Neolithic Period
Explore the Neolithic Period — the 'New Stone Age' when farming, pottery, and permanent villages transformed human life between 10,000 and 3,300 BCE.
The Neolithic Period (c. 10,000–3,300 BCE) — the "New Stone Age" — represents one of the most transformative eras in human history. Named for the polished stone tools that distinguish it from the earlier chipped-stone technologies, the Neolithic's true significance lies not in its tools but in the revolutionary changes in how humans lived: the adoption of farming, the establishment of permanent settlements, the invention of pottery, and the emergence of complex social organization.
The period unfolded differently across the world. In the Fertile Crescent, the Neolithic began around 10,000 BCE with the domestication of wheat, barley, and goats. In China, rice cultivation emerged along the Yangtze around 8,000 BCE. In Mesoamerica, maize was domesticated by 7,000 BCE. Each region's Neolithic transition involved different plants, animals, and timelines, but the consequences were similar: population growth, settlement, social complexity, and eventually urbanization.
The Neolithic was also a period of profound cultural creativity. The world's earliest known monumental architecture (Gobekli Tepe), the first pottery traditions, the earliest textile production, and the development of long-distance trade networks all belong to this era. The Neolithic laid every foundation upon which the Bronze Age civilizations would build.
Lessons covering this topic
Browse all lessons →The Agricultural Transition
How farming began independently in the Fertile Crescent, Yangtze, and Mesoamerica.
Domestication of Plants and Animals
The consequences of taming nature — for better and worse.
The Birth of Settlement
Catalhoyuk, Jericho, and the first permanent communities.
Social Stratification & Early Religion
Property, hierarchy, and the spiritual systems of early settlements.