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(narrator)
As the world left the Paleolithic Period

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and traveled through the Mesolithic,

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it would not be long,
historically speaking,

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before humans started to settle down

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in permanent farmsteads,
villages, and communities.

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The Neolithic, or New Stone Age,

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was the final chapter of the Stone Age

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and the first step
towards what we would consider

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to be civilization,

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loosely.

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Part of the Neolithic
was the first agricultural revolution,

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where many human communities
began transitioning

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away from life as hunter-gatherers

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in favor of farming crops and livestock.

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This, in turn, allowed for populations
to grow,

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and some settlements spread out
to support this,

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forming the world's first
large-scale communities.

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The Neolithic began
roughly 12,000 years ago,

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and is actually marked
by the first evidence of farming

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taking place in the fertile crescent
of Western Asia.

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These early farms
cultivated a small range of crops,

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such as spelt, wheat, einkorn, and millet,

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and still kept dogs in their settlements

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to assist with hunting for meat.

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It wasn't until 8,000 BC

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when modern domesticated animals,

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such as pigs, goats, and sheep,

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were brought into human settlements.

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Where the Neolithic ends

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depends on where you're located.

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These West Asian cultures

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were the first
to progress out of the Neolithic

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with the advent of metallurgy

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as they headed into the Bronze Age.

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Other regions of the world
took longer to advance

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with cultures in Africa

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first progressing at around 3,150 BC,

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and Europe in 2,000 BC.

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Today, we will be examining
these cultures in greater detail.

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How did the Neolithic humans of Europe,

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Asia, and Africa live their lives?

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How did they progress, learn, and thrive

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in the early historical landscapes

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they would grow to call home?

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Join us as we answer
these questions and more

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exploring the Neolithic,

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the mysterious and ancient New Stone Age.

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Asian cultures were
by far the first to show evidence

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of stable farming communities

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and the earliest forms of civilization.

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This technology first came to light

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in Western Asia and the Levant,

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encompassing regions
making up modern day Turkey,

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Syria, Iraq, and Jordan.

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This is suspected to have begun

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when hunter-gatherers
began to understand the process

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in which plants grew.

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It is thought that, in the first instance,

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these hunter-gatherers
would simply scatter seeds

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around the region they found them

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in order to prompt the growth
of more plants,

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thus resulting in more food.

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There would have been a great deal

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of trial and error involved in this,

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as is the way with any new technology.

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Hunter-gatherers are thought
to have finally made the leap

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when localized climate change
forced parts of the planet

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into long dry seasons,

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a climate that favors plants,

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which complete their life cycle
in one year.

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Certain grains and pulses
were available to be harvested

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at differing points in the year,

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leading to a wide variety of food
ready to eat year round.

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It was off the back of this

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that the first settlements
were able to arise.

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Neolithic communities in the Levant

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are thought to have had a basic grasp

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over seed selection and reseeding,

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allowing the finest crops
to be cultivated and harvested

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based on preferences.

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Some grains were ground down into flour

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using mortar and pestles,

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which, as technology progressed,

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would eventually be used
to make a range of new foods.

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There is evidence from Jericho, however,

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that figs were in fact the first crop
to be cultivated by humans.

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Fig remains were discovered
in an ancient settlement

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which dated back to around 9,400 BC.

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These figs were a domesticated variety

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from trees that are only able to reproduce

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from cuttings selected by humans.

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Unless another crop is discovered
that predates them,

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scientists have reason to believe

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that fig trees
were the first domesticated plant.

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Agriculture is not a technology

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that was discovered once
and spread across the globe,

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but one that was invented independently

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by many different cultures

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who were progressing technologically
at the same time.

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There would have been plenty of spread

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in the immediate regions
it was developed in,

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but agriculture is thought
to have been instigated

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over 11 separate times
by different cultures across the globe,

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starting in Western Asia.

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Neolithic humans in Asia

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were also the first
to have set up a place of worship.

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A temple-like building located

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in the ancient Turkish archeological site
of Göbekli Tepe,

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established around 9,500 BC,

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is thought
to have been the first of its kind,

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and was actually developed

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before the buildings around it
were established.

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The people who built this structure

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were still very much living
as hunter-gatherers.

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Around the temple lie seven stone circles,

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some of which
are made up of limestone pillars

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engraved with depictions
of various species of mammal,

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bird, and invertebrate.

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Amazingly, hundreds of people

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are thought to have worked
on these structures,

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which may have once been shrines
adjacent to the main temple

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covered by basic roofing mechanisms.

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Similar but slightly younger sites
have been uncovered

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in what is now
Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon.

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As Asian settlements
in the early Neolithic became long term,

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people started
to abandon the nomadic lifestyle

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in favor of a solid structure

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that would keep them warm
and sheltered year round.

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These early houses were circular in shape,

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with only one room
that served as a multi-purpose bedroom,

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living area, and makeshift kitchen

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to prepare food from cultivated crops.

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These earliest houses
were made of mudbrick,

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air-dried blocks
composed from mud bound with straw.

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In some cases, early communities
had basic stone walls

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and even stone towers.

