PREHISTORIC ARCHAEOLOGY

Course Name:

ANTHROPOLOGY

Paper No. & Title:

B.A. / B.Sc. 5th Semester

(Theory)

Topic No. & Title:

(13/21) General Features of Neolithic Revolution Introduction

The term Neolithic was coined by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 in his book
Prehistoric Times to denote an Age in which the stone implements were more
varied and skilfully made and often polished. V. Gordon Childe defined the
Neolithic-Chalcolithic culture as a self-sufficient food producing economy. M.C.
Burkitt further outlined some characteristic features for the Neolithic culture
such as the practice of agriculture, domestication of animals in terms of
economic life and grinding and polishing of stone tools, and also manufacture
of pottery in terms of technology. These concepts have been modified time to
time with new research and archaeological evidence found at different sites all
over the world.
The Neolithic or New Stone Age denotes to a stage of human culture
following the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods and is characterized by the
use of polished stone implements, development of permanent dwellings,
cultural advances such as pottery making, domestication of animals and
plants, the cultivation of grain and fruit trees, and weaving. The change in the
economic mode and life style from hunting/gathering/foraging to primitive
farming appeared so abruptly that this overall change in human life is often
referred as the “Neolithic Revolution”. Slowly in course of time, the later
Neolithic periods with the discovery of smelting and the creation of copper tools
have been identified as Chalcolithic period and then, cultures with bronze
artefacts have been given the name or coined as Bronze Age. These developed
periods with invention of different metals with developed agriculture and
farming activities led to the emergence of more complex societies. All of these
complex societies emerged in the fertile valleys of different river located in
different parts of the globe. Some of these early groups settled in the fertile
valleys of the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, Yellow, and Indus Rivers. These
settlements with surplus agricultural product and trade subsequently resulted
in the rise of the great civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, and India.
Some of the early centers where early domestication of plants and animals
has been recorded are:

(1) In West Asian context, several early Neolithic sites have been identified at
Jericho and Ain Ghazal in Jordan, Tepe Guran and Ali Kosh in Iran, Catal
Huyuk in Turkey, and Cayonu in north Syria which revealed evidence of
early agriculture of wheat and barley and domesticated animals such as
sheep and goats.
(2) In Southeast Asian context, excavations at the Spirit Cave in Thailand
revealed plants remains of almond, pepper, cucumber, betel nut, beans,
and peas, however, it is yet to confirm whether all of them were
cultivated.
(3) In East Asian context, south China has revealed evidence of rice
cultivation and the domestication of water buffalo, dog, and pig.
(4) In South American context, the people of Mexico were growing corn, beans,
squash, gourds, avocados, and chilli pepper, and were domesticating
turkeys, dogs, and honeybees.
(5) In sub-Saharan African context, the cultivation of finger millet, sorghum,
rice, teff, and yams, and the domestication of sheep, goats, and cattle have
been recorded.
(6) In South Asian context, Mehrgarh has yielded evidence of barley and
wheat cultivation, and cattle, sheep, and goat domestication. Recent
excavations at the site of Lahuradeva in Uttar Pradesh have brought to
light early dates for rice cultivation in India.

Comparison between hunter-gatherers and farmers

The table below indicates the basic differences between hunter-gatherers

and farmers.

Hunter-gatherers Farmers

Hunting gathering economy, economy Economy based on domesticated

based on wild resources crops and animals
Mobile (very few possessions of Sedentary (some accumulation of
material culture) possessions, esp. pottery, in
 permanent dwellings)
Low population density High population density
Overall stability of groups Expansion necessary due to
population increase
Relatively little impact on Clearance of land for arable farming;
environment impact of livestock (use of ground
Stone axes and fire in clearance)
Sparse archaeological record Archaeological imprint on landscape
(campsites, rock shelters, debitage (settlements, boundaries, monuments)
scatters)

The term ‘Neolithic Revolution’ was introduced by V. Gordon Childe in

1936. The Neolithic revolution led to several changes in human societies which
include the creation of cities and permanent dwellings, food storage and
granaries, pottery making, labour specialization, sense of personal property,
more complex hierarchical social structures, non-agricultural crafts
specialisations, trade and barter systems, etc. From being nomads before the
onset of agriculture, human adopted the sedentary life style relying on
domestications of plants and animals for their survival. Here we shall discuss
some of the features of Neolithic Revolution.

