Pre-Pottery Research Articles

When environment meets culture in the arid margin of the Southern Levant

Research in the arid margins of the Southern Levant has revealed a series of cultural entities related to and interacting with analogues in the more mesic Mediterranean zone. These terminal Pleistocene (Epipalaeolithic) and early Holocene (Pre-Pottery Neolithic) foraging entities display clearly local traits reflecting restricted networking and adaptations at times when environmental conditions deteriorated, and the connections with contemporaneous cultural entities farther afield weakened, combined with connections with the wider pan-regional cultural entities. By examining the specific example of the short-lived Late Epipalaeolithic Harifian culture we attempt to illustrate the manner in which local social behaviours in the landscapes of the arid margins may have contributed to maximizing and prolonging cultural adaptations there especially during periods of variable, yet generally challenging environmental conditions during the Younger Dryas (YD), with a greater degree of isolation from the 'sown land'. Ultimately, a threshold was reached towards the end of the YD, and the Harifian adaptation ceased to be viable, so they had little choice but to abandon their former territories in the Negev and northern Sinai to more favourable environmental conditions, near and, perhaps, far. Speculatively, having to merge with different groups as conditions there were not improving and 'packing' was tight, may have contributed to the emergence of large-scale 'archaic' villages of the PPNA.

Inspired individuals and charismatic leaders

Recent fieldwork at Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) Göbeklitepe has revealed a life-size limestone statue of a wild boar in Special Building D, which, alongside discoveries from nearby contemporaneous sites, broadens our understanding of late hunter-forager communities, including the presence of (archaeologically speaking) invisible decision-makers. Evidence points to three groups from which these charismatic leaders could have emerged: storytellers, hunters and ritual experts. An important function of these leaders was to uphold traditional values in the face of changing lifeways in the Early Holocene, a period referred to here as the ‘hunter-gatherer crisis’. This paper also includes a summary of recent excavation results from Göbeklitepe.

A heart-shaped bone artifact from Körtiktepe

Along with the emergence of sedentary life, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) settlements brought revolutionary changes in production of material cultures as well as cultic and ritual activities, which are often argued to be associated with new waves of interactions between humans and their natural world. Körtiktepe of southeastern Turkey yielded by far the richest PPN assemblage in the world, standing among the very few earliest cultural and production centers which acted to be the predecessors of the development and spread of the Neolithic in West Asia. In this paper, we report a heart-shaped bone artifact which is one of the rarest finds in the extremely large cultural assemblage of Körtiktepe. The manufacture features indicate that the “heart-like” shape of this unique artifact was the product of intentional human activity. Overall archaeological context indicates its probable use as a bone pendant or amulet for the dead; providing the fact of its association with three early PPNA burials, many other ritual objects, and a large number of grave goods. Although difficult to argue for its association with the sense for “emotion”, “affection” or “love” in the present world, it is still significant that the unique specimen traces the symbolic presence and ritual use of the shape of a “heart” in West Asian prehistoric context back to the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic of around 10000 cal BC.

A reflection on neolithization in the plains of Behshahr and Neka in Eastern Mazandaran, Iran

About 70 years ago, C. S. Coon reported the sudden presence of domesticated animal species following a gap between the Mesolithic/Epi-Paleolithic and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN), based on data from excavations of the Hotu and Kamarband (Belt) Caves in the southeastern littoral of the Caspian Sea. Then, the first scientific step towards Neolithization studies in the region was taken by proposing a hypothesis that emphasized the import of Neolithic culture and domestication packages from the eastern wing of the Fertile Crescent, within the framework of diffusion theory. More recently, another hypothesis has been proposed that Neolithization in eastern Mazandaran is due to endogenous factors. These hypotheses were proposed despite serious weaknesses in both field studies and analyses. Lack of reliable evidence of domesticated species, inconsistency of paleo-climatology chronologies and data with archaeological periods, lack of subsistence and settlement data, problems of Mesolithic/Epi-Paleolithic to Neolithic chronology, and weaknesses in processing and analyses of archaeological data, are some of the problems in Neolithization studies in the region. The present paper intends to provide a proper analysis of the Neolithization studies in this region, and proposes the theory of low-level food production as a key component.

