ProofRead and Updated February 14th 2020

Addendum: Radiocarbon or Carbon-14 dating is probably one of the most widely used and best known absolute dating methods. It was developed by J. R. Arnold and W. F. Libby in 1949 and has become an indispensable part of the archaeologist's tool kit since. It's development revolutionized archaeology by providing a means of dating deposits independent of artifacts and local stratigraphic sequences. This allowed for the establishment of world-wide chronologies ... On the subject of radiocarbon dating see for instance Regents of the University of California or Radiocarbon Web-Info or Radiocarbon Journal ...

Corroboration of C-14 Chronology With Calibration Curves .....

Proto-Neolithic and Neolithic Cultures in the Middle East
The Birth of Agriculture - Livestock Raising - and Ceramics
A Calibrated C-14 Chronology 12500-5500 Calibrated BC
Radiocarbon Volume 43 : Number 3 : Pages 1191 -- 1202

With the further development of calibration curves all dates from the Proto-Neolithic and Neolithic cultures can now be calibrated. A total of 1300 C-14 dates were evaluated -- leading to the selection of 731 reliable dates. The C-14 dates are derived from 160 sites across the Middle East.

The period with Proto-Neolithic Cultures began around 12500 calibrated BC and lasted for more than 4000 years until circa 8400 calibrated BC. The advent of the true Neolithic in the Near East -- with agriculture and livestock breeding -- can reasonably be dated a little before 8000 calibrated BC; or more correctly between 8300 and 8000 calibrated BC during a phase that is called Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) in the Levant ...

The History of the Ancient Near East Electronic Compendium