What is Neolithic Age?
The new stone age is also known as the Neolithic age. During the neolithic period, the prehistoric human involved in the final stage of cultural evolution or technological development. Here, people started utilizing the stone tools by polishing or grinding stones according to their needs, domesticating plants and animals, having settlements and creating villages and also people involved in the crafts like pottery and weaving. The neolithic period was preceded by the Bronze age or the early metal tool period and followed by the Paleolithic period or the age of chipped-stone tools. This article describes the complete features of the neolithic age, and important neolithic revolutions and all other details are explained here.
Start of Neolithic Age
The neolithic meaning the new stone age. The Holocene Epoch, which is the last 11,700 years of Earth's history was considered the development stage of the Neolithic stage. But historians cannot encounter the correct starting point of the Neolithic period. This is mainly because people from different parts of the world entered the Neolithic stage at different times. Generally, historians suggested that the Neolithic age started at 10,000 BCE. During this period, ancient people started to learn to raise crops, and domesticate animals and livestock. So, people came out of hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants and started to prepare their own food through agriculture.
Causes of Neolithic Age
Behind the human being travelling to the Neolithic age, there were no single factors. People from various regions involved in the world faced huge factors for the transformation. Before 14,000 years ago, people on earth moved towards polar regions and entered the last Ice Age. Many scientists also believed that the Neolithic age’s agricultural revolution created many climatic changes.
People living in the west of the Mediterranean Sea and the east of the Persian Gulf have fertile Crescent, which favours the growth of wild wheat and barley. In the pre-neolithic revolution, people started to build their permanent residences in the region.
Many scientists believed that the advanced development and intellectual in the human brain began as the cause for people to settle down. The people in the earliest neolithic settlements uncovered the religious artefacts and artistic imagery and progenitors of human civilization.
Effect of Neolithic Period
During the Neolithic era, the population became high and people felt complicated to find their food through hunting, gathering and finding edible wild plants. So, people started adopting farming and domesticating some wild animals. During the agricultural process, people initiated with small gardens and later extended into large crop fields. People from different places started to follow their own traditions along with their regular lifestyle for the agricultural process.
People in Neolithic cultures started creating the more-useful stone tools by grinding and polishing the hard rocks. Also, they used soft stones for creating desired shapes. People in the neolithic age also started cultivating cereals and grains. Also, they gathered together and built their permanent dwellings and congregate in villages. People started to acquire knowledge on specialized crafts.
Neolithic Revolution Across Various Parts of The World
According to archaeological evidence, the Neolithic revolution transformed people from food-collecting cultures to food-producing technologies. This technology was started from fertile crescent across Asian and European continents. According to the evidence of archaeologists, from 9500 BCE the people in southwestern Asia started cultivation and animal domestication. But this many began earlier too. People living near the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys started to have farming and village settlements during the 7000 BCE. Later, these practices were spread across Syria, Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan.
Ancient people initially cultivated large quantities of barley and wheat and also adopted sheep and goats. Later, they supplemented cattle and pigs. The innovations of people in the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys spread from the Middle East northward into Europe in two ways. The one is across Turkey and Greece into central Europe. And another is across Egypt and North Africa and reached Spain. In the 7000 BCE, people in Greece started creating their farming communities. In the next four millennia, the farming practice was spread northwards and covered the entire continent. Even till, 3000 BCE, this long and gradual transition was not covered Britain and Scandinavia, this is known as the Mesolithic.
During 5000 BCE, the people of India and Pakistan settled near the Indus River valley and initiated the Neolithic technologies. During 3500 BCE, people from China and Southeast Asia settled in the Huang he, which is near the yellow river and also started cultivation. They are mainly concentrated on cultivating millets and rice. People in Mexico and Central America gradually domesticated other crops like corn, beans, and Squash from 6500 BCE. But only after the 2000 BCE, many people from the world start to come out of the sedentary village life
Neolithic Culture - Agricultural Inventions
The people of the fertile crescent initially started the Neolithic farming communities and domesticated cereals such as emmer wheat, einkorn wheat and barley. Also, these farmers domesticated chickpeas, lentils peas and flax. For the domestication process, farmers are involved in various breading successive generations of plants and animals. The species chosen for domestication was varied from place to place.
Initially, they have chosen crops, which are easy for harvesting at low risk. For example, Wild wheat ripens easily and fall on the ground and shatters when it is ripe. Ancient people grew wheat, which can produce the wheat on the stem for harvesting easily.
People around Asia started cultivating rice and millet on a large scale. Many scientists discovered and believed that the rice paddies were originated from China and later spread across Asia. About 10,000 years ago, people from Mexico started squash cultivation and maize cultivation began around 9000 years ago.
