The 12th millennium BC spanned the years 12,000 BC to 11,001 BC (c. 14 ka to c. 13 ka). This millennium is during the
Upper Paleolithic period. The
Paleolithic-
Mesolithic transition began in the
Near East during this millennium.[1] It is impossible to precisely date events that happened during this millennium, and all dates associated with this millennium are estimates mostly based on geological analysis, anthropological analysis, and radiometric dating.
There is material evidence for the build up of the
Mediterranean islands that is pointing to such activity as early as the 12-
11th millennium BC.[5] More than a century ago, it first became clear how much of the
Magdalenian and
Azilian underwent change in
Western Europe.[6] Since that time, these mutations succeeding one another between the 14th and 12th millennium BC, particularly during the Lateglacial warming, were often seen as a real revolution, frequently described through the filter of myths of catastrophes which then inspired and at times still influences prehistoric research.[6]
Human culture
Humans
No concrete archaeological evidence was found to substantiate a human presence in
Egypt throughout this millennium, according to
Egyptologists.[7] The time gap has been filled, at least, with comparable discoveries made at
Tushka in
Egypt during this millennium, showing continuity of human presence in the area from this antiquity all the way down to the start of history.[8]
Technology and agriculture
The frequency of occurrence of fundamental tool groups such as end-scrapers, burins, truncated pieces, backed pieces, perforators, and combination tools in
Moravian inventory is most closely matched and is dated to the late 13th - early
11th millennium BC.[9] From the 17th to the
9th millennium BC, no surface
pressure flaking technology is known to have existed in
Europe.[10] Only this millennium has the first conclusive evidence for deep-sea fishing and navigation in the
Strait of Gibraltar crossing.[11]
The
Hamburg cultures prevailed in
Schleswig-Holstein around the second half of this millennium.[14] The sites,
Göbekli Tepe, Gusir Höyük,
Nevali Çori, and
Karahan Tepe, have generated convincing proof of public rituals performed by shaman-like ritual practitioners and also indicate that collective celebrations of rites and rituals have existed since this millennium.[15]McNeish's excavations in Mexico's
Tehuacan Valley have revealed a series of cave cultural layers dating back to this millennium.[16]Jebel Sahaba, a prehistoric site of protracted violence, probably dates to this millennium.[17][18]
Arbuckle, Benjamin S. (2012). "11". In Potts, D.T (ed.).
Animals in the Ancient World(PDF) (1st ed.). Blackwell Publishing. p. 210. Retrieved 25 May 2023.