Domestications of Plants

The human evolution in the last 10,000 years BP, which is geologically
termed as the Holocene period, witnesses a revolutionary change in the history
of human being. During this time, early man acquired slowly the knowledge of
taming and bringing several animals and plants under their control, which
finally lead to the early domestication process.
Domestication simply means ‘to bring plants/animals under human
control, to tame’. It is an evolutionary process during which many behavioural
traits have changed from the wild types to the existing domesticated
populations. The grains of wild varieties of plants like wheat, barley, rice etc.
usually fall on the ground before maturation which makes difficulties for
harvesting. With the beginning of farming and irrigation, these plants lost
many of their wild characters. Yields gradually increased with intense care of
the early farmers. The Neolithic farmers selected those varieties which could
retain the seeds longer for mature harvesting.
Agriculture refers to a series of discoveries involving the domestication,
culture, and management of plants and animals. Agriculture was adopted
repeatedly and independently in various parts of the world after the retreat of
the Pleistocene ice around 12,000 years ago. The precise origin of the first
centre of agriculture is unknown. The earliest evidence of agricultural
development occurs in the area known as the Fertile Crescent (present day
Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel). Agriculture also developed in other areas such as
China and Meso-America but at a later date. The precise push to develop
agriculture is not clear but a number of reasons have been speculated.
Different plants were cultivated in different areas by the early Neolithic people,
i.e. wheat and barley Southwest Asia, rice in East, South and Southeast Asia,
maize in America and sorghum and millet in Africa.

Centres of Agricultural Origin: Single or Multiple?

The hunter-gatherers of the Near East (Fertile Crescent) were probably

the first to adopt an agricultural lifestyle around 8500 B.C., based upon the
cereals barley and wheat and on domesticated goats and sheep. They were
followed by the maize-cultivators of Central Mexico around 8000 B.C. and the
rice producers along the Yangtze River around 7500 B.C. Recent genetic
research has indicated that multiple domestications of the same wild plants
and animals probably have occurred more often than previously believed. For
instance, it has been shown that apart from in the Near East, the goat was
independently domesticated in the Indus Valley whereas cattle were
domesticated both in the Near East and in East Asia. In Europe, agricultural
practices were adopted only after the spread of domesticated plants and
animals from the Near East.

Map of the world showing approximate centers of origin of agriculture

and its spread in prehistory, i.e. eastern USA (4000–3000 BP), Central Mexico
(5000–4000 BP), Northern South America (5000–4000 BP), sub-Saharan Africa
(5000–4000 BP, exact location unknown), the Fertile Crescent (11000 BP), the
Yangtze and Yellow River basins (9000 BP) and the New Guinea Highlands
(9000–6000 BP).
In a review published in the journal Science on the expansions of the
farmers to different parts of the world, Jared Diamond and Peter Bellwood
show intimate connections of agricultural origins with language spread and
dispersals. They discussed the possible dispersal routes of Neolithic/formative
cultures worldwide. According to them, until the end of the Pleistocene, all
people on all continents lived as hunter-gatherers and subsequently at
different times between about 8500 and 2500 B.C., food production based on
domestication of relatively few wild plants and animal species arose
independently in different homelands of agriculture and herding, scattered over
all inhabited continents except Australia. As food production was advantages to
farmers compared with hunter-gatherers living outside those homelands, it
triggered outward dispersals of farming populations, bearing their languages
and lifestyles.

