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NEOLITHIC PERIOD. NEOLITHIC CULTURE begins ca. 10,000 bp. Also referred to as the New Stone Age Ground and polished stone tools Settled villages with domesticated plants and animals Development of pottery and weaving Megalithic architecture Evidence of mother-earth/goddess religion
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NEOLITHIC CULTUREbegins ca. 10,000 bp • Also referred to as the New Stone Age • Ground and polished stone tools • Settled villages with domesticated plants and animals • Development of pottery and weaving • Megalithic architecture • Evidence of mother-earth/goddess religion • The end of the Neolithic period is marked by the use of writing, metal tools, and the rise of urban civilization
Making stone tools by pecking, grinding and polishing is a defining technology for the Neolithic period.
Spread of Neolithic Culturebce: before Common Era • The earliest known development of Neolithic culture was in SW Asia between 8000 and 6000 bce. • In the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys, Neolithic culture developed into the urban civilizations of the Bronze Age by 3500 bce. • Between 6000 and 2000 bce Neolithic culture spread through Europe, the Nile valley (Egypt), the Indus valley (India), and the Huang He valley (N China). • In the New World, the domestication of plants and animals occurred independently of Old World developments. By 1500 bce, Neolithic cultures were present in Mexico and South America
The Agricultural Revolution: Pastoralism Pastoralism, the herding of domesticated or partially domesticated animals emerged at the same time as agriculture did -- 10-12,000 years ago
The wandering, nomadic life of the pastoralists had more in common with hunter-gatherers than did the life of the farmers Herders, Tasilli N’Ajjer
Shepherds and Farmers:Cooperation and Conflict • Pastoralism developed on marginal land in areas unsuitable for agriculture. • Frequently, the two ways of life were compatible with lively trade between farmers who had grain, metal and crafted objects to exchange with pastoral nomads, who had hides, wool, meat, and milk products. • However, nomads frequently found raiding of settled lands tempting and profitable, and farmers, with growing populations, tended to encroach on any land that could be converted to the growing of crops. • With these two specializations, organized warfare emerged.
Domesticated Animals Shorter muzzles and horns Less developed teeth and jaws Less intelligent and less aggressive Tendency to uniform color Specialization for human needs (ex. heavy wool)
Weaving • The discovery of weaving plant and animal fibers into cloth represented a revolutionary improvement in the quality of human life. • Weaving may have preceded agriculture, as it grew naturally out of basketry and the weaving of reed mats. • Life in sedentary agricultural villages permitted the refinement of ancient techniques and the adoption of more complex looms.
The Agricultural Revolution: From wild grass to grain Genetic Changes: • A small percentage of wild grass plants has seed that clings to the stalk even when ripe. • These crops could not reproduce themselves without human intervention. • Size and number of the kernels, also changed over time.
The invention of the scratch plow in Mesopotamia about 6,000 years ago was a great labor-saving device for humans and a revolutionary stage in human development--the exploitation of non-human forms of energy, in this case animal.
Lifestyle Changes • Dependency on few plants • Greater vulnerability to weather • Complete dependency on harvest times • Need for hard physical labor • Larger families • Expanded “tool kit” • Wealth and property become meaningful
Transformation of grain to food • Seeds milled between two stones and boiled in water makes porridge. • When finely ground grain is mixed with water into a paste and baked, the grain is transformed into bread. • Yeast cultures are natural, but were regarded as magical prior to the recent discovery of micro-organisms. • Grain spoiled for bread-making can be fermented. The sprouted grain is baked, ground into a paste (called malt), and then added to water. With the right yeast and little luck, the result is beer.
Fired Pottery • Invention of kiln brought about the firing of clay pots • Fired pots were sturdier and allowed for increased storage of agricultural products
One of the best preserved vases from Sesklo is dated between 5300-3800 BC. It is decorated with plain long white lines on the dark red surface Decoration The most beautiful example of Greek Neolithic pottery is this two-handled vase from Dimini dated between 5300 and 4800 BC
Pottery kiln Bread oven Metal smelter
The Agricultural Revolution:Village Life • Sedentism: living in one place • Opportunities: • Accumulation of food and wealth • Development of new skills • Specialization • Challenges: • Close quarters: need for community organization • Epidemics • Protection
Jericho’s Walls • Sometime after the founding of the town, a wall was built around it, enclosing ca. 10 acres. • The wall itself was 6.5 feet thick and is preserved to a height of almost 20 feet. • This is the earliest known fortification in the world.
