istoryworld
All Events
The walls of the complex of caves at Lascaux in France are covered, over the years, with a vast number of paintings of animals
The La Brea tarpit in Los Angeles shows signs of human activity in the region
The principle of the bow and arrow is developed, with yew or elm for the bow and points of flint on the arrows
Needles of bone or ivory are now fine enough to take a thread as thin as horse hair
The walls of Altamira, an extensive cave in Spain, are decorated with paintings and engraved images of horses, deer and above all bison
Archaeological evidence reveals that the central plains of north America by now have a widespread human population
Hunter-gatherers gradually extend their territory far into South America
During the Mesolithic period (Middle Stone Age) humans continue to improve their tool-making skills but are still nomads and hunter-gatherers
A canine jaw, discovered in a cave in Mesopotamia, is the earliest evidence of the domestication of dogs
The Neolithic period (New Stone Age) includes any settled human community still using exclusively stone tools
As temperatures warm, the sea level rises, submerging the Bering land bridge and isolating the Siberian immigrants as the aboriginal Americans
Sheep are the first farm animals of which evidence of domestication survives, from a settlement in northern Iraq
Jericho, often quoted as the first town, grows into a settlement covering ten acres
Sun-dried bricks are used in the construction of buildings in Jericho
The spindle develops naturally in the process of twisting fibres into thread by hand
Humans cross from eastern Siberia to the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, according to the earliest traces left by the Jomon culture
As the ice cap recedes, hunter-gatherers move up the eastern side of America into Newfoundland and the prairie provinces of Canada
The ending of the most recent ice age, making large prey extinct and the land more fertile, both prompts and enables humans to develop permanent settlements
Human communities in the Middle East cultivate crops and domesticate animals, in the Neolithic Revolution
The Neolithic Revolution continues to take place, at different times around the world, as people form settled communities, living by agriculture and the breeding of animals instead of hunting and gathering
Wheat is grown in the Middle East - the first cereal cultivated by man
Emmer and Einkorn are the two types of wheat cultivated as the first crops in the Neolithic Revolution
A settlement at Jericho subsists mainly by the cultivation of wheat, one of a small number of communities known to be doing so by this time
Any community growing and storing grain, surrounded by other groups dependent on gathering food, has a new and urgent need for protection from its neighbours
The tower at Jericho is the world's earliest surviving fortification