Plate 1: Archaeological map of agricultural origin and spread of Neolithic

cultures around the world

Causes of Domestications of Plants

Several hypotheses are made for explaining the causes of domestications

of plants which is the basis of Neolithic Revolution. V Gordon Childe in 1952
suggested that environmental changes at the end of the Pleistocene were the
impetus towards food production and argued that about 10,000 years ago, the
climate in parts of West Asia became drier due to a northward shift of the
summer rains. This drying up led to a concentration of people, plants, and
animals close to water resources such as rivers and oases. This enforced
closeness eventually led to new relationships of dependence between humans,
plants, and animals, resulting in domestication.
Subsequently the theory of Gordon Childe was questioned by Robert J.
Braidwood in 1960. Braidwood opined that the environmental changes had
occurred within the Pleistocene as well and had not led to agriculture.
According to him, domestication took place in certain nuclear zones, which
supported a variety of wild plants and animals that had the potential for
domestication. In such areas, domestication was the natural outcome of
human experimentation and people getting to know their environment better.
 Further, the theory of Braidwood was criticized by Lewis R. Binford in
1968 who emphasized on the external demographic stress and argued that at
the end of the Pleistocene era, as a result of a rise in sea levels, people living
along the coasts migrated to less populated inland areas. This upset the
people-food equilibrium in inland areas and gave an impetus to the search for
new strategies to increase food supplies.
According to Kent Flannery, the event that might have led to the
beginnings of food production is the process of food production itself and the
adaptive advantages of plant and animal domestication over foraging and
hunting. He distinguished two types of food procurement systems, i.e. negative
and positive feedback food procurement systems. Negative feedback food
procurement systems involve a balanced exploitation and use of various food
resources within an area and discourage any change. Positive feedback
systems are those in which the productivity of resources actually increases as a
result of human interference and exploitation.
Considering the variety in ecology and resources in the various centers
of early plant and animal domestication, it is very possible that different
factors may have been involved in different parts of the world.

Model of David Harris on the Origin of Agriculture

David Harris presents a model of a transition from hunting gathering

stage to agriculture in four stages.

(i) The first stage involves wild plant-food procurement by the hunter-
gatherers, who occasionally burn the vegetation; gather and protect
useful plants and fruits and thereby reduce competition between plants
and disturb the soil. In this stage, human energy and input is minimal
and the environment in neither affected in large scale nor dramatically
changed. This kind of wild plant-food procurement-economy marks a
departure from even more primitive stages of hunting life style. This
period was the initial stage.
(ii) The next stage is characterised by wild plant-food production with some
tillage which can be considered as an important step towards
agriculture. Maintenance of plant populations in wild form was done in
terms of both planting; sowing and weeding of wild plants. Men
propagated seeds from some selected plants with desirable
characteristics in new habitats and after harvesting, some of the seeds
were stored for future use.
(iii) Cultivation with systematic tillage characterises the third stage in which
the land was cleared and food-producing activities such as sowing,
weeding, propagation of plants, etc. were carried out in large scale and
intensely. Significant morphological and genetic changes occurred in the
plants due to intense care. Due to care, quantity of seeds increased
which led to surplus production. This could afford a good number of
 human populations in terms of food people could stay in one place
leading to sedentary settlement.
(iv) The final stage is described in terms of development of new technology
for food production which is highly energy intensive. Men started
selective cultivation of plants, which means they selected the plants
which were more productive. New genotypes eventually appeared that
serve human needs more efficiently marks this energy intensive stage.

Source Material for Studying Ancient Agriculture

It will be pertinent here to discuss the basis of our study of ancient

agriculture. What are the source materials? Archaeobotany is the study of the
preserved seeds, fruits, nutshells, and other plant macrofossils found in
archaeological context which hints us about the ancient human plant use. It is
the analysis and interpretation of the remains of ancient plants recovered from
the archaeological record such as macrofossil and microfossils. Macrofossils
are the plant parts such as seeds, nutshells, and stems, preserved in the
archaeological records which are clearly visible to the naked eyes whereas the
plant microfossils such as pollen which contains the male gametes of seed-
producing plants and phytoliths which are the silica structures formed in the
cells of many plants are other important source of data. By studying these
plant remains, archaeo-botanist identifies wild and domestic variety of plants
and reconstruct ancient agricultural pattern.
Archaeobotanists are involved in the identification and interpretation of
all kinds of plant remains found on archaeological sites. Remains range from
tiny microscopic pollen to larger fragments of charcoal, seeds, fruits and nuts.
The identification of these materials can provide a general picture of the role of
plants in ancient diets as well as environmental information. Flotation is done
for obtaining seeds and other organic materials from soil by using liquids.

