The Neolithic Revolution refers to the transition from hunting and gathering to farming and domestication of animals that occurred in different regions around 10,000 years ago. This facilitated more permanent settlements like Jericho and Çatalhöyük, which featured plastered walls, shrines, and figurines. Monumental megalithic structures like Stonehenge also emerged during this period, demonstrating advanced astronomical knowledge as they were precisely aligned with solstices and equinoxes. The Neolithic Revolution marked a major shift in human societies toward agricultural lifestyles and more complex social organization.

1. The Neolithic Revolution

2. The Neolithic revolution refers to the transition from hunting and gathering to
farming and the domestication of animals

3. The Neolithic revolution refers to the transition from hunting and gathering to
farming and the domestication of animals
This changed everything
for our early ancestors

4. Hunted animals and
foraged for food
Planted crops and were
able to grow their own
food
Nomads: lived in small
hunting and gathering
groups
Settled into permanent
villages
Waited for migrating
animals to return each
year
Learned to raise
domesticated animals

5. The discovery of agriculture also enabled significant cultural advancements,
such as labor specialization, and more complex forms of social organization

6. Bushel with Ibex motif, 4200-3500 BCE, Museé de Louvre
This facilitated the
development of crafts
such as pottery (for
storing surplus food),
and weaving

7. And architecture makes its first appearance during this period
Göbekli Tepe, 9000 BCE, Anatolia, Turkey

8. The Neolithic Revolution occurred at different times across the globe

9. The San tribe of northeastern Namibia
Image source: http://promoteafricanews.wordpress.com/2008/11/12/a-weekend-in-bushmanland/
There are still tribes today that cling to the hunter gatherer lifestyle of our prehistoric
ancestors

10. The oldest know settlements emerged in modern day Turkey, Syria, Iraq,
and Iran

11. The ancient city of Jericho is considered to be the oldest settlement in
the world

12. Located in the Jordan Valley of modern Palestine, it grew to as many as
2,000 inhabitants by 7500 BCE

13. One of the distinctive features of the site is the massive walls that once
surrounded the city

14. Five feet thick, the structure includes a stone tower that measures 30 feet high and 33
feet in diameter — a veritable skyscraper at the very beginning of civilization!
Image source: http://www.nemo.nu/jericho/shape.htm

15. Image source: https://youthpastorscircle.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/my-holy-land-experience-part-3/
This is what the excavation site looks like today

16. Great stone towers built into
the walls of Jericho, c. 8,000-
7,000 CE
The walls and tower were built with undressed stone – meaning the stones
were not cut, but carefully placed on top of one another according to shape

17. The site of Tell As-Sultan is located in the lower plain of the Jordan valley, approximately 10 km north of the Dead Sea. At a depth of 250 m below sea level it is the lowest and the
oldest town on the earth. The mound where the ruins of the town were found covers an area of about one acre.
It was once believed that the Jericho walls provided military protection, but more
recently it has been proposed that its primary function was to protect the city from
floods – a considerable concern, since this site is located at 250 meters below
sea level, making it one of the lowest places on earth

18. Recent research suggests that the tower was placed exactly where
a nearby mountain casts a shadow during the summer solstice.

19. “We suggest that the tower was built not just a marker or a time-keeping device
but as a guardian against the dangers present in the darkness cast by a dying
sun's last rays of light. . . . The construction of the towering structure was thus a
symbol of the strength, power and durability of the Neolithic community and of its
ability to withstand the frightening forces of nature.”
Roy Liran and Ran Barkai, “Casting a Shadow on Neolithic Jericho,” Antiquity vol.
085 Issue 327 March 2011

20. Whatever its function was, the walls of Jericho represent one of the
earliest instances of monumental architecture

21. Archeologist Kathleen Kenyon (right) and
technician Cecil Western examine Neolithic plaster
skulls excavated at Jericho. 1953
Photograph: David Boyer, National Geographic
Evidence of ritualized
practices, and perhaps even a
more complex system of
religious belief, can be found in
a group of skulls that
were found buried in the floors
of private dwellings at Jericho

22. Jericho Skull, c. 8200-7500 BCE
British Museum
The heads were made from actual skulls, which were then plastered over and
inlaid with shells for eyes

23. Jericho Skull, c. 8200-7500 BCE
British Museum
The purpose of the skulls remains a mystery: some experts belief they may
indicate some form of ancestor worship

24. Or they could have been created to preserve the likeness of a deceased loved
one, much like the photographs that we cherish today

25. Jericho Skull, c. 8200-7500 BCE
British Museum
Whatever their purpose, the Jericho skulls may represent the very first attempt at
“portraiture” in history

26. In fact, the British Museum has recently used digital technology to reconstruct the
facial features of one of the skulls in its collection

27. It is interesting to think about the evolution of portraiture, from the simple
recognition of a human face in the Magapansgat pebble, to the Jericho skulls that
seem to reconstruct the face using an actual skull as a base

