8th millennium BC

In the 8th millennium BC, agriculture becomes widely practiced in the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia.

Pottery becomes widespread (with independent development in Central America) and animal husbandry (pastoralism) spreads to Africa and Eurasia. World population is approximately 5 million.

Events

The south area of Çatalhöyük. An archaeological dig is in progress.

• c. 8000 BC—Ice Age 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 Pelopponese, Greece, 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 3,000 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 the 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

• c. 8000 BC—Glaciers form the rock formation in present-day New Hampshire, USA formerly known as the "Old Man of the Mountain."
• c. 7911 BC—Series of seven massive volcanic eruptions give volcanic skies and lowered temperatures for several centuries (ending 7090 BC). Locations not known, but show in polar ice. (NatGeo1986–9)
• c. 7640 BC—Date theorized for impact of Tollmann's hypothetical bolide with Earth and associated global cataclysm.
• c. 7220 BC—Eruption of Mount Edgecumbe, Alaska.
• Large outflow of fresh water from Black Sea into Aegean Sea.

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
• Agriculture in New Guinea Australia
• 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 5,000 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

• c. 7600 BC—Howick house in Northumberland, England is constructed.
• c. 7193 BC—According to Korean legend, an alliance of northern Altaic tribes under a "Huan" (Hun) ruler predates the establishment of China.

Science fiction

• The Emperor of Mankind from the Games Workshops Warhammer 40,000 series is born sometime in the 8000BC.
• 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.

References

1. ^ an average of figures from different sources as listed at the US Census Bureau's Historical Estimates of World Population
2. ^ Roberts, J: "History of the World.". Penguin, 1994.
3. ^ 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