Neolithic Period (9700 - 3300 BC): Ancient History Timeline

The Neolithic revolution transformed human societies from mobile hunter-gatherer bands into settled agricultural communities. This period saw the domestica

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Navigate ancient history through major time periods, from the pre-Ice Age era through Classical Antiquity and beyond. Each era page brings together the archaeological sites, key events, and theoretical frameworks relevant to that period. Explore how civilizations rose and fell across millennia, understand the geological and climatic events that shaped human development, and discover connections between sites and cultures separated by thousands of years. Our timeline integrates mainstream archaeological dating with alternative chronologies for a comprehensive view of the ancient past.

Neolithic Period (9700 - 3300 BC)

The Neolithic revolution transformed human societies from mobile hunter-gatherer bands into settled agricultural communities. This period saw the domestication of plants and animals, the construction of permanent settlements, and the emergence of social hierarchies. Gobekli Tepe, built at the very start of this period (c. 9600 BC), challenges the conventional narrative by demonstrating monumental...

Key Events

• Gobekli Tepe constructed by pre-agricultural societies (c. 9600 BC)
• Agriculture independently develops in multiple regions (c. 9000-7000 BC)
• Catalhoyuk proto-city thrives in Anatolia (c. 7500-5700 BC)
• Megalithic temples of Malta constructed (c. 3600 BC)
• Stonehenge construction begins (c. 3000 BC)
• Newgrange passage tomb built in Ireland (c. 3200 BC)

Explore the archaeological sites, discoveries, and theories from this transformative period in human history on Ancient Origins Explorer.