Editing History of Jordan (section)

==Stone Age==
{{Further|Prehistory of the Levant}}{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2020}}
{{History of the Levant}}
[[File:This basalt stone is incised with a scene showing two animals, probably gazelles. From Dhuweila, eastern Jordan, c. 6200 BCE. British Museum.jpg|thumb|left|This basalt stone is incised with a scene showing two animals, probably gazelles. From Dhuweila, eastern Jordan, c. 6200 BCE. British Museum]]
Evidence of human activity in [[Jordan]] dates back to the [[Paleolithic]] period. While there is no architectural evidence from this era, archaeologists have found tools, such as flint and basalt hand-axes, knives and scraping implements.

In the [[Neolithic]] period (8500–4500 BC) three major shifts occurred. First, people became [[sedentary lifestyle|sedentary]], living in small villages, and discovering and domesticating new food sources such as cereal grains, peas and lentils, as well as goats. The human population increased to tens of thousands.

Second, this shift in settlement pattern appears to have been catalyzed by a marked change in climate. The eastern desert, in particular, grew warmer and drier, eventually to the point where it became uninhabitable for most of the year. This watershed climate change is believed to have occurred between 6500 and 5500 BC.

Third, beginning sometime between 5500 and 4500 BC, the inhabitants began to make [[pottery]] from clay rather than plaster. Pottery-making technologies were probably introduced to the area by craftsmen from Mesopotamia.

The largest Neolithic site in Jordan is at [[Ayn Ghazal (archaeological site)|Ein Ghazal]] in [[Amman]]. The many buildings were divided into three distinct districts. Houses were rectangular and had several rooms, some with plastered floors. Archaeologists have unearthed [[Plastered human skulls|skulls covered with plaster]] and with bitumen in the eye sockets at sites throughout Jordan, Israel, the [[Palestinian Territories]] and [[Syria]]. A statue discovered at Ein Ghazal is thought to be 8,000 years old. Just over one meter high, it depicts a woman with huge eyes, skinny arms, knobby knees and a detailed rendering of her toes.