Domestication of plants and animals has been considered as one of the main characteristic features of the Neolithic stage of culture. The tern Neolithic was coined by Sir John Lubbock in his book Prehistoric Times (first published in 1865). He used this term to denote an Age in which the stone implements were more skill-fully made, more varied in form and often polished. Later on V. Gordon Childe defined the Neolithic-Chalcolithic culture as a self-sufficient food producing economy; and Miles Burkitt stressed that the following characteristic traits should be considered to represent the Neolithic Culture : 

• Practice of agriculture 
• Domestication of animals 
• Grinding and polishing of stone tools
• The manufacture of pottery. 

The concept of what is Neolithic has been undergoing some change in recent years. A recent study mentions that the term Neolithic should represent a culture of the pre-metal stage where the inhabitants had assured supply of food by cultivation of cereals and domestication of animals and led a sedentary life.