Modern materials science techniques have been used to study plaster materials and their processing in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. The invention of lime plaster can be traced back to at least the Epi-Paleolithic Geometric Kebaran (ca. 12,000 B.C.). Plaster production expanded in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, and the geographic distribution of lime and gypsum plaster indicates interactions and technological interchanges throughout the Near East. The invention of plaster technology and its evolution into an industry is a classic case of the long time interval between initial invention and the subsequent technological innovation coming into general use. Once begun, the industry underwent autocatalytic development and there were further innovations. Geographical distribution, patterns of production and usage, and product development are all supportive of the idea that incipient craft specialization and social complexity were well developed in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. In addition, plaster innovations achieved conditions necessary for metal smelting, provided all the necessary technology, and set the stage for the subsequent adoption of pottery as a Neolithic industry. Describing the Neolithic revolution in terms of the invention of pottery, plaster, and agriculture is incorrect; it was rather a period of industry establishment based on much earlier inventions.