28. We will encounter many portraits in this class – some more realistic than others

29. The next time you take a selfie you might think about how it all started with a little
pebble and a skull!

30. Another extraordinary cache of statues depicting humans was found at
Ain Ghazal, a Neolithic site near Amman Jordan that was first settled
around 7250 BCE

31. Human figures from Ain Ghazal, Jordan, c. 6250 BCE
Image source: http://www.studyblue.com/notes/note/n/midterm/deck/1315807
Here, archaeologists discovered two caches of plaster figures that
appear to have been ritually buried

32. Human figure from Ain Ghazal,
Jordan, c. 6250 BCE
The figures were made with plaster built up over a core of reeds and
twine, and then decorated with paint and shells

33. At first glance, the figurea may seem similar to the Paleolithic Venus
figures, but the differences are significant

34. SIMILARITIES:
Nude representation of the human form
Unnatural proportions

35. DIFFERENCES:
Molded from plaster rather than carved
Gender is undefined

36. Image source: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0d3ik9Kcx9uL4r2W2YhnCA
Another major difference is the monumental scale: while the Venus figures
were small and portable, the Ain Ghazal statues mark the first appearance of
monumental sculpture – now that people were living in one place, they didn’t
have to worry about making sculpture that was portable!

37. Thanks for listening!
Next up: Çatal Höyük

38. Çatal Höyük
7500-5700 BCE

39. One of the the most famous Neolithic sites was discovered at Çatal
Höyük, on the Anatolian plain in Turkey

40. Excavation site and museum, Çatal Höyük
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/catalhoyuk/3064400886/sizes/z/in/photostream/
The site was first discovered in the 1950s, and remains an active excavation site
today

41. Çatal Höyük (c. 7,000-5000
BCE)
Reconstruction of settlement at Çatal Hüyük
Image source: http://delalhambra.multiply.com/journal/item/10/The_cradle_of_civilization_Wiege_der_Zivilisation
The settlement consisted of adobe-type structures made of mud brick, adjoined
to one another in a honeycomb pattern.

42. Dwellings were entered through the roof, and the walls were plastered and
painted with murals
Image source: http://www.catalhoyuk.com/book/export/html/54

43. Wall mural in room 80 from Çatal Höyük
Image source: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/prehistoric-art/neolithic-art/a/atalhyk
/
Some of the decorations consist of abstract patterns — zig-zag patterns, and
repeated geometric shapes

44. Each of the individual dwellings probably housed an entire family
Image source: http://www.catalhoyuk.com/book/export/html/54

45. Reconstruction of a typical dwelling at Çatal Hüyük
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Catal_Hüyük_Restauration_B.JPG
There was a communal living room, entered by a ladder from the roof, with
a hearth or oven for preparing meals

46. Raised platforms provided seating and places to sleep, and deceased family
members members were also buried beneath these platforms

47. The burials at Çatalhöyük show no significant variations, either based on wealth
or gender

48. Image source: http://www.killackeyillustration.com/catalhoyuk/
But children with buried with more elaborate decoration, such as beads and
shells

49. Some of the rooms were more elaborately decorated than others, suggesting
they may have served as shrines rather than dwellings

50. Decorations include images of vultures, leopards, and bucrania (bovine heads
with horns)

51. The vultures flying over headless human bodies may suggest the of setting out
the deceased so that they can be naturally defleshed before burial

52. Bucrania (bovine skulls) are another common decoration
James Mellaart, reconstruction shrine decorations

53. They recall the majestic bulls that were so prominent at Lascaux

54. Reconstruction of a shrine, Angora Museum
Image source: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iM1vLgPGl4XS0SJU525TSg
Were the bulls worshipped as gods, or as symbols of make fertility?

55. Or, as Ian Hodder suggests, were they hunting trophies, recalling the “glory
days” of hunting, when life depended on hunted animals

56. Nostalgia for the “glory days” of hunting may also inform the imagery in the so-
called “Hunting Shrine,” where the walls are decorated with what appears to be a
hunting scene

57. This is the “Deer Hunt” mural from Çatal Höyük

58. At first glance, the painting may recall the imagery of the painted caves of
France, but there are significant differences

59. In the first place, the image is painted on a flat plastered wall, rather than on an
uneven rock surface

60. More importantly, the image includes men — and lots of them (though they are
little more than stick figures!).

61. It also implies a narrative -- the image shows an action-packed “hunt” taking
place (though there is still no suggestion of location, because of the absence of a
groundline)

62. This kind of “narrative scene” was completely absent from Paleolithic art (with
the exception of Chauvet), and therefore marks a new phase in the development
of artistic storytelling!

