Main Characteristics of Neolithic Age

The neolithic age is the final and last part of the stone age. This period is distinctive from the rest of the stages and holds an important role in determining how developed mankind became in this time. The most eye-catching part of this stage that makes it different from the rest of the stages is agriculture and the domestication of animals. Before this period, man used to hunt, gather and eat. But with this development of the neolithic period, mankind learned to grow plants, harvest foods, and domesticate some useful animals for day-to-day lives.

Characteristics of Neolithic Age 

The characteristics of the neolithic age help to understand how the neolithic worked and what was different in this period that people did not witness before. 

Domestication of animals 

In this period, the first successful and beneficial domestication of animals was started. The domestication of animals was very useful. They were not only meant for eating but also for agriculture. Some most common and popular domestication that started in this period was dogs, goats, rabbits, and cattle. The neolithic period was witnessed in 9500 BCE. The domestication of animals helped the process of cultivating, seeding, and growing important plants. The animals helped to cultivate cereals, legumes, and vegetables.

Agriculture 

There is a reason why the neolithic period is also known as the agricultural revolution. This period was the first time men started cultivating and farming for their food, settlement, and production. Men came out from hunting and gathering and started establishing plots and planning for growing their food. Bread, barley, wheat, lentils were sown and cultivated for agriculture. This beginning of agriculture meant mankind was finally ready to settle down and have a stable lifestyle. Daily hunting and gathering and leading a nomadic life were no more preferred on this stage. 

Stone tools

Then stone tools were always in use. In previous times, these tools were not well built. But in this neolithic age, while a stone was still used for making tools, it was not built the same way. Here, in this stage, men learned to make better use of and model these tools. The stone tools came out more sophisticated, handy, sharper, and reliable. The hand axes had fallen out of favor in this period. Men in this stage used scrapers blades for tool purposes. They also managed to make arrows, spearheads, and sharp objects for weapons. 

Pottery making 

Another unique creativity that began in this age was pottery making. The pottery-making art was used for religious as well as economic purposes. The archaeologists have found a substantial amount of artifacts that belonged to the neolithic period of pottery making. Though the designs were basic, the clay pottery products came out very useful for the men at that stage.

Conclusion 

The neolithic age was of a short span but did and witnessed all the major development changes in mankind’s history. The neolithic stage gives us an idea about how men started agriculture, why and how they settled for a stable settlement and life. The neolithic stage was also special because the domestication of useful animals such as cattle, goats, sheep was started. This stage also witnessed the goodbye to stone tools and welcomed tools and weapons with blades, scrapers, spearheads, and arrows. The stage was the perfect embodiment of what development should look like. The neolithic age was the rise of human history, where they initiated the way of living in which we are living now.