5th millennium BC

"4004 BC" redirects here. For the Biblically based estimate of the creation of the Earth, see Ussher chronology.

Millennia:	6th millennium BC · 5th millennium BC · 4th millennium BC
Centuries:	50th century BC · 49th century BC · 48th century BC · 47th century BC · 46th century BC · 45th century BC · 44th century BC · 43rd century BC · 42nd century BC · 41st century BC

The Neolithic
↑ Mesolithic
Europe Boian culture Cernavodă culture Coțofeni culture Cucuteni-Trypillian culture Dudeşti culture Gorneşti culture Gumelniţa–Karanovo culture Hamangia culture Linear Pottery culture Malta Temples Petreşti culture Sesklo culture Tisza culture Tiszapolgár culture Usatovo culture Varna culture Vinča culture Vučedol culture Neolithic Transylvania Neolithic Southeastern Europe China Tibet Korea South Asia Mehrgarh
farming, animal husbandry pottery, metallurgy, wheel circular ditches, henges, megaliths Neolithic religion
↓ Chalcolithic

The 5th millennium BC saw the spread of agriculture from the Near East throughout southern and central Europe.

Urban cultures in Mesopotamia and Anatolia flourished, developing the wheel. Copper ornaments became more common, marking the Chalcolithic. Animal husbandry spread throughout Eurasia, reaching China. World population grew slightly throughout the millennium, maybe from 5 to 7 million people.

Cultures

• Badari culture on the Nile (c. 4400–4000 BC)
• Comb Ceramic culture (also endured the 6th, 4th)
• Maykop culture
• Yangshao culture
• Merimde culture on the Nile (c. 4570–4250 BC)
• Predynastic Egypt
• Proto-Austronesian culture is based on the south coast of China. They combine extensive maritime technology, fishing with hooks and nets and gardening. (c. 5000 BC)
• Samara culture
• Sredny Stog culture
• Lengyel culture in eastern Europe
• Ubaid culture
• Cycladic culture—a distinctive Neolithic culture amalgamating Anatolian and mainland Greek elements arose in the western Aegean before 4000 BC
• Vinča culture (also endured the 6th, 4th, and 3rd millennia)
• Yumuktepe and Gözlükule cultutes in south Anatolia

Events

• c. 5000 BC: Pelasgians migrate to the Balkans
• 5000–4500 BC: Għar Dalam phase of Neolithic farmers on Malta, possibly immigrant farmers from the Agrigento region of Sicily.
  

  

  Cucuteni-Trypillia culture
• 5000–4000 BC: Bowl, from Banpo, near Xi'an, Shaanxi, is made. Neolithic period. Yangshao culture. It is now kept at Banpo Museum.
• 5000–2000 BC: Neolithic period in China.
• 4900–4600 BC: Arrangements of circular ditches are built in Central Europe.
• 4800 BC: Dimini culture replaces the Sesklo culture in Thessaly (4800–4000 BC)
• c. 4500 BC: Settlement of Chirokitia dates from this period.
• c. 4500 BC: Ending of Neolithic IA (the Aceramic) in Cyprus
• c. 4350 BC: Kikai Caldera forms in a massive VEI7 eruption.
• 4300 BC: Theta Boötis became the nearest visible star to the celestial north pole. It remained the closest until 3942 BC when it was replaced by Thuban.
• c. 4250–3750 BC: Menhir alignments at Menec, Carnac, France are made.
• 4200 BC: Date of Mesolithic examples of Naalebinding found in Denmark, marking spread of technology to Northern Europe. (Bender 1990)
• 4100–3500 BC: New wave of immigration to Malta from Sicily leads to the Żebbuġ and Mġarr phases, and to the Ġgantija phase of temple builders.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• Rice is domesticated in China. Later it is introduced in the Ganges Valley and the rest of Asia (c. 5000 BC).
• Farming reaches Atlantic coast of Europe from Ancient Near East (c. 5000 BC).
• Maize is cultivated in Mexico (c. 5000 BC).
• Proto-writing, such as ideographic Vinča symbols, Tartaria tablets (c. 5000 BC)
• c. 5000 BC, Metallurgy appears.
• c. 5000 BC, Agriculture starts in Ancient Japan. Beans and gourds are cultivated.
• Plough is introduced in Europe (c. 4500 BC)
• Copper pins dating to 4000 BC found in Egypt.
• Water buffalo are domesticated in China
• Beer brewing is developed.
• Wheel is developed in Mesopotamia and India

Environmental changes

Holocene Epoch
↑ Pleistocene
Holocene/Anthropocene
Preboreal (10.3 ka – 9 ka), Boreal (9 ka – 7.5 ka), Atlantic (7.5 ka – 5 ka), Subboreal (5 ka – 2.5 ka) Subatlantic (2.5 ka – present)

Main article: Atlantic (period)

• 5000–4900 BC: The Older Peron transgression, a warm period that would dominate the 5th millennium, begins in this period.

Calendars and chronology

• 4713 BC: The epoch (origin) of the Julian Period described by Joseph Justus Scaliger occurred on January 1, the astronomical Julian day number zero.
• 4121 BC: Eduard Meyer's date for the creation of the Egyptian calendar, based on his calculations of the Sothic cycle.
• 4004 BC: According to the Ussher chronology, created by James Ussher based on the Old Testament of the Bible, this is when the universe is created at nightfall preceding October 23.