Proto-Neolithic and Neolithic Cultures in the Middle East—the Birth of Agriculture, Livestock Raising, and Ceramics: a Calibrated 14C Chronology 12,500-5500 cal BC

Abstract

We present for the first time a fully calibrated radiocarbon chronology of Proto-Neolithic and Neolithic cultures in the Middle East covering the time range from 12,500 to 5500 cal BC. A total of 1300 14C dates were evaluated, leading to the selection of 731 reliable dates. These were calibrated in a special collective approach presented in a series of graphs. The 14C dates are derived from 160 sites across the Middle East. The period with Proto-Neolithic cultures began around 12500 cal BC and lasted for more than 4000 years. The true Neolithic, with agriculture and livestock breeding, appeared just before 8000 cal BC, subsequently spreading across a wide area within just a few hundred years. Ceramics first occurred around 7000 cal BC. The Mesopotamian cultures that emerged around 6000 cal BC started the urban revolution.