8th millennium BC
In the 8th millennium BC, agriculture became widely practised in the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia.
Pottery became widespread (with independent development in Central America) and animal husbandry (pastoralism) spread to Africa and Eurasia. World population was approximately 5 million.
Events
- c. 8000 BC—The last glacial period ends.
- c. 8000 BC—Upper Paleolithic period ends.
- c. 8000 BC—7000 BC—Paleolithic–Neolithic overlap (Mesolithic).
- c. 8000 BC—2300 BC—Neolithic period.
- c. 8000 BC—Settlement in Franchthi Cave in Peloponnese, continues. First evidence of seed and animal stocking (lentils, almonds) and obsidian trade with Melos. The settlement was continuously occupied since 20,000 BC and abandoned in 3000 BC.
- c. 8000 BC—Settlements at Nevali Cori in present-day Turkey are established.
- c. 8000 BC—Settlements at Sagalassos in present-day southwest Turkey are established.
- c. 8000 BC—Settlements at Akure in present-day southwest Nigeria are established.
- c. 8000 BC—Settlements at Øvre Eiker and Nedre Eiker in present-day Buskerud, Norway are established.
- c. 8000 BC—Settlements at Ærø, Denmark are established.
- c. 8000 BC—Settlements at Deepcar near present-day Sheffield, England are established.
- c. 8000 BC—North American Arctic is inhabited by hunter-gatherers of the Paleo-Arctic Tradition.
- c. 8000 BC—Pre-Anasazi Paleo-Indians move into present-day Southwest United States.
- c. 8000 BC—Plano cultures inhabit the Great Plains area of North America (from 9th millennium)
- c. 8000 BC—World population: 5,000,000[1]
- c. 7500 BC—Settlements at Sand, Applecross on the coast of Wester Ross, Scotland are constructed.
- c. 7500 BC—Çatalhöyük, a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern Anatolia, is founded.
- c. 7500 BC—Cattle Period begins in the Sahara.
- c. 7500 BC—Mesolithic hunter-gatherers are the first humans to reach Ireland.
- c. 7370 BC—End of the large settlement at Jericho.
- c. 7200–5000 BC—Ain Ghazal, Jordan is inhabited. 30 acres (120,000 m2).
Environmental changes
Inventions, discoveries, introductions
- Rise of agriculture.
- Bladed tools found in southwest Iran date from around 8000 BC. They were made from Obsidian that had been transported from Anatolia.[2]
- Potatoes and beans are cultivated in South America
- Beginning of millet[3] and rice cultivation in East Asia
- Domestication of the cat and Bos aegyptiacus ox in Ancient Egypt
- Domestication of sheep in Southwest Asia
- Huts, hearths, granaries, and nonportable stone tools for grinding grains Africa
- Catal Huyuk, men wear animals skins, plus hats of the same material Asia
- Houses, kilns, pottery, turquoise carvings, tools made from stone and bone, and bone flutes China
- Clay and plaster are molded to form statues at Jericho and cAin Ghazal Mediterranean
- First evidence of incised "counting tokens" about 9,000 years ago in the Neolithic fertile crescent. Asia
- Japanese potters begin to decorate pottery cooking vessels Japan
- Simple pottery traditions sometimes with cord impressions or other decorative markings Korea
- Evidence of wheat, barley, sheep, goats, and pigs suggests that a food-producing economy is adopted in Aegean Greece
- Franchthi Cave in the Argolid, Greece, attests to the earliest deliberate burials in Greece
- North Sea: North Sea bottoms are largely dry land before this period. England
- Pottery making, burial mound construction, and garden technology Mexico
- In the valley of Mexico, chili peppers and "grain" (amaranth & maize) are grown.
- World—Between 12,000 BC and 5000 BC it appears that massive inland flooding was taking place in several regions of the world, making for subsequent sea level rises, which could be relatively abrupt for many worldwide
Cultural landmarks
In works of fiction
- Jebediah of Canaan, better known as the wizard Shazam of DC Comics, is born near the end of the millennium. Some references say 7061 BC.
- In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, the birth of the Emperor of Mankind is placed in Central Anatolia at some point during this millennium.
- The ancient civilisation of Atlantis is saved by five magical children in Anthony Horowitz's Power of Five series in 8000 BC.
- In the Japanese series Sailor Moon, the Silver Millennium culture on the Moon is brought to an end at this time.
- In 2268 of Star Trek: The Original Series, the crew of the starship USS Enterprise rush to stop an asteroid from colliding with a Federation world, but discover the asteroid called Yonada is actually an inhabited multi-generation ship of millions of people. It is learned that the Fabrini people are the ones who constructed the asteroid ship 10,000 years ago, before their star exploded into a supernova and head to a new home planet light-years away.
- In Stargate universe, the ancient human civilization of 8000 B.C encounters a Pyramidal Spacecraft, supposedly of the Alien Ra, who has been searching the Galaxy for a Host which can sustain his dying form and prevent his demise. Upon encountering Humans , he decides to possess the body of a young Egyptian boy and rules the planet Earth as a God . His Godly status is enhanced by his superior technology which seems to humans like sheer 'Magic'.
- The D'ni first travel to Earth around 7656 B.C.
- In Mortal Kombat, the live action movie, antagonist Shang Tsung mentions Princess Katana as being 10,000 years old. (1995-10,000=8005BC)
References
- ^ an average of figures from different sources as listed at the US Census Bureau's Historical Estimates of World Population
- ^ Roberts, J: "History of the World.". Penguin, 1994.
- ^ Lu H, Zhang J, Liu KB, Wu N, Li Y, Zhou K, Ye M, Zhang T, Zhang H, Yang X, Shen L, Xu D, Li Q. (2009). Earliest domestication of common millet (Panicum miliaceum) in East Asia extended to 10,000 years ago. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 106: 7367–7372 PubMed