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Before c. 3000 BCE
Prehistoric Syria
Syria holds some of the earliest evidence of settled life anywhere: caves used across the Palaeolithic, and Neolithic villages where farming, herding and mudbrick building were first combined.
Period: Prehistory · before 3000 BCE
Dating of individual prehistoric layers is regularly revised as excavation continues.
Major historical events
- PalaeolithicVerified historical fact
Cave and rock-shelter occupation across the coastal range and interior.
- NeolithicVerified historical fact
Some of the world's earliest farming villages appear along the Euphrates.
Architecture
Round and later rectangular mudbrick houses, storage pits and plastered floors — the beginning of village architecture.
Religion, culture and daily life
Early agriculture, domesticated animals, flint tool industries and burial customs inside settlements.
Trade
Obsidian and shell finds indicate long-distance exchange well before writing.
Archaeological discoveries
- Euphrates valley village excavations
- Coastal cave sequences