Editing Neolithic (section)

{{Short description|Archaeological period, last part of the Stone Age (New Stone Age)}}
{{Infobox archaeological culture
|name        = Neolithic
|map         = Asikli Hoyuk sarah c murray 6176.jpg
|mapcaption=Reconstruction of [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic B]] housing in [[Aşıklı Höyük]], modern [[Turkey]]
|mapalt      =
|altnames    =
|horizon     =
|region      =
|period      = Final period of [[Stone Age]]
|dates       = {{circa}} 10,000 BCE to {{circa}} 2,000 BCE 
|typesite    =
|majorsites  =
|extra       =
|precededby  = [[Mesolithic]], [[Epipalaeolithic Near East|Epipalaeolithic]]
|followedby  = [[Chalcolithic]]
}}
{{Neolithic}}
{{Human history and prehistory}}
[[File:Irish National heritage Park Ferrycarrig - geograph.org.uk - 3358912.jpg|300px|thumb|upright=1.5|Reconstruction of a Neolithic farmstead, [[Irish National Heritage Park]]. The Neolithic saw the [[invention of agriculture]].]]
The '''Neolithic''' or '''New Stone Age''' (from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|νέος}} {{Transliteration|grc|néos}} 'new' and {{lang|grc|λίθος}} {{Transliteration|grc|líthos}} 'stone') is an [[archaeological period]], the final division of the [[Stone Age]] in [[Mesopotamia]], [[Asia]], [[Europe]] and [[Africa]] (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the [[Neolithic Revolution]], a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. This "Neolithic package" included the [[History of agriculture|introduction of farming]], [[domestication of animals]], and change from a [[hunter-gatherer]] lifestyle to one of [[sedentism|settlement]]. The term 'Neolithic' was coined by [[John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury|Sir John Lubbock]] in 1865 as a refinement of the [[three-age system]].<ref>{{Cite OED | Neolithic}}</ref>

The '''Neolithic''' began about 12,000 years ago, when farming appeared in the [[Epipalaeolithic Near East]] and [[Mesopotamia]], and later in other parts of the world. It lasted in the [[Near East]] until the transitional period of the [[Chalcolithic]] (Copper Age) from about 6,500 years ago (4500 BCE), marked by the development of [[metallurgy]], leading up to the [[Bronze Age]] and [[Iron Age]].

In other places, the Neolithic followed the [[Mesolithic]] (Middle Stone Age) and then lasted until later. In [[Ancient Egypt]], the Neolithic lasted until the [[Protodynastic Period of Egypt|Protodynastic period]], {{c.}} 3150 BCE.<ref name="KSnPG">Karin Sowada and Peter Grave. Egypt in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Old Kingdom.</ref><ref>Lukas de Blois and R. J. van der Spek. ''An Introduction to the Ancient World''. p. 14.</ref><ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2022-04-20|title=Neolithic Periods Overview|url=https://egyptianmuseum.org/explore/neolithic-overview|website=egyptianmuseum.org}}</ref> In [[China]], it lasted until circa 2000 BCE with the rise of the [[Shang dynasty|pre-Shang]] [[Erlitou culture]],<ref>Chang, K.C.: "Studies of Shang Archaeology", pp. 6–7, 1. Yale University Press, 1982.</ref> as it did in [[Scandinavia]].<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/event/Stone-Age Encyclopedia Britannica, "Stone Age"]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cavalli-Sforza |first1=Luigi Luca |last2=Menozzi |first2=Paolo |last3=Piazza |first3=Alberto |title=The History and Geography of Human Genes |date=1994 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |page=351 |quote=at first European contact .... [New Guineans] represented ... modern examples of Neolithic horticulturalists}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hampton |first1=O. W. |title=Culture of Stone: Sacred and Profane Uses of Stone Among the Dani |date=1999 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |location=College Station, TX |page=6}}</ref>