Jericho: Pre-Pottery Neolithic B ca.7000-6000 bce • Following a long abandonment, Jericho was resettled ca. 6800 by a people with a different culture. • More elaborate houses, consisting of multiple rectangular rooms positioned around courtyards. • Finds of this period suggest a cult of ancestors at Jericho (and throughout Syria Palestine during this period). • Ten skulls were discovered that had been modelled with plaster to resemble the faces of the dead.
Judean Stone Mask Human mask Kh. Duma, Hebron AreaNeolithic periodca.7000 BCE Hard limestoneHeight: 22.3 cm
Çatalhöyükca. 8,000-7,000 bce • Çatalhöyük means 'forked mound' and is the modern name for the site of an ancient city in the country of Turkey, ancient Anatolia. • First discovered and excavated by James Mellaart in 1950s and 1960s • Archaeologists believe the ancient city covered an area the size of 50 soccer fields.
Çatalhöyük Pottery • The oldest pottery known from Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) • The earliest pottery was fired, unpainted and unglazed and had a very simple bag shaped form.
Çatalhöyük bone work • Most of the bone tools are bone points used as awls and needles. • Scraping tools were used in making pottery, and some antler tools were used for making stone tools • Bone ornaments like rings and pendants
Çatalhöyük stone work • Ground stone tools include axe heads, mace heads, querns for grinding grain, ornaments such as pendants, and mirrors of obsidian. green stone pendant/belt fastener axe head
Çatalhöyük obsidian: trade • Anatolian obsidian, "purchased" in Catal Huyuk would wind its way a thousand miles southward to Jericho. • Obsidian, a volcanic rock, may have been considered a sacred material charged with "mana," divine power • Jericho craftsmen worked the obsidian into a variety of stone tools that were sharper and harder than steel.
Çatalhöyük Murals: Figurative Dancers
Çatalhöyük Murals: Figurative A stylized portrayal of the terraced houses of the city itself, with a geologically perceptive rendition of an erupting, twin-peaked volcano. The painting clearly represents an actual eruption of Hasan Dag, a twin-peaked, then-active volcano, eight miles to the east of the city, which dominated the skyline on a clear day.
Human burials were placed underneath sleeping platforms inside houses. Burial pits in platforms were used again and again. Most adults were buried without any grave goods. Babies and children were often buried with long strands of small polished beads made of stone, shell or coral.
EuropeanMegalithicCultureca. 5000-1500 bce Megalithic Pages
European Megaliths • Some 7000 years ago in Brittany people started to move stones of up to 180 tons in weight and to place them in the landscape. • For what reason we don't know, despite many theories. Common archaeological opinion says: • dolmens - artificial caves built of stones and stone plates - were made for burial purposes. • menhirs - the standing stones - there isn't any reasonable explanation.
Menhir: single standing stone Alignment: row of three or more stones
Proleeck Dolmen, Ireland Dolmen: Three or more upright stones with a capstone, an artificial cave Trilithon: three-stones two tall uprights stones supporting a lintel (lintel = a piece of stone over a door or window, forming part of the frame)
Alée couverte: rectangular megalithic chamber, usually in Brittany Barrow: round artificial mound of earth or stones. Silbury Hill, England, is the largest neolithic barrow over 40 m high
Cairn: burial mound, constructed mostly of small stones Passage grave: passage leading into a round central chamber, usually covered by mound- more a shrine than a grave Menga near Antequera (Malaga, Spain)
Cromlech: stone circle, from Welsh "crom" ("in a curve") and "lech" ("stone") Henge: circular or oval enclosure made of the earth ditch and bank, usually with one or more entrances Giant’s Ring, County Down, Ireland
Megalithic Mysteries • The age of certain megaliths is dated to about 4600 years bce • A discrepancy is evident between the highly developed understanding of astronomy, geometry and trigonometry which these megalith builders possessed, and the relatively "primitive" nature of the archeological finds from cultures of the equivalent time • Certain stone circles are complex geometric constructions, taking into account a measurement we call today the ‘megalithic yard’: 0.829 meters • Studies have shown a mathematical correspondence to two other ancient measurements: the Egyptian Remen, used in the construction of the pyramids, and the royal Elle, a measurement often found in the construction of medieval cathedrals.
Malta Megaliths The Megalithic Temples of Malta
The MEGALITHIC TEMPLES OF MALTA, dating from 5500 years ago, are the oldest free-standing stone structures in the world • Seven megalithic temples on the islands of Malta and Gozo: bear witness to the development of the temple tradition Holy Shrine of the Mnajdra temple
