around the world still lived in scattered hunter-gatherer communities which remained firmly in the Palaeolithic. The world population was probably stable and slowly increasing. It has been estimated that there were some five million people in 10,000 BC growing to forty million by 5000 BC and 100 million by 1600 BC. That is an average growth rate of 0.027% per annum from the beginning of the Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age. Near East From the beginning of the 9th millennium, Göbekli Tepe was inhabited after possibly being first occupied during the previous millennium. It is a carved stone hilltop sanctuary in south-eastern Anatolia which includes the world's oldest known megaliths. As with Göbekli Tepe, the site at Tell Qaramel, in north-west Syria, was inhabited from 9000 BC following possible first occupation in the previous millennium. In the same region, the settlement at Nevalı Çori has been dated about 8500 BC. Elsewhere in the Fertile Crescent, there is evidence of settlements at Mureybet and Ganj Dareh from around 8500 BC. Towards the end of the millennium, by 8200 BC, the site of Aşıklı Höyük in central Anatolia was first occupied (until around 7400 BC). Europe It is believed that European sites settled before 8500 were still Palaeolithic, or at best Mesolithic, communities. At Star Carr in North Yorkshire, the results of radiocarbon analysis in 2018 indicate that occupation first commenced between 9335 and 9275 BC, lasting for a period of around 800 years until 8525–8440 BC, although such occupations may have been episodic in nature, varying in intensity between different periods. Archaeological excavations at Cramond in prehistoric Scotland have uncovered evidence of habitation dating to around 8500 BC. Another settlement may have been established at Ærø in Denmark. Japan In Japan, the Jomon culture had probably been established by small communities on the Pacific side of Honshu by this time. The word means "cord-pattern", referring to the distinctive pottery of the period. As there was no potter's wheel, the clay was prepared in the shape of a rope and manually coiled upwards to create a vessel that was baked in an open fire. At first, the vessels were simple bowls and jars but later became artistic. Proposed dates for the start of the Jomon are wildly variable, ranging from the Ice Ages to as late as c. 4500. It is generally accepted that the period ended c. 300 BC when