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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheLostSoul" data-source="post: 1987966" data-attributes="member: 21237">Actually there is a third age. The Palaeolithic lasted up till the end of the last Ice Age, that is ca. 9500 BC. The two other human species that Homo Sapiens was living side by side with also died out at this point in time.The Mesolithic took over then and lasted until the Neolithisation (which varies highly form area to area). The Middle East saw the first neolithisation in the period from 8000 BC to 7000 BC. Around 6000 BC it had spread along the Mediterreanean coasts and around 4000 BC it had finally arive in Northwestern Europe. It varies more in other parts of the world.What constitutes a neolithic culture is also somewhat contested. There is no definitive answer to that question. Some archaeologist is of the opinion that herders can be said to be neolithisised (sp?), while other wants a more traditional agricultural system. Others holds that the introduction of ceramics, but that is very problematic as there are plenty of exampels of mesolithic cultures using ceramics.</blockquote>