period one major change taking place

around this time is that roundhouses

typically switch to rectangular or

square houses with multiple rooms this

would have allowed families residing

Within in further privacy and would form

the bases of the houses we live in

today we also start to gain a better

insight into early human religions

beliefs and cultures at this time

figurines of both men and women found

made from Gypsum and stone have been

discovered in settlements within what is

now Syria and there is evidence that

these early mudbrick houses were the

places of religion spectacles that would

be considered obscene in the modern day

human remains found within and outside

these houses suggest that these people

worshiped or venerated their dead in

some way preserving their skulls within

the houses and Plastering them with

dried mud to form facial

features perhaps this was a way of

keeping the deceased loved one with them

after death albe it a way that would be

considered very strange in today's

world when families preserved their

loved ones they would leave the rest of

the body outside to Decay to nothing but

bones these bones would then be buried

underneath the floor of the

Abode following on from this period we

enter the late Neolithic focused around

the Fertile Crescent of the Middle

East this time is characterized by the

first experiments with Pottery developed

in the Southern reaches of the

Levant these experiments are centered

around North Mesopotamia and include

sites such as Tel hassuna and

yarmo thick handmade Pottery was

developed here alongside Clay figurines

of humans and animals some of which

depict pregnant women entities that were

revered as fertility

goddesses later Pottery would be

decorated with geometric shapes and

patterns which were traded with other

settlements for food and other

resources some early communities within

Africa followed the same processes as

the ones listed in the previous segment

of this video just after they took place

in Western Asia Far Eastern Africa for

example were the first to develop

Agriculture and farming capabilities and

agrarian society started to appear

around 8,000

BC domestication of more advanced animal

species specifically sheep and goats is

thought to have reached Egypt in around

6,000 BC as a direct spread from Western

Asian societies who were perhaps trading

with them via the land bridge connecting

the two

continents in some regions however the

domestication of crops and animals is

thought to have happened independently

with no influence on early hunter

gatherers from outside

cultures this is still a topic of debate

among scholar with some arguing that

crops were domesticated

indigenously and others claiming that

migrant Farmers settling in Africa from

Asia brought some technologies with

them whilst Egypt and the regions that

surrounded it were the first to enter

the Neolithic period in Africa other

areas of the continent took took

slightly longer to progress in areas

such as Algeria and Morocco for example

agrarian societies cropped up as a

result of farming being introduced by

Europeans living on the Iberian

Peninsula Who had already discovered the

Technologies as humans traveled across

to Africa they would have brought

domesticated grains as well as knowledge

with them to the early African cultures

who adopted the life lifestyle for

themselves this led to some North

African society's leading pastoralist

Lifestyles relying on the wide open

Plains and scrublands of the continent

to allow their livestock to

graze pastoralism is practiced in many

modern-day mountainous regions and was

vital to the lifestyles of these early

North

Africans some pastoralists will

occasionally move with the seasons and

availability of resources hering their

animals to new locations when pastures

are fully grazed this leads to a great

degree of flexibility and as a result

some of these early people were not

fixed to the regions in which they

initially

settled Morocco was the earliest

non-egyptian region of Africa to adopt

pottery making Technologies most notably

at the site known as cfel gar in the

modern country's Taza province

there is also extensive evidence here

for the early adoption of Serial grain

domestication as well as animal

husbandry as sheep and goats were

brought into the region from both Europe

and the

Levant the people of subsaharan Africa

adopted pastoralism as their main way of

life rather than becoming wholly

agrarian this spread across the regions

surrounding the rift valley where sheep

goats and eventually cattle were

domesticated for their meat skins and

milk Earth in wear pots were developed

in these areas as were mortars and

pestles grindstones and stone

Bowls the dead were buried in KS a type

of communal indoor graveyard as opposed

to within the settlements themselves

eventually this way of life would spread

south to tribes such as the kooy a group

of people we have covered previously on

this

channel farming Technologies are thought

to have entered Europe as early as 7,000

years ago as the technology spread

throughout the Mediterranean from the

near East and the Levant between 5 and

4,000 years ago this technology would

then reach the western parts of the

continent running through what is now

Germany and Poland through to France as

well as South through Italy and the

Iberian

Peninsula Scandinavia and the British

Isles as a result of their relative

isolation were the last to have

developed the technology as migrant

Farmers traveled North from what is

today France and

Germany regardless of the time they

entered the Neolithic many cultures and

communities that sprung up across Europe

in this time shared several basic

characteristics they lived in small

villages often in family groups where

they divided labor between both animals

and plant Farmers as well as Hunters

potters and

Woodworkers wood was chopped using basic

Stone axes from the dense surrounding

forests of Europe which was then applied

to the infrastructure of houses and

buildings as well as fires to keep

communities warm in the Long Cold

Winters

some neolithic communities from around

the Mediterranean took their Settlements

a step further reinforcing their

villages with Palisade walls and Sentry

Towers likely to ward off and scout out

approaching Invaders or Raiders from

neighboring

settlements some communities in

neolithic Britain favored a pastorless

lifestyle they would herd cattle across

the hills and forests of this ancient

land subsiding on their meat and

supplementing their diet with plant

matter there is also evidence to suggest

that the Neolithic peoples of Europe

were

religious an artifact discovered at an

archaeological site in what is now the

vine province of Bulgaria was identified

in 2018 as the head of a figure that is

thought to have represented a mother

goddess these figures have been found

across Europe and Asia and are argued by

some to represent the embodiment of

fertility others disagree stating that

these are figurines that are intended to

represent wisdom and

wealth some cultures are also known to

have constructed huge

megaliths these structures can be

composed of a single or multiple Stones

often arranged in intricate patterns or

shapes the most famous of the over 3

5,000 located in Europe alone is without

a doubt

Stonehenge located on what is now the

Salsbury plane of Wilshire in

England constructed in the late

Neolithic some of the stones are thought

to have been brought to the location

from over 150 M away it was constructed

using joints that are not found in any

other megalithic structure making it one

of the most sophisticated and advanced

pieces of architecture of the entire

Neolithic its purpose is thought to have

being religious perhaps used as an

ancient Temple aligned with the sun's

movements the sun rises directly over

the heelstone on both the shortest and

longest days of the year the summer and

winter

solstices by the time the Neolithic came

to an end the people of Europe had

settled into more a great Arian

societies complete with a whole host of

animals on their

Farms as well as cattle sheep and goats

provided milk meat and wool whilst wild

pigs were kept in the woods and farmed

for their meat dogs domesticated much

longer ago were trained to help on farms

hurting sheep and keeping a close eye

out for Predators or

Raiders so that's a rundown of the key

events and happenings of the

Neolithic the Neolithic was to be the

last instance in history when Stones

were used as a primary construct in

Technologies the forthcoming calal

lithic the subject of our next part in

this series would see the introduction

of the very first Metals harnessed and

applied by ancient peoples copper and

Tin as people moved into this new age

they would experience exp erience a

whole host of new technologies weapons

and ways of living all of which would

contribute significantly in laying the

foundations of the world we recognize

today