The Neolithic period, the final phase of the Stone Age during the Holocene epoch, marked a revolutionary shift in human history. The term "Neolithic" was first used by Sir John Lubbock in 1865, and later V. Gordon Childe described it as the "Neolithic Revolution" due to its transformative impact on human life.
This period laid the foundation of human civilization, introducing agriculture, permanent settlements, social structures, governance, trade, and communication. Technological innovations led to dramatic changes in human society, prompting Childe to call it a turning point in history.
Climatic changes, particularly increasing dryness in some areas, led humans to shift from food gathering to crop cultivation and animal domestication for stable food sources.
The Neolithic culture did not emerge simultaneously worldwide. While advanced in some regions, communities like the Australian aborigines, Veddas of Sri Lanka, and Chenchus of India still followed hunter-gatherer lifestyles.
Although the exact origin of Neolithic culture is unclear, it is believed to have first emerged in the Fertile Crescent, which includes the Nile Valley, Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and sites like Jarmo (Iraq) and Jericho (Palestine).