<P> The Neolithic , or New Stone Age , was approximately characterized by the adoption of agriculture . The shift from food gathering to food producing , in itself one of the most revolutionary changes in human history , was accompanied by the so - called Neolithic Revolution : the development of pottery , polished stone tools , and construction of more complex , larger settlements such as Göbekli Tepe and Çatal Hüyük . Some of these features began in certain localities even earlier , in the transitional Mesolithic . The first Neolithic cultures started around 7000 BCE in the fertile crescent and spread concentrically to other areas of the world ; however , the Near East was probably not the only nucleus of agriculture , the cultivation of maize in Meso - America and of rice in the Far East being others . </P>
<P> The Neolithic , or New Stone Age , was approximately characterized by the adoption of agriculture . The shift from food gathering to food producing , in itself one of the most revolutionary changes in human history , was accompanied by the so - called Neolithic Revolution : the development of pottery , polished stone tools , and construction of more complex , larger settlements such as Göbekli Tepe and Çatal Hüyük . Some of these features began in certain localities even earlier , in the transitional Mesolithic . The first Neolithic cultures started around 7000 BCE in the fertile crescent and spread concentrically to other areas of the world ; however , the Near East was probably not the only nucleus of agriculture , the cultivation of maize in Meso - America and of rice in the Far East being others . </P>
the stone age period that refers to the time after the start of agriculture is the
the stone age period that refers to the time after the start of agriculture is the
Neolithic
Neolithic