8th millennium BC

The 8th millennium BC covered the years from 8000 BC to 7001 BC, which we can think of as about 10,000 to 9,000 years ago. During this time, people were living in the early part of what scientists call the Holocene epoch. This was a very important period because it was entirely part of what is known as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B phase of the Early Neolithic.

Because we cannot know the exact dates of events from so long ago, all the dates we talk about from this time are estimates. These estimates are mostly based on studying rocks, soil, and other clues from nature, as well as using special science methods to measure very old materials. This time was a key part of early human history, when people were beginning to change the way they lived and worked the land.

Global environment

The 8th millennium BC was a time of big changes in Earth's climate. It was part of a period called the Greenlandian, which started after a cold time known as the Younger Dryas. During this time, the climate became warmer, glaciers started to melt, and sea levels rose. By the end of this millennium, the Earth entered a warm period called the Holocene Climate Optimum, which lasted for about 4,000 years.

There were also some big volcanic eruptions during this time. One of the largest happened at Fisher Caldera, producing a lot of material that spread far away. Scientists also talk about a possible event around 7640 BC when a space rock might have hit Earth, though this is still just a theory.

Population and communities

Outside the Near East, most people still lived in small groups that hunted and gathered food. In the Near East, new ways of living and working had started in places like the Fertile Crescent. By 8000 BC, people there were beginning to grow crops like wheat and barley and to raise animals such as sheep, goats, and cattle. These ideas slowly moved west, reaching areas like Greece and the Balkans.

The number of people in the world was growing very slowly. Estimates suggest there were about five million people around 10,000 BC, increasing to forty million by 5000 BC and 100 million by 1600 BC. This slow growth continued over many centuries.

Fertile Crescent

By around 7500 BC, many important places existed in or near the Fertile Crescent. These included Jericho, 'Ain Ghazal, Huleh, Tell Aswad, Tell Abu Hureyra, Tell Qaramel, Tell Mureibit, Jerf el Ahmar, Göbekli Tepe, Nevalı Çori, Hacilar, Çatalhöyük, Hallan Çemi Tepesi, Çayönü Tepesi, Shanidar, Jarmo, Zrebar, Ganj Dareh and Ali Kosh. Jericho, located in the Jordan Valley, remained one of the most important places during this time. Çatalhöyük was a large early settlement in southern Anatolia that grew from around 7500 BC until people left it about 5700 BC.

Pottery and dating systems

During the 8th millennium BC, people in the Near East did not use pottery made on a wheel because the wheel had not been invented yet. Instead, they made simple clay containers by hand, often using a method called coiling, and then baking them in pits. Archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon studied ancient Jericho and found no real pottery there, only items made from stone. She thought that items made from wood or plants would have rotted away over time.

To understand these old times, scientists use a system created by Arthur Evans for his findings at Knossos. Kenyon used this system to divide the time into phases. The phase called Pre-Pottery Neolithic B covers the whole 8th millennium, from around 8800 BC to 6500 BC. Later came the Pottery Neolithic phase, which started around 6500 BC and lasted until the beginning of the Bronze Age, around 3000 BC.

Main article: Pre-Pottery Neolithic A
Main article: Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
Main article: 4th millennium

Agriculture in the Americas

From around 8000 BC, people in the Americas, especially in parts of what is now Mexico, began to grow their own food. This was the start of farming in these areas. Early farmers grew crops like potatoes and squash. Over the next few thousand years, they also started growing chili peppers, maize (corn), peanuts, avocados, beans, cotton, sunflowers, cocoa, and tomatoes. These foods became important for the people living there.

Other cultural developments

The Mount Sandel Mesolithic site in Ireland is dated to about 7900–7600 BC. It was once thought to be the earliest known human activity on the island, but later discoveries pushed that date even further back.

Near Howick, Northumberland, a round-house was built around 7600 BC and used for about 100 years. A fossil of Homo sapiens from Combe-Capelle in southern France, found in 1909, is estimated to be about 9,500 years old, dating to around 7500 BC.

Mount Sandel Mesolithic site Ireland Alice and Gwendoline Cave round-house Howick, Northumberland radiocarbon dating Homo sapiens Combe-Capelle