Domestication of Animals

Another important aspect of the Neolithic revolution is that at this stage

people began to domesticate or tame animals they were hunting previously.
They herded these animals and kept in rough enclosures where grasslands are
available. The size, temperament, diet, mating patterns, and life span of
animals were factors in the desire and success in the domestications of
animals. These animals formed a large source of protein and food in these
Neolithic communities. Animals such as cows and goats provided milk which is
a rich source of protein. Some of the animals have the ability to as a work in
ploughing as well as a food sources which were important factors for this
selection. Certain animals provided materials like leather, wool, hides, and
fertilizer. Some of the earliest domesticated animals include dogs (about 15,000
years ago) sheep, goats, cows, and pigs.

Morphological Change in Plant and Animals with domestication

 With domestications certain morphological changes occurred. Early
domesticated animals became smaller than their wild counterparts, however,
at later stage, when conditions of feeding and breeding reach an optimal level,
their size increased. The face becomes shorter in relation to the cranium, teeth
become smaller, some teeth disappeared, and size of the horn got reduced.
Domestication also leads to a shortening of the animal's hair and changes in its
coloration. However, these markers of domestication vary between species. The
horns of domesticated sheep and goats differ in several respects from those of
their wild ancestors, domesticated pigs have smaller teeth, and domesticated
cattle are generally smaller than their wild ancestor.
Many changes occurred morphologically in the animals during
domestication such as body size, horn size, etc. These animals were
manipulated through restriction of their mobility, selective hunting, protection
from predators etc. Compared to the large number of animals existed in planet,
only a few animals were domesticated. In his book Guns, Germs, and Steel,
Jared Diamond lists a set of criteria which were to be meet before an animal
could be domesticated such as the animals which have quick sexual maturity,
be able to bred in captivity, be less aggressive and not dangerous to humans
etc.
In case of plants like wheat and barley, important morphological changes
are a relatively large seed size, a thinner seed coat, and packaging in compact
clusters at the end of stalks.

Surplus Food Grain, Storage and Trade

As agricultural products increased, there was the need for storing the
yields which could be used for the next few months and moreover to keep some
grain as seeds for the next agriculture. If there was more surplus food, those
could be given to another person or group in exchange of other material,
known as barter system.
With more perfection of agricultural techniques, early farmers were
benefited with surplus grains which needed storage. Contrast to the hunter
gatherers who could not easily store food for long due to their migratory
lifestyle, early farmers with a sedentary dwelling could store their surplus
grain. This resulted in the development of granaries that allowed them to store
their seeds longer. So with surplus food grains and food security, the
population expanded and large populations could be sustained. This benefit of
farming led the community to sustain during drought or flooding or any other
natural calamity. Moreover, these surpluses could also be exchanged with
other communities marking the early beginnings of trade.
Slowly society developed with the surplus food supply which can be
considered as the most significant pre-condition for the emergence and
development of cities. Because of these developments, Neolithic period can be
considered as one of the major turning points in human history. The use of
agriculture allowed humans to develop permanent settlements, social classes,
and new technologies.

Technological Achievements

New technologies developed in response to the need for better tools and
weapons to go along with the new way of living. Neolithic people started
making tool for their agricultural purpose and eventually developed metal
technologies to shape their requirements. Neolithic revolution happened in
several places of the world, differently and independently. Pottery appeared
later than agriculture the Near East, however, in Japan, pottery developed
much before agriculture. Invention of pottery is one of the significant aspects of
Neolithic culture. The wheel is not only the basis for the mechanical and
transportation revolution but is involved with the technologies of ceramics and
spinning.

Plate 2: Polished axes of Neolithic period

Plate 3: Artefacts associated with early farming communities

From Neolithic period onwards, man started making ground and polished
stone tools which are also referred to by the general term Celt. These axes and
adzes were probably used to cut trees and bashes in order to clear land for
agricultural use. The pointed variety of celt might have been used as a plough
or hoe. In all probability, apart from clearing ground, many of these tools were
also used for tilling the soil. The ring stones found at a number of sites could
have been used as a weight in a digging stick by passing a thick wooden shaft
through the hole.
The development of sedentary settlements accelerated the pace of
technological development which were directly connected to agriculture,
including plows, implements, techniques of seed selection, and irrigation.

