Neolithic

[ nee-uh-lith-ik ]

adjective

1. (sometimes lowercase) Anthropology. of, relating to, or characteristic of the last phase of the Stone Age, marked by the domestication of animals, the development of agriculture, and the manufacture of pottery and textiles: commonly thought to have begun c9000–8000 b.c. in the Middle East. Compare Mesolithic, Paleolithic.
2. (usually lowercase) belonging to or remaining from an earlier era; outdated; passé.

Neolithic

/ ˌniːəʊˈlɪθɪk /

noun

1. the cultural period that lasted in SW Asia from about 9000 to 6000 bc and in Europe from about 4000 to 2400 bc and was characterized by primitive crop growing and stock rearing and the use of polished stone and flint tools and weapons

adjective

1. relating to this period

Neolithic

/ nē′ə-lĭth′ĭk /

1. The period of human culture that began around 10,000 years ago in the Middle East and later in other parts of the world. It is characterized by the beginning of farming, the domestication of animals, the development of crafts such as pottery and weaving, and the making of polished stone tools. The Neolithic Period is generally considered to end for any particular region with the introduction of metalworking, writing, or other developments of urban civilization.
2. Also called New Stone Age
3. Compare Mesolithic

Other Words From

• prene·o·lithic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Neolithic¹

First recorded in 1860–65; neo- + -lithic

Example Sentences

Above that will come crevices and caves where Neolithic families once lived, now home to bears, eagles, wolves, and leopards.

From Outside Online

The info-crammed piece stretches back beyond the young elites’ ill-fated first meeting to the times of Iran’s corrupt shah, earlier colonization, the Aztecs and even Neolithic archaeological sites.

From Washington Blade

Burials of people in houses or other structures, as well as cremations, are thought to have originated in Neolithic-period farming villages in and around the Middle East no earlier than about 10,000 years ago.

From Science News

The shafts date to a time known as the Neolithic, or late Stone Age.

From Science News For Students

These are, researchers now think, part of one of the biggest Neolithic monuments in Europe.

From Science News For Students

Neolithic humans lived in the caves pocking its slopes, and by around 1400 BCE a fortified palace was built atop the Acropolis.

From The Daily Beast

There is no occasion to speak here of the many remains of neolithic man that have been exhumed.

From Project Gutenberg

During the Neolithic and Bronze Ages we can dimly trace further immigrations.

From Project Gutenberg

Even the influence of Neolithic intellectual life still remains.

From Project Gutenberg

The fossils of the times between the Glacial period and the Neolithic period indicate variations of climatic conditions.

From Project Gutenberg

Of course, its appearance among the aborigines of America, we can imagine, must have been within the Neolithic period.

From Project Gutenberg