Initially, people started hunting animals for meat. During this period, people initiated the first livestock and domesticated animals. The people from Persian ibex majorly concentrated on domesticating goats. People from various parts of the world also started domestication for doing hard, physical world in the farms and for milk and meat to add quality to the human diet. Because of the domestication, people gained many deadly diseases like smallpox, influenza and the measles
Over 10000 to 13000 years ago, people from Mesopotamia started setting up farms with animals like sheep and cattle. People from India, China and Tibet also domesticated water buffalo and yak. Around 4000 BC, people started to domesticate oxen, donkeys and camels for the transportation of goods and trade development.
The neolithic age was succeeded by the Bronze age. In this period, human beings learnt to utilize metals like copper and tin and combined them in certain quantities and created bronze. They mainly utilized these metals for replacing the tools and weapons made of bronze.
Conclusion
This article described the entire features of the neolithic age along with the causes and effects of the neolithic period. This was the period that led to the Agricultural revolution and the very first-time pottery emerged in this period. The people started living a settled life and used to live in rectangular or circular houses. The domestication of animals was also done by the Neolithic people such as sheeps, goats and cattle. Finally, the period was succeeded by the Chalcolithic Age.
FAQs on Neolithic Period
1. What is the Neolithic Period and when did it occur?
The Neolithic Period, also known as the New Stone Age, is the final stage of the Stone Age. It marks a major turning point in human history, characterised by the beginning of farming, domestication of animals, and settled village life. In the Indian subcontinent, the Neolithic period is generally considered to have spanned from around 7000 BCE to 1000 BCE.
2. What was the most significant development during the Neolithic Age?
The most significant development of the Neolithic Age was the invention of agriculture. For the first time, humans learned to cultivate crops like wheat, barley, and rice, and domesticate animals. This shift from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a food-producing one is often called the Neolithic Revolution, as it fundamentally changed human society.
3. What are the main characteristics of a Neolithic settlement?
Neolithic settlements show evidence of a more permanent and organised way of life. Key characteristics include:
- Permanent Dwellings: People started building durable houses, often pit-houses (dug into the ground) or mud-brick houses, instead of living in temporary shelters.
- Food Production: Evidence of farming activities, such as grinding stones for grain and sickles for harvesting.
- Animal Domestication: The presence of animal bones from domesticated species like sheep, goat, and cattle.
- Community Living: Houses were often clustered together, indicating the formation of the first villages.
4. How did the tools of the Neolithic Period differ from those of the Mesolithic Period?
Neolithic tools were a significant advancement over the microliths of the Mesolithic period. The key difference was the use of polishing techniques. Tools like axes, adzes, and sickles were not just chipped into shape but were also ground and polished to create a sharper, more durable cutting edge. This made them much more effective for tasks like clearing forests for agriculture and woodworking.
5. What are some important Neolithic archaeological sites in India mentioned in the NCERT syllabus?
As per the NCERT syllabus for Class 6, some of the most important Neolithic sites in India include:
- Mehrgarh: Located in present-day Pakistan, it is one of the earliest known sites showing evidence of farming and herding.
- Burzahom: Located in Kashmir, famous for its unique pit-dwellings and evidence of domestic dogs being buried with their masters.
- Daojali Hading: A site in Assam, where tools for grinding grain (mortars and pestles) have been found, suggesting people were growing and processing food.
- Chirand: A site in Bihar where tools made of bone have been discovered.
6. Why is the shift to agriculture in the Neolithic Age called a 'Revolution'?
The shift to agriculture is called the Neolithic Revolution because it was not just a small change, but a complete transformation of human life. It was a 'revolution' in the sense that it led to profound and lasting changes, including:
- The ability to produce a surplus of food.
- The establishment of permanent, settled villages.
- A rapid increase in population.
- The development of new social structures, crafts like pottery, and eventually, the rise of civilizations.
7. How did the domestication of animals and plants change the human way of life?
The domestication of animals and plants created a more stable and predictable way of life. Instead of constantly moving in search of food (nomadism), people could stay in one place. Plants provided a reliable source of food, while animals like sheep, goats, and cattle offered milk, meat, and wool. This stability allowed for the growth of larger communities and the development of new skills and crafts beyond basic survival.
8. What evidence do archaeologists look for to understand the lives of people in places like Mehrgarh or Burzahom?
Archaeologists act like detectives of the past. To understand Neolithic life at sites like Mehrgarh and Burzahom, they look for specific clues, such as:
- Remains of houses: The shape and materials of dwellings (like the pit-houses at Burzahom) reveal how people lived.
- Charred grain and seeds: These indicate which crops were grown.
- Animal bones: Studying these helps identify which animals were domesticated versus which were hunted.
- Pottery: The style and function of pots tell us about food storage, cooking, and artistic expression.
- Tools and artefacts: Stone tools, bone tools, and burial sites provide insights into daily activities, technology, and beliefs.
9. What was the role of pottery in the Neolithic period?
The invention of pottery was a crucial development in the Neolithic period. With the advent of agriculture, people needed ways to store surplus grain and liquids like water and milk. Pots were also used for cooking food, which made a wider range of foods edible. Over time, people also began to decorate their pots, which gives us insight into their artistic skills and culture.