Increased Disease

Another significant feature of the Neolithic revolution is the increase of

disease among the early farmers. Disease spread more rapidly during this
period than hunter-gathering stage. Inadequate sanitary practices and the
domestication of animals were probably the main causes of this problem of
deaths and sickness due to the increase of disease, probably the diseases
jumped from the animal to the human population. The diseases like influenza,
smallpox, and measles etc. spread from animals to humans. However, in the
process of natural selection, the humans built up immunities to the diseases.
Some other diseases are malaria, tuberculosis, influenza etc.
Research of nutrition and disease based on an analysis of human
bones suggest that hunter-gatherers had a high-protein diet, one that was
more varied, balanced, and healthy compared to that of early farmers, whose
diet tended to be high in carbohydrates, with an emphasis on cereals or root
crops. Paleo-pathology, the study of ancient disease explains the high
incidence of disease reflected in the bones of certain early farming
communities.

Demographic Changes and Social Transformations

Neolithic revolution brought demographic changes to the early societies.

The food production supports higher populations and due to collaborative
efforts of the family members agricultural products increased. As man settled
down at one place, they could afford more children and family expanded.
There were certain social transformations happened in the early societies
in terms of grouping at various organizational level such as families, chiefdoms
and finally states. Social stratification / hierarchy are another important
aspect which grew side by side. The food producers became farmers, craft
specialised persons formed craftsmen’s groups, religious elites possessed the
priesthoods, hereditary rulers became kings, slavery and gender discrimination
started and further warfare and trade, law and defence mechanism formed.
With the development of state, political (territory-based) institutions, organized
religion, urban/administrative centres, hierarchical system of classes, division
and specialization of labour, technological development and trade and at a later
stage writing emerged.
The Neolithic Revolution is not only important for developments in social
organization and technology but also include an increased tendency to live in
permanent or semi-permanent settlements.
 Now let us see some important areas where Neolithic culture started
considerably early to understand the features of Neolithic revolution. There are
some important sites which help in understanding Neolithic revolution, such as
Megrgarh in South Asia, Catal Huyuk in Anatolia, i.e. modern Turkey, Jericho
in Jordan Valley, Palestine, etc.

Evidence from Mehrgarh

To understand the Neolithic Revolution, it will be interesting to discuss

the evidence from the site of Mehrgarh which is located on the Bolan river, a
tributary of the Indus, at the eastern edge of the Baluchistan plateau
overlooking the Indus plain. Excavations at Mehrgarh by the French
Archaeological Mission to Pakistan, under the direction of Jean-Francois
Jarrige since 1974, have revealed excellent evidence of technology, economy,
material culture and social organization of the pioneering farmers of South
Asia. There are several Neolithic settlements like Rana Ghundai and Kili Ghul
Mohammad in the hilly terrain of Baluchistan dated to fourth millennium BCE.
The site has not only pushed back the antiquity of settled village life in the
subcontinent to the seventh millennium B.C. but also provided ample evidence
with rich archaeological record the origin and development of early farming
communities leading to the great Harappan Civilisation for understanding the
features of Neolithic revolution in true sense.
The chronology of the site has been divided into eight periods which are
discussed in tabulated form below:

