What Happened In The Neolithic Revolution?

The Neolithic revolution can be defined as a transition of the human race from a food gathering society into a food producing society. The Neolithic revolution is thought to have taken place in the period between 8000 and 6000 B.C. During this period humans settled down in particular areas to cultivate food crops rather than traveling from place to place gathering what they required. Many social, political and economic changes happened during this period.

Before the Neolithic revolution the societies that existed in the Paleolithic age had certain characteristics. The clans were small in size, they had very little possession and had common ownership and they always traveled from place to place.

With the Neolithic revolution the society had a new set of characteristics. Domestication of plants and animals was the biggest change. With this the society got more control of the food supply. The number of people in each clan increased rapidly and fights and even wars broke out between different clans. They put a high value on possession. And most important of all, epidemics and illnesses started killing people in large numbers.

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the Neolithic in Britain and Ireland began around 4,000BC. Some archaeologists have suggested that the Neolithic overlapped with the the preceeding Mesolithic which lasted into the Neolithic. People did not throw off the old ways over night.

Basd on evidence to date the Neolithic started in the 'Fertile Cresent '- the area around Anatolia and excavation of Tell sites has produced a wide range of evidence for settled communities from around 8,000BC

The full development to a settled lifesyle based on farming took a long time to establish in some areas. for example in the Northern areas of Britain the economy remained based on gather/hunter lifestyle for sometime. On coastal areas, fishing played an important role. Evidence from shell middens is important for dating processes. Some shell middens ar founfd in inland areas such as around the Prestatyn area of Flintshire.
The dawn of the Neolithic in Britain saw small scale settlement based on single settlement units consisting of one family or extended family groups.

It has been suggested by some archaeologists that the Neolithic spread from the near East by a Bow Wave effect, thus taking many years to establish in areas far from the centre of development.

Evidence from Neolithic sites such as Hambledon Hill and other causewayed enclosures suggest warfare played a role in society and the Neolithic was far from peaceful.

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