Neolithic

In the Stone Age, the period known as the Neolithic had its beginning from 8,000 BC to 3,000 BC Its development took place in the eastern Mediterranean, the Nile Valley, in Syria and Iraq and also some populations in northern Europe. There is research that confirms that the Neolithic was also present in America and East Asia because there is evidence that populations of these continents developed agriculture and the use of domesticated animals for food and clothing in those years of prehistory.

The term Neolithic has Greek origin and means new stone or polished stone and this name is due to the fact that at this stage of prehistory , man began to polish the stone to better work agriculture and livestock . Other specialists in this field call it the age of domestic animals because at this time man was able to dominate the dog, ox, horse and other animals for his own use.

This stage is the last of the phases of the Stone Age. The Neolithic arose as a consequence of the post-glacial period where climate change led man to modify his life habits and discover agriculture and livestock to get their food and elements to protect themselves and build their homes.

Neolithic Characteristics

The Neolithic period is characterized by a development of populations in which the following elements were present:

• The use of polished stone for the creation of hunting tools and for agriculture, livestock and the manufacture of fabrics.
• The domestication of animals for field work, livestock and food such as the horse, the ox, the pig and the dog.
• The development of looms to make clothing of animal origin (wool) or vegetable fiber to protect themselves in different climates (hot and cold).
• The development of grazing .
• The development of pottery for the collection of liquids and grains.
• The use of crushed cereals to make flour and later bread.
• Communication between towns.

Neolithic man

The men of this time of prehistory are known as homo-sapien (Thinking man) or Cromañon (this is because the human remains from this stage were identified in a cave in France that has this name). The term homo sapiens is given by all the technological and scientific advances that humanity develops in this period of time. Neolithic man descends from the mountains to settle in the countryside, goes from being a nomadic entity to a sedentary one that builds villages, develops new tools, tames animals, works the fields, makes textiles, creates objects with clay to collect liquids and grains. , etc. All these changes represent an evolution in human thought that will mark in the future the ways of feeding, clothing and shelter of the coming civilizations.

Neolithic tools

The tools used in the Neolithic era were built with wood and polished stone . Most of them were used for hunting, livestock, looms, pottery and construction.

Architecture

In the Neolithic period, man left the caves to build huts and villages near rivers to be able to fish, use water for himself and for the work of agriculture and livestock.

Economy

The economy based on agriculture and livestock . Transhumance arises, which is a type of grazing that allows peoples to come into contact and facilitate communication between them, which stimulates the dissemination of techniques for the development of agriculture, livestock and culture in general of the people of the Neolithic.

Neolithic art

In the art of this period, the symbol happens to replace the image that was used in the Mesolithic . This represents a change of style towards a more abstract and deeper art in the artistic manifestations of prehistory.

The theme in some cave paintings is outdoor hunting scenes. Many of them were discovered in western Europe .

They exist in other types of Neolithic artistic manifestations, discovered in Latin America , known as anthropolites, zooliths and ornitholiths that are stone figures in the shape of men or animals.