Period Characteristic Features

Period IA The earliest, dated from ca. 6,000 B.C. to 4,400 B.C., is
characterized by polished stone tools, microliths and bone tools.
The subsistence economy in this period was combination of
hunting, stock-breeding and plant cultivation. The domesticated
animals comprise cattle, sheep, goat and water buffalo while the
cultivated plants comprise several varieties of wheat and barley.
The houses were made of mud and mud-bricks. Multiple rooms
without doors might have been used for storage purpose. The
dead were buried under the floors of the houses where people
lived. Necklaces of microbeads of steatite along with beads of
turquoise, lapis lazuli and sea shell, stone axes and microliths
have also been found in the graves. As this period was devoid of
pottery, it has been termed as Pre-Pottery Neolithic period. The
presence of beads of several materials, not available locally,
suggests long distance trade.
Period IB Period IB witnessed the appearance of pottery. With the passage
of time, agriculture dominated the economic condition over
hunting.
Period II Period II, dated to later part of the fifth millennium BCE, is
 divided into three sub-periods on the basis of changes in ceramic
technology. The pottery of sub-period IIA is handmade, basket-
impressed coarse ware, of which the quality improved in sub-
period IIB and in sub-period IIC wheel-made pottery first
appeared. The potteries of buff to reddish colour were painted in
black pigment with simple straight and curved lines, rows of dots
and criss-crosses. The vessel shapes included bowls and globular
pots. Discovery of a copper ring and a bead show the emergence
of metal technology. Terracotta human figurines and bangles first
appeared from this stage. Appearance of a new variety of barley,
which can be grown only in irrigated fields, suggests improvement
in farming technology. The presence of cotton seeds suggests the
possibility of the use of this fibre for textile manufacture.
Period III In Period III the size of the settlement increased. The ceramic
industry developed, the vessels were decorated with paintings of
birds and animals as well as geometric designs. Evidence of stone
bead manufacture and copper smelting were found at the site.
Architectural remains include a large granary with multiple
rectangular cells, much larger than the granaries of the preceding
periods.
Period IV Period IV is marked by the emergence of polychrome pottery with
a tall goblet with wide mouth and a pedestal base as a new shape.
There is evidence of extensive use of timber in the construction of
houses, of female terracotta figurines with pendulous breasts and
of stamped seals of terracotta and bone. The appearance of seals,
including compartmented ones, in terracotta and stone indicates
the emergence of commercial transactions.
Period V Period V was short-lived and is characterized by a marked decline
in polychrome decoration on pottery.

Period VI Period VI, belonging to the first quarter of the third millennium
B.C., witnessed an explosion in pottery styles and the first
evidence of pottery kilns. Pipal leaf and humped bull designs
appear on pottery which anticipates Harappan motifs. Similarly,
terracotta figurines also witnessed proliferation. The female
figurines show elaborate hairdos.
Period VII Period VII can be dated to the middle of the third millennium B.C.
on the basis of ceramic similarities with sites in the Indus Valley
and Afghanistan which is marked by the richness and variety of
terracotta figurines. The evidence of a very large mud-brick
platform signifies the emergence of monumental architecture.
Period The last occupation during period VIII is represented by some
VIII structures, graves, semi-precious stone beads and a bronze shaft
hole axe.
Early Farmers of Western Asia

The Western Asian region embraces Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, the
Caspian basin and the adjoining regions of Iran. Archaeologists have identified
the earliest farming village settlements in these areas. Farming began in
Palestine, Syria and Turkey in the ninth-eighth millennium B.C. There are a
number of sites which demonstrate settled communities of farmers in West
Asia. In Western Asia crop cultivation and domestication of animals are inter-
related at certain sites whereas in some regions agriculture came before the
domestication of animals.
The Fertile Crescent, the wide belt of Southwest Asia which includes
Southern Turkey, Palestine, Lebanon and North Iraq was one of the important
areas where Neolithic farming practice originated. Wild wheat and barley were
commonly collected by the local dwellers and these formed an important part of
the hunter-gatherers in these areas. Subsequently early agriculture started in
these areas. The site of Catal-Huyuk in Southern Turkey is one of the most
important sites in this region demonstrating early Neolithic period.

In the Levant area, the chronology can be reconstructed as:

(1) Epi-Palaeolithic groups such as the Kebaran and Natufian
which are approximately 12,500 BC to 10,000 BC with
increasingly intensive hunting, gathering, and cultivation of
wild plants;
(2) Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) from 10,000 to 8700 BC, and
(3) Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) from 8700 to 6800;
(4) Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC) and
(5) Pottery Neolithic (PN).

Evidence from Catal Huyuk

The site of Catal Huyuk in Turkey was first excavated by James Mellaart
between 1961 and 1965. It is dated to 7400–6000 BC and occurs a long time
after the first sedentary settlements in the Middle East which emerge in the
period between the twelfth and ninth millennia BC and well after the first
domesticated plants in the ninth millennium BC.
The site has remarkably dense settlement. The Neolithic economy was
based on a wide range of domesticated and wild plants and based only partially
on domesticated animals such as sheep and goat.
 Plate 4: Artist’s impression of Neolithic life ways in Catal Huyuk

