The Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) represents the early Neolithic in the Levantine and upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent, dating to c. 12,000 – c. 8,500 years ago,. It succeeds the Natufian culture of the Epipalaeolithic Near East, as the domestication of plants and animals was in its formative stages, having possibly been induced by the Younger Dryas.
Area of the Fertile Crescent, c. 7500 BC, with main Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites. The area of Mesopotamia proper was not yet settled by humans.
Sculpture of a predatory animal, Göbekli Tepe, circa 9000 BC
Urfa Man, c. 9000 BC. Şanlıurfa Archaeology and Mosaic Museum.
Footed bowl in granite, Syria, end of 8th millennium BC.
The Neolithic or New Stone Age is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Europe, Asia and Africa. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. This "Neolithic package" included the introduction of farming, domestication of animals, and change from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of settlement. The term 'Neolithic' was coined by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system.
Reconstruction of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B housing in Aşıklı Höyük, modern Turkey
Reconstruction of a Neolithic farmstead, Irish National Heritage Park. The Neolithic saw the invention of agriculture.
An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools.
The Urfa Man c. 9000 BC. Şanlıurfa Archaeology and Mosaic Museum.
