Neolithic

[ nee-uh-lith-ik ]

/ ˌni əˈlɪθ ɪk /

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adjective

(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.

(usually lowercase) belonging to or remaining from an earlier era; outdated; passé.

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Origin of Neolithic

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

OTHER WORDS FROM Neolithic

pre·ne·o·lith·ic, adjective

Words nearby Neolithic

neo-Lamarckism, Neo-Latin, neoliberalism, neolinguistics, neolith, Neolithic, neolocal, neologism, neologize, neology, neo-Lutheranism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Neolithic in a sentence

Above that will come crevices and caves where Neolithic families once lived, now home to bears, eagles, wolves, and leopards.
The World’s Most Dangerous Mountains|jversteegh|October 18, 2021|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.
‘Rich Kids’ reveals a different perspective on Middle East|Patrick Folliard|April 8, 2021|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.
A body burned inside a hut 20,000 years ago signaled shifting views of death|Bruce Bower|February 16, 2021|Science News
The shafts date to a time known as the Neolithic, or late Stone Age.
Underground mega-monument found near Stonehenge|Avery Elizabeth Hurt|August 11, 2020|Science News For Students

These are, researchers now think, part of one of the biggest Neolithic monuments in Europe.
Underground mega-monument found near Stonehenge|Avery Elizabeth Hurt|August 11, 2020|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.
Virgin Sacrifice and the Meaning of the Parthenon|Nick Romeo|February 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is no occasion to speak here of the many remains of neolithic man that have been exhumed.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
During the Neolithic and Bronze Ages we can dimly trace further immigrations.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
Even the influence of Neolithic intellectual life still remains.
Myths of Babylonia and Assyria|Donald A. Mackenzie
The fossils of the times between the Glacial period and the Neolithic period indicate variations of climatic conditions.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology|J. E. Marr
Of course, its appearance among the aborigines of America, we can imagine, must have been within the Neolithic period.
The Swastika|Thomas Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for Neolithic

Neolithic

/ (ˌniːəʊˈlɪθɪk) /

noun

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

relating to this period

Scientific definitions for Neolithic

Neolithic

[ nē′ə-lĭth′ĭk ]

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. Also called New Stone Age Compare Mesolithic Paleolithic.