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These basic defenses were sufficient

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to keep communities safe
from wild animals,

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rival groups of humans,

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and natural hazards
such as floods and storms.

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Smaller walls can be found within

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that may have served as animal pens

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or food storage areas

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that would have been used
by the whole settlement.

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Around 8,800 BC,

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we start to see evidence
of what has been coined

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"the pre-pottery Neolithic B period."

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One major change taking place
around this time

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is that round houses

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typically switch to rectangular
or square houses

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with multiple rooms.

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This would have allowed families
residing within further privacy

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and would form the bases
of the houses we live in today.

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We also start to gain a better insight

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into early human religions,

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beliefs, and cultures at this time.

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Figurines of both men and women

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found made from gypsum and stone

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have been discovered in settlements
within what is now Syria,

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and there is evidence
that these early mudbrick houses

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were the places of religious spectacles

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that would be considered obscene
in the modern day.

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Human remains found within
and outside these houses

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suggest that these people worshiped

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or venerated their dead in some way,

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preserving their skulls within the houses

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and plastering them with dried mud
to form facial features.

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Perhaps this was a way
of keeping the deceased loved one

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with them after death,
albeit a way

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that would be considered
very strange in today's world.

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When families preserve their loved ones,

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they would leave the rest of the body
outside to decay

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to nothing but bones.

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These bones would then be buried

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underneath the floor of the abode.

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Following on from this period,

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we enter the late Neolithic

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focused around the Fertile Crescent
of the Middle East.

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This time is characterized

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by the first experiments with pottery,

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developed in the southern reaches
of the Levant.

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These experiments are centered
around North Mesopotamia

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and include sites such as Tell Hassuna
and Jarmo.

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Thick, handmade pottery
was developed here,

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alongside clay figurines
of humans and animals,

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some of which depict pregnant women,

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entities that were revered
as fertility goddesses.

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Later, pottery would be decorated

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with geometric shapes and patterns,

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which were traded with other settlements

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for food and other resources.

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Some early communities within Africa

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followed the same processes
as the ones listed

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in the previous segment of this video,

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just after they took place
in Western Asia.

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Far Eastern Africa, for example,

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were the first to develop agriculture
and farming capabilities,

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and agrarian societies started to appear

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around 8,000 BC.

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Domestication
of more advanced animal species,

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specifically sheep and goats,

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is thought to have reached Egypt
in around 6,000 BC

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as a direct spread
from Western Asian societies

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who were perhaps trading with them

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via the land bridge
connecting the two continents.

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In some regions, however,

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the domestication of crops and animals

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is thought to have happened independently,
with no influence

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on early hunter-gatherers
from outside cultures.

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This is still a topic of debate
among scholars,

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with some arguing that crops
were domesticated indigenously,

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and others claiming that migrant farmers

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settling in Africa from Asia

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brought some technologies with them.

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Whilst Egypt
and the regions that surrounded it

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were the first
to enter the Neolithic period in Africa,

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other areas of the continent
took slightly longer to progress.

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In areas such as Algeria and Morocco,
for example,

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agrarian societies cropped up
as a result of farming

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being introduced by Europeans

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living on the Iberian Peninsula

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who had already discovered
the technologies.

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As humans traveled across to Africa,

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they would have brought
domesticated grains,

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as well as knowledge, with them

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to the early African cultures

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who adopted the lifestyle for themselves.

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This led to some North African societies

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leading pastoralist lifestyles,

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relying on the wide open plains
and scrublands of the continent

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to allow their livestock to graze.

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Pastoralism is practiced
in many modern day mountainous regions,

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and was vital to the lifestyles
of these early North Africans.

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Some pastoralists will occasionally move

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with the seasons
and availability of resources,

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herding their animals to new locations

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when pastures are fully grazed.

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This leads to a great degree
of flexibility,

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and, as a result,
some of these early people

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were not fixed to the regions
in which they initially settled.

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Morocco was the earliest
non-Egyptian region of Africa

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to adopt pottery making technologies,

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most notably at this site
known as Kaf El Ghar

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in the modern country's Taza province.

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There is also extensive evidence here

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for the early adoption
of cereal grain domestication,

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as well as animal husbandry,

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as sheep and goats were brought
into the region

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from both Europe and the Levant.

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The people of Sub-Saharan Africa
adopted pastoralism

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as their main way of life,

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rather than becoming wholly agrarian.

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This spread across the regions
surrounding the Rif Valley,

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where sheep, goats, and eventually cattle

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were domesticated
for their meat, skins, and milk.

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Earthenware pots
were developed in these areas,

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as were mortars and pestles,

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grindstones, and stone bowls.

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The dead were buried in "cairns,"

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a type of communal indoor graveyard,

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as opposed
to within the settlements themselves.

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Eventually,
this way of life would spread south

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to tribes
such as the KhoeKhoe, a group of people

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we have covered previously
on this channel.

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Farming technologies are thought
to have entered Europe

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as early as 7,000 years ago,

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as the technology
spread throughout the Mediterranean

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from the Near East and the Levant.

