Neolithic in the Near East

Prehistoric Southwest Asia

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↓ Historic ↓

↑ Palaeolithic ↑

Axis scale is years Before Present

The Neolithic in the Near East is a period in the prehistory of Western Asia that began with the transition from a Paleolithic to a Neolithic way of life and continued with its consolidation and expansion. It took place between the Levant and the western Zagros, including part of Anatolia, at the beginning of the Holocene, between around 10000 and 5500 BCE (Before the Common Era), or 12000–7500 BP (Before Present).

This period was marked primarily by the adoption of agriculture, particularly cereal cultivation, and the domestication of animals, gradually replacing hunting and gathering. The first elements of the Neolithic way of life emerged during the final phase of the Paleolithic, known in the Near Eastern context as the Epipaleolithic, notably during the Natufian period in the Levant (c. 14,500–10,000 BCE), which saw the development of a sedentary lifestyle. The Neolithic process in the Near East began in the 10th millennium BCE and ended more than two millennia later, around 7500 BCE. This initial stage is referred to as the "pre-ceramic" Neolithic, characterized by the absence of pottery but the presence of agriculture, animal husbandry, and widespread sedentism. The subsequent phases, known as the Ceramic or Late Neolithic, lasted until around the middle of the 6th millennium BCE. These phases saw the emergence of regional cultures and the spread of the Neolithic way of life to new areas. The period concludes with the development of metallurgy, which marks the beginning of the Metal Ages.