Neolithic Period

c. 7000 BCE to 1700 BCE

Ancient jade bi disc with raised dots on display.

The Neolithic Period was when people began to settle into communities

Neolithic China
Neolithic China

Basics

Foundations in historical thinking

Ancient calendar stone with text "BC vs. AD, BCE vs. CE" overlay, juxtaposed with a historical manuscript in the background.

VIDEO: What do BCE/BC and CE/AD mean?

Important terms and concepts

BC vs. BCE

AD vs. CE

East Asia

Neolithic China

c. 5000–2000 BCE

Prior to the development of writing, Neolithic China had an incredible flourishing of objects made in jade and ceramic—making these objects important for our understanding of early Chinese cultures

bi disc jade

VIDEO: Jade bi disk

lay vessel decorated with a running spiral using two colors from Neolithic China in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco

VIDEO: Running spiral on a Neolithic clay vessel

Artwork featuring a tall, textured metal rectangular sculpture in the center, flanked by two large circular sculptures with a hole in the middle, in an exhibition setting with a neutral background and a yellow circular object at the base.

VIDEO: What is a cong?

Ancient Chinese jade cong artifact with intricate carvings on display.

VIDEO: A Neolithic jade cong | An object story

Important terms and concepts

Neolithic

Jade

Universal running spiral

cong

bi

Go to the Complete Neolithic China Page
Go to the Complete Neolithic China Page

VIDEO: A black-stemmed cup and the reduction firing process

West Asia

Neolithic Jordan

c. 5000–3000 BCE

Ancient fragmentary sculpture of a human figure with a calm facial expression, missing parts, made of material resembling stone or ceramic, displayed on a surface against a plain background.

COMING SOON: ‘Ain Ghazal statues

Important terms and concepts

freestanding sculpture

The Ancient World

Learn more about the ancient historical world—such as Rome, Qin dynasty China, and Teotihuacan

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A bronze statue of a man riding a horse, with the man raising his right hand, located inside a glass-walled building.

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