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Between 5,000 and 4,000 years ago,
this technology

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would then reach
the western parts of the continent,

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running through what is now
Germany and Poland,

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through to France,

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as well as South through Italy
and the Iberian Peninsula.

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Scandinavia and the British Isles,

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as a result of their relative isolation,

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were the last
to have developed the technology,

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as migrant farmers traveled north

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from what is today France and Germany.

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Regardless of the time
they entered the Neolithic,

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many cultures and communities

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that sprung up across Europe in this time

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shared several basic characteristics:

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they lived in small villages,

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often in family groups,

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with a divided labor
between both animals and plant farmers,

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as well as hunters, potters,
and woodworkers.

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Wood was chopped using basic stone axes

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from the dense surrounding forests
of Europe, which was then applied

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00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,033
to the infrastructure
of houses and buildings,

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00:15:24,033 --> 00:15:26,733
as well as fires to keep communities warm

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in the long, cold winters.

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Some Neolithic communities
from around the Mediterranean

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took their settlements a step further,

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reinforcing their villages
with palisade walls and sentry towers,

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likely to ward off
and scout out approaching invaders

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or raiders from neighboring settlements.

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00:15:49,433 --> 00:15:52,133
Some communities in Neolithic Britain

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favored a pastoralist lifestyle.

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They would herd cattle
across the hills

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and forests of this ancient land,

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subsiding on their meat

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and supplementing their diet
with plant matter.

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There is also evidence to suggest

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that the Neolithic peoples of Europe
were religious.

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An artifact discovered
at an archeological site

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in what is now
the Vidin province of Bulgaria

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was identified in 2018

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as the head of a figure that is thought

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to have represented a mother goddess.

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These figures have been found
across Europe and Asia,

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and are argued by some
to represent the embodiment of fertility.

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Others disagree,

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stating that these are figurines

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that are intended
to represent wisdom and wealth.

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Some cultures are also known
to have constructed huge megaliths.

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These structures can be composed
of a single or multiple stones,

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often arranged in intricate patterns
or shapes.

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The most famous of the over 35,000
located in Europe alone

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is, without a doubt, Stonehenge,

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located on what is now the Salisbury Plain

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of Wiltshire in England.

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Constructed in the late Neolithic,
some of the stones

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00:17:13,500 --> 00:17:16,366
are thought to have been
brought to the location

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00:17:16,366 --> 00:17:20,366
from over 150 miles away.

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00:17:20,366 --> 00:17:22,499
It was constructed using joints

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00:17:22,500 --> 00:17:25,933
that are not found
in any other megalithic structure,

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00:17:25,933 --> 00:17:28,633
making it one of the most sophisticated

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00:17:28,633 --> 00:17:30,866
and advanced pieces of architecture

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00:17:30,866 --> 00:17:33,532
of the entire Neolithic.

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00:17:33,533 --> 00:17:36,533
Its purpose is thought
to have been religious,

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perhaps used as an ancient temple

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aligned with the sun's movements.

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00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,133
The sun rises directly over the Heel Stone

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00:17:45,133 --> 00:17:48,733
on both the shortest
and longest days of the year,

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00:17:48,733 --> 00:17:52,433
the Summer and Winter solstices.

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00:17:52,433 --> 00:17:55,633
By the time the Neolithic came to an end,

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the people of Europe had settled
into more agrarian societies,

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complete with a whole host
of animals on their farms.

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00:18:04,033 --> 00:18:06,499
As well as cattle, sheep and goats

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00:18:06,500 --> 00:18:09,733
provided milk, meat, and wool,

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00:18:09,733 --> 00:18:12,233
whilst wild pigs were kept in the woods

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00:18:12,233 --> 00:18:14,633
and farmed for their meat.

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00:18:14,633 --> 00:18:17,533
Dogs, domesticated much longer ago,

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00:18:17,533 --> 00:18:19,799
were trained to help on farms,

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00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,333
herding sheep and keeping a close eye out

346
00:18:22,333 --> 00:18:24,633
for predators or raiders.

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00:18:26,966 --> 00:18:29,699
So, that's a rundown of the key events

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00:18:29,700 --> 00:18:32,366
and happenings of the Neolithic.

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00:18:32,366 --> 00:18:36,166
The Neolithic was
to be the last instance in history

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00:18:36,166 --> 00:18:41,232
when stones were used
as a primary construct in technologies.

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00:18:41,233 --> 00:18:43,433
The forthcoming Chalcolithic,

352
00:18:43,433 --> 00:18:46,333
the subject of our next part
in this series,

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00:18:46,333 --> 00:18:49,333
would see the introduction
of the very first metals

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00:18:49,333 --> 00:18:52,099
harnessed and applied by ancient peoples:

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00:18:52,100 --> 00:18:54,600
copper and tin.

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00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,566
As people moved into this new age,

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00:18:57,566 --> 00:19:01,532
they would experience a whole host
of new technologies,

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00:19:01,533 --> 00:19:03,899
weapons, and ways of living,

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00:19:03,900 --> 00:19:06,700
all of which
would contribute significantly

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00:19:06,700 --> 00:19:11,100
in laying the foundations of the world
we recognize today.