Anthropology 110/310: Introduction to Archaeology

Study Guide - Domestication and the Neolithic Period in the Old World

Chronological periods:

Epipaleolithic (16,000 to ca. 9000 BC) - term used in the Middle East to designate the period during the last millennia of the Upper Paleolithic when there is evidence that populations were beginning to demonstrate patterns of plant use and artifact manufacture (principally microlithic tools and grinding implements) that preceded the domestication of plants and animals but foreshadowed the emergence of Neolithic culture.

Mesolithic (10,000 to between 6000 and 4000 BC) - period which follows the Upper Paleolithic in most of Europe and Asia. Corresponds to period of primarily nomadic hunting and gathering which preceded the adoption of domesticated plants and animals.

Neolithic (begins ca. 8000 BC in Near East, begins and ends at different times throughout the Old World) - defined by the presence of sedentary villages and domesticated plants and animals. The Neolithic in other parts of the Old World is defined by the appearance of these characteristics at different times -- some parts of the world were still largely "pre-agricultural" early in this century. The earliest Neolithic villages are found in the "Fertile Crescent" (the Levant, Anatolia, western Iraq and Iran), with later agricultural settlements appearing in Greece and Bulgaria to the west and the Indus Valley of Pakistan to the east. The Neolithic appears independently in Southeast Asia and China. Note: the term "Neolithic" is not used in the Americas, where the correct term is the "Formative" period.

Chalcolithic - term sometimes used to refer to the transitional period between the Neolithic or Mesolithic and the "Bronze Age" in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and parts of Asia around 3000 BC. Characterized by the appearance of tools made of copper prior to the introduction of bronze (an alloy of copper and other metals). Early forms of writing appear in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China during this period.

Bronze Age - period which corresponds to the flourishing of the first ancient civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, and the Mediterranean in the 4th and 3rd millennia BC. Named for the widespread use of bronze technology, primarily for weapons and ritual objects. Period is characterized by the rise of state societies, cities, and a great deal of warfare. Note: this term is not used in the New World, although the Incas of Peru did make tools out of bronze.

Iron Age - corresponds to the introduction and spread of iron technology for weapons and tools after the 2nd millennium BC. Increasing contacts between historic civilizations of the Near East and Mediterranean and the "less-civilized" peoples of Europe and Asia (farming communities in Europe and largely nomadic peoples in the Central Asian plains). Ends roughly with the expansion of the Roman Empire into parts of Europe and Asia, but continues into late Medieval times in parts of Africa.

Old World Cultures and Sites

Epipaleolithic (16,000 - 9000 BC)

Neolithic (Note different periods)

(9000 - 6000 BC)

(6000 - 5000 BC)

(3000 - 2000 BC)

Archaeological Theorists

Terms to learn