The Neolithic period (9,500-6,000 BC) was a significant stage in the development of human history, situated between the prehistoric eras, during which a hunter-gatherer lifestyle prevailed, and the urban periods, whose lifestyle we still follow today. During the Neolithic period, humanity experienced three majour changes:
First, for the first time in human history, people began to live in one place all year round, which initiated the construction of permanent buildings and property accumulation.
Secondly, during the period began the “Agricultural Revolution” – the domestication of plants and animals, and the 6,000-year-long transition from hunting and gathering to food production.
Thirdly, in the latter part of the period, humans began to produce pottery for the first time – a technology that will accompany humanity until today. Pottery survives well archaeologically and is found in sites from all time periods from this stage onwards, inferring much information on human cultures through history.
The Neolithic period is divided into two sub-periods:
The Pre-pottery Neolithic (9,500-6,400 BC), itself divided into three stages:
Pre-pottery Neolithic 1 (9,500-8,800 BC)
Pre-pottery Neolithic 2 (8,800-7,000 BC)
Pre-pottery Neolithic 3 (7,000-6,400 BC)
The second sub-period is the Ceramic Neolithic (6,400-6,000 BC).
The beginning of the Neolithic period (Pre-pottery Neolithic 1) is characterized by the first appearance in the history of humanity of permanent domestic buildings. The process of plant domestication began at this time with the intentional cultivation of wild plants, but human nutrition was mixed, also based on hunting and gathering. Later in the period (Pre-pottery Neolithic 2) the density of the settlements in the Southern Levant increased, their sizes were diverse, and signs of social inequality begin to show. At this stage, the economy was based mainly on domesticated leguminous plants and cereals, with the onset of goat domestication and continued meet acquisition through hunting. Some sites from the period show increased reliance on agriculture, while in others continued reliance on hunting. Additionally, new technologies appear, like plaster production. In the Pre-pottery Neolithic 3, goat and sheep domestication was completed, and evidence of regional trade appears.
In the Ceramic Neolithic period, the pottery industry appeared. Pottery is made differently in different cultures, along with other changing material culture characteristics, like settlement arrangement, building practices, and more. Three distinct cultures are recognized in the Southern Levant during this period: the Yarmukian culture in the north and centre parts, the Nitzanim culture in the southern coastal plain, and the Yericho IX culture between them: south of the first and north of the second.
Sources:
Faust, A., & Katz H. (Eds.). (2019). Archaeology of the land of Israel: From the Neolithic to Alexander the Great (vol. 1). Lamda – The Open University.