63. Female figurines excavated at Çatal Höyük; image source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1212320/Ancient-figurines-toys-mother-goddess-
statues-say-experts-9-000-year-old-artefacts-discovered.html
A large number of figurines have been found at Çatal Höyük, some representing
animals such as cattle and sheep, and others representing female figures that
recall the so-called “Venus” figures of the Paleolithic period

64. Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük (head is a
restoration), The Museum of Anatolian
Civilizations, Ankara, Turkey (photo: Nevit
Dilmen, CC BY-SA 3.0)
One of the most famous figurines depicts an obese female figure seated upon
what appears to be a throne

65. Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük (head is a
restoration), The Museum of Anatolian
Civilizations, Ankara, Turkey (photo: Nevit
Dilmen, CC BY-SA 3.0)
The arms of her
seat take the form
of two felines, and
some have
speculated that
she is in the act of
giving birth (the
round shape
between her legs
representing the
head of a child)

66. Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük (head is a
restoration), The Museum of Anatolian
Civilizations, Ankara, Turkey (photo: Nevit
Dilmen, CC BY-SA 3.0)
It was once thought that these figures were evidence of a “Mother Goddess”
worshipped by the people of the settlement, but this theory has been called into
question

67. Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük (head is a
restoration), The Museum of Anatolian
Civilizations, Ankara, Turkey (photo: Nevit
Dilmen, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Many of the figures were found in garbage pits, which seems inconsistent with
the idea of “reverence” for a goddess figure

68. This figurine was discovered just this past year

69. The figure is unusual for several reasons:

70. She is quite large in scale, measuring nearly 7 inches long, and was carved from
marble

71. She was not found amongst kitchen garbage, but instead was found buried
amongst the buried skeletons in a private dwelling

72. The figure has tiny feet, and large belly, breasts,
and buttocks

73. Stanford archaeologist Lynn Meskell believes that the female figurines from Çatal
Höyük may represent older women who were revered by the community -- and
this recent find seems to support that theory

74. Thanks for listening!
Next up: Stonehenge

75. Stonehenge

76. The transition from hunting and gathering to farming also gave rise to
monumental architecture

77. Megalithic tomb, Mane Braz, Brittany
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dscn5212-mane-braz_800x600.jpg
Megaliths are huge stone structures assembled without mortar
(Mega = huge / lith = stone)

78. They may have originated as burial structures - permanent "houses of the dead"

79. Megaliths are divided into three main types

80. Image source: http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Menhir
1. Menhirs: unhewn or slightly shaped single stones standing upright in the ground

81. Poulnabrone Dolmen, County Clare, Ireland
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paulnabrone.jpg
2. Dolmens: enclosures consisting of two or more vertical stones supporting a large
single stone

82. Chromlech of Okabe, Basque Pyrenees, France
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Harrespil_Okabe.jpg
3. Cromlechs: megalithic structures in which groups of menhirs from circles or
semicircles

83. Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England, c. 2550-1600
The most famous cromlech is Stonehenge, located on the Salisbury Plain in England

84. One of the oldest examples of monumental architecture, Stonehenge also represents
one of the earliest uses of the “post and lintel” system of architecture — where two
vertical posts are used to support a horizontal beam

85. Post and Lintel
Architecture
As simple as it may seem, the post and lintel system will be the basic system used in the
Greek temples that we will study later, and is still used in many buildings today

86. Stonehenge was built in at least
4 major building phases,
beginning as a simple
earthwork enclosure

87. In the final stages of
construction, a giant
circle was created from
massive rocks -- some
weighing as much as 50
tons – transported from
hundreds of miles away

88. Image source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wiltshire/5098706.stm
The structure was designed to align with the rising and setting sun

89. Image source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/08/monumental-row-over-parking-casts-shadow-over-stonehenges-summer/
The most spectacular events happen at the Summer and Winter solstices, which draws
huge crowd every year

90. “Whoever built Stonehenge had precise astronomical knowledge of the path of the sun and,
moreover, must have known before construction began precisely where the sun rose at dawn on
midsummer's morning while standing on the future site of the monument.”
Dr. Christopher Whitcombe, “Stonehenge” http://witcombe.sbc.edu/earthmysteries/EMStonehengeD.html

91. “[T]he astronomer Gerald Hawkins has argued that Stonehenge is not merely aligned with
solar and lunar astronomical events, but can be used to predict other events such as
eclipses. In other words, Stonehenge was more than a temple, it was an astronomical
calculator.”
Dr. Christopher Whitcombe, “Stonehenge” http://witcombe.sbc.edu/earthmysteries/EMStonehengeD.html

92. “The cycle of the moon, for example, which takes 27.3 days, can be tracked by moving a
marker by two holes each day to complete a circuit in 28 days.”
Dr. Christopher Whitcombe, “Stonehenge” http://witcombe.sbc.edu/earthmysteries/EMStonehengeD.html

93. Function
So Stonehenge is a direct descendant of the Paleolithic lunar calendars, and a distant
ancestor of modern astrology!

94. Can’t afford a trip to England? You can experience a Stonehenge-like experience right
here in New York during “Manhattanhenge” – when the setting sun aligns directly with
the Manhattan street grid

95. The event happens twice per year

97. Thanks for listening!