The Neolithic Evolution

Subsistence

earliest evidence of domesticated broomcorn millet

8,350 BCE

earliest evidence of pig domestication

7,050 BCE

foxtail millet appears

6,750 BCE

agriculture based on millet begin to appear across North China

6,050 BCE

Dadiwan phase of "low-level" millet farming

5,850 BCE - 5,350 BCE

first evidence of rice domestication

5,050 BCE

Pottery

pottery at Xianrendong

18,050 BCE

pottery at Yuchanyan

16,350 BCE

pottery at Miaoyan

14,950 BCE - 13,250 BCE

pottery at Hutouliang

14,650 BCE - 13,050 BCE

pottery at Nanzhuangtou

10,050 BCE

density of pottery exceeds density of lithics for first time

5,050 BCE

Society and Culture

first evidence of sedentary villages in Northern China

7,050 BCE

Hemudu culture (South China)

5,000 BCE - 4500 BCE

Yangshao culture (North and Northwest China)

5,000 BCE - 1,500 BCE

Dawenkou culture (East Coast)

4,500 BCE - 2,500 BCE

Hongshan culture (North China)

3,500 BCE - 2,500 BCE

Longshan culture (East Coast)

2,500 BCE - 1,700 BCE

Archaeological Period

Early Neolithic period

10,000 BCE - 5,000 BCE

Late Neolithic period

5,000 BCE - 2,000 BCE

Climatic Conditions

Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)

21,050 BCE - 16,050 BCE

Bølling-Allerød

12,750 BCE - 10,750 BCE

Younger Dryas

10,850 BCE - 9,560 BCE

Holocene

9,550 BCE - 2014 CE