The Beginning of the Neolithic In The Levant

The Neolithic Revolution began in the Levant between about 8000–7000 BCE. The Levant — or the Levantine Coast — is a region of the Eastern Mediterranean of West Asia which makes up what we might call the western half of the Fertile Crescent stretching from the Sinai Peninsula northwards to Anatolia.

The agricultural lifestyle of the Neolithic Revolution (the cultural evolution from hunting and gathering to sedentary village life centered on farming, herding, and raising domesticated animals) reached the Levant some 2000 years after it first appeared elsewhere in the Fertile Crescent. The domestication of plants and animals spread fairly rapidly after its invention, through the cultures of the region by direct contact, and in some cases, by migration.

The Levant was a central region for the original domestication of a number of crops that are now staples in the diet of humans around the world. These Middle Eastern people (the ancestors of many European people making up a significant percentage of the European genome) domesticated three cereals (einkorn wheat, emmer wheat, and barley), four legumes (lentil, pea, bitter vetch, and chickpea), and flax.

Prehistoric Developments Before The Beginning of the Levantine Neolithic

Large quantities of seeds and a grinding stone at the site of Ohalo II, dating to about 17,400 BCE, indicate an advanced planning to make use of gathered plants to feed their communities. This is a precursor phase to full domestication, making sophisticated use of all that naturally grew, just before crops were intentionally planted, tended, and harvested. The evidence suggests also that the grain was processed before consumed at Ohalo II. [1]

Tell Aswad is the oldest agricultural site. At Tell Aswad domesticated emmer wheat has been discovered, dating back to 8,800 BCE. Next to be domesticated was hulled, two-row barley found first at Jericho in the Jordan Valley and at Iraq ed-Dubb in Jordan. [1]

Wadi Faynan 16 and Netiv Hagdud that are also in the Levantine corridor show early evidence of agriculture, however the settlers are believed to have arrived from Anti-Lebanon with the seeds and knowledge already in place, allowing them to begin agriculture once they arrived at their new home. [1]

In the Eastern Fertile Crescent at a site called Choga Gholan in Iran, wild plants were cultivated as early as 10,000 BCE. This tells us that the domestication of plants and animals occurred at the same time across the Fertile Crescent. [1]

The Heavy Neolithic Qaraoun culture can be seen at around 50 separate sites in Lebanon around the source springs of the River Jordan, but never reliably dated. [1]

Notes

Resources

1. Neolithic Revolution. Wikipedia. <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_Revolution>. Accessed 26 Jan 2022.