The term Neolithic was coined in the 19th century, and it referred specifically to the period in Europe after that "Old Stone Age" when people first started using ground stone tools. It doesn't mean that today--in general, Neolithic refers to the period (usually in Europe and Asia) when people began to depend on domesticated crops and animals as a way of life. Today, I'm addressing the independent development of agriculture in the Americas, as a way of thinking about the Neolithic and what it means.
A few weeks ago, Faithful Reader Mark M asked if I was aware of evidence that there had been evidence collected of the independent invention of agriculture in Eastern North America.
Marshelder (Iva annua) is an early domesticated crop of Eastern North America. Photo courtesy USDA
I should have been aware, but wasn't, that growing evidence has been amassed that Archaic hunter-gatherers in the eastern woodlands of North America had domesticated a handful of oily and starchy seeds beginning about 3500 years ago.
Thanks, Mark!
- Eastern North American Neolithic, summary of the evidence
- Cucurbita pepo and Chenopodium berlandieri
- Salts Cave, Kentucky and Riverton, Illinois
- Guide to the Neolithic
Comments
There is evidence of agriculture at Presidio, TX, going back to prehistoric (Paleo) era.
Presidio, TX is the OLDEST continuous inhabited city in North America.
References, please, Pecos 45! Show us your evidence–I’d love to see it!