Plate 5: Structures found at Catal Huyuk

Plate 6: Burial practise at Catal Huyuk

Catal Huyuk was a large village in which wheat, barley and peas were
grown and animals like cattle, sheep and goat were domesticated. The mud
houses which were supposed to be entered through the roof consisted of two
rooms and were built back to back. The Walls of the houses were found painted
with leopards, erupting volcano and vultures devouring human corpses
without heads.
 Evidence of material culture at this place has been found in the forms of
pottery, stone axes, stone ornaments, bone tools, wooden bowls and basketry.
Analysis of the seed samples collected in the 1960’s excavations at Catal
Huyuk suggests that the Neolithic population collected, processed and stored
seeds from Capsella sp. and Descurainia sp. (wild crucifers) for food use. In
addition seeds of Vicia/Lathyrus sp. (wild vetch), Helianthemum spp. and
Taeniatherum caputmedusae mixed with Eremopyrum type (grasses) were also
found, some of which may have been used for food or other purposes. The
analysis demonstrates that wild seed exploitation was a regular part of
subsistence practice alongside the economic staple of crop production, and
again demonstrates how diverse plant use practices were at the site.

Evidence from Jericho

The Jordan Valley and the Damascus basin form the Western part of the
Fertile Crescent. It is distinguished from the Northern and Eastern parts
mainly for the very early domestication of grasses like wheat and barley. The
area of greatest archaeological interest within the Jordan Valley is a small piece
of land no more than 15 km in radius, situated on the northern edge of the
Dead Sea. This small area contains three important archaeological sites; Gilgal,
Netiv Hagdud, and Jericho. In prehistoric times, all three sites were situated in
close proximity to aquatic resources like swamps and lakes, but were otherwise
surrounded by steppe grassland.
Clear evidence of domesticated plants has also been found in Jericho
from around 8300 B.C. Although no certain evidence of domesticated seeds
between 8500-7500 B.C. Jericho in Palestine became a large village where
agriculture is evidenced but there is no evidence of animal domestication.
During excavations it was found in the later levels that Jericho was surrounded
by a two metre wide stone wall with rounded towers. This is one of the earliest
instances of fortification in the world.

Evidence from Jarmo

The site of Jarmo of Northeastern Iraq was excavated in 1951 by Robert

Braidwood of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago is dated to ca.
7,000 B.C. It is located on the crest of a hill overlooking a deep dry river made
up of about 12 layers of habitation covering most of the Neolithic period. The
houses were made of adobe (pressed mud); the earlier structures had no
foundations, while later houses had stone foundations. Floors were made of
mud, often packed over a layer of reeds. Each house had its own built-in oven
and a baked-in receptacle in the floor.
At Jarmo there is also evidence of permanently established farming
villages I (6500-5800 B.C.) with about 20 to 30 mud houses, each with a
courtyard and several rooms associated with ground stone axes, querns,
pottery, etc. The people grew wheat and barley and domesticated sheep and
goat.
 A general chronological framework of western Asia can be tabulated as:

Period Chronology Characteristic features

Epi- c. 1500 BC to the Emergence in certain areas of food
Palaeolithic Pleistocene-Holocene conservation by the herding of animals
boundary c. 8000 and the collection of grain. New tools are
BC invented to facilitate grain collection,
preparation and storage.
Aceramic c. 8300-6000 BC Agriculture, i.e. the planting of crops
or Pre- and the breeding of animals, appears at
Pottery the very beginning of the next phase, soon
cultures after 8300 BC. Morphologically domestic
sheep occur at Bus Mordeh, cultivated
crops outside their natural habitat at
Mureybet and Jericho PPNA. During the
two thousand years or so of this period
there is a steady development of
agriculture on one site or another, which
is evidently the result of increased
contacts brought about by trade.
Fully c. 6000-4200 BC Fully agricultural societies began
Neolithic expanding into hitherto marginal
cultures territories such as the alluvial plains of
with plain Mesopotamia, Transcaucasia and
or painted Transcaspia on the one hand, and into
pottery southeastern Europe on the other.

Conclusion:

Neolithic revolution is the transformation of human societies from

hunter-gatherer to farmers which occurred at around 10,000 years ago and
brought along many profound changes to human society and culture. The
fundamental change occurred due to the Neolithic Revolution was the shift
from hunting and gathering stage that had sustained humans from earliest
times to food producing stage based on domestications of plants and animals.
The Neolithic way of life in all its aspects continued into the Chalcolithic and
the Bronze Age.