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Neolithic Revolution

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Synonyms

Animal domestication; Dawn of agriculture; Pre-agrarianism

Introduction

The Neolithic Revolution was a process of transition from a nomadic lifestyle of hunter-gatherer communities to one of agriculture and pastoralism, as well as the start of a sedentary lifestyle. This transition took place at a varying pace in different regions of the world. It is assumed that the major proportion of the human population underwent this process in the period between 10,500 and 6,000 years ago. The Neolithic Revolution was a consequence of a transition from gathering food, which was typical of pre-agrarian societies, to food production, which is observed in agricultural societies. It was accompanied by fundamental changes, which were characteristic of the whole process, such as development of sedentary village life, growth in population, use of ground-stone tools, development of ceramics, and the emergence of a new type of social organization.

The crucial factor which contributed to the...

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Correspondence to Ryszard F. Sadowski .

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Sadowski, R.F. (2017). Neolithic Revolution. In: Thompson, P., Kaplan, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_540-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6167-4_540-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-94-007-6167-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6167-4

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