Drawing diffusion patterns of Neolithic agriculture in Anatolia

The data distribution for plant domestication in the various parts of Anatolia is uneven and quite scarce or altogether missing for large tracts of the region. The Southeastern Taurus region and Central Anatolia provide a relatively good Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) archaeobotanical record, which is also the case, to a certain degree, for Central Anatolia. The rest of present-day Turkey, e.g., the northeast region, Cilicia, the Lake District and major parts of western Anatolia (the Black Sea, Mediterranean coast and Marmara regions) provide mostly Pottery Neolithic (PN) archaeobotanical data. The PN sites in these regions appear to represent Neolithic “pioneer” communities that established new sites based on an agricultural economy, of which none predate the second half of the 8th millennium cal. BC. Evidently, domesticated plants that first appeared in the Southeastern Taurus region ca. 8500 cal. BC spread rapidly to western Syria, Cyprus and Central Anatolia a couple of hundreds of years later (still within the second half of the 9th millennium cal. BC). It took another millennium for domesticates and agriculture to reach western Anatolia. While the growing intensity of Neolithic research throughout Turkey (western Turkey included) in recent years may change the picture, for now, based on the available data, this is the emerging pattern and it deserves thought. Based on evidence from a range of relevant disciplines (geobotany, archaeobotany, agronomy, genetics, archaeology and ethnobotany) we support a “rapid” model for plant domestication in Anatolia (as opposed to the “protracted” model). We reconstruct the diffusion of domesticates and the new economy in Turkey and into Europe via maritime routes and through the inland “Anatolian Corridor.” We offer itinerant farming craftsmen (“expert harvesters”) as a possible mechanism in the diffusion of agricultural products during the Neolithic.

Isotopic and proteomic evidence for communal stability at Pre-Pottery Neolithic Jericho in the Southern Levant

As one of the key, long-term occupied sites in the Southern Levant, Jericho was one of the most important early Neolithic centres to witness social and economic changes associated with the domestication of plants and animals. This study applies strontium (87Sr/86Sr), oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotope analyses to the enamel of 52 human teeth from Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) layers of Jericho to directly study human diet and mobility and investigate the degree of consolidation and the flexibility of social organization of Jericho society in the PPN period. The results indicate only two non-local individuals out of the 44 sampled inhabitants identified by strontium isotope analysis and are consistent with the presence of a largely sedentary community at PPN Jericho with no evidence for large-scale migration. We also construct strontium spatial baselines (87Sr/86Sr map) with local 87Sr/86Sr signatures for the sites across the Southern Levant based on systematic compilation and analysis of available data. In addition, we apply proteomic analysis of sex-specific amelogenin peptides in tooth enamel for sex estimation of the sampled individuals (n = 44), the results of which showed a sex-biased ratio (more male than female detected in this sample pool) in Jericho society during the PPN period, which may be due to the limited sample size or selective ritual practices like particular burial zones used for specific groups. We also pretreated a batch of human bone samples recovered from PPNB Jericho for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses for dietary investigations. However, the extracted collagen showed poor preservation and no valid δ13C or δ15N data were obtained.

Reassessing the origin of lentil cultivation in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Southwest Asia: new evidence from carbon isotope analysis at Gusir Höyük

Lentils represent the most common pulse crop found in Southwest Asian Neolithic archaeobotanical assemblages. Using carbon isotope determinations and palaeoclimatic modelling this paper investigates variability and change through time in lentil growth habitats at Gusir Höyük, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic habitation site in the Upper Tigris basin of southeast Anatolia dated to the 12th and 11th millennia cal bp. The elevated lentil carbon isotope values from samples dated to ~ 10,500–10,300 cal bp possibly points to greater water availability and the potential onset of lentil cultivation at Gusir Höyük during the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B. The paper revisits previous hypotheses about the process and timing of initial lentil domestication in the region through a re-evaluation of materials available from other Neolithic sites in SW Asia. Its findings highlight the important role of wild lentil populations growing in higher-rainfall localities, which may have responded more readily to increasing water availability in the context of early cultivation. It also explores the potential offered by isotopic approaches for detecting early cultivation, highlighting the need for future studies on pulse and cereal crop progenitors in SW Asia and beyond.

Microarchaeological approach to underwater stratigraphy of submerged settlements: A case study of Atlit‐Yam Pre‐Pottery Neolithic site, off the Carmel Coast, Israel

AbstractThe investigation of submerged archaeological sites faces numerous logistical challenges in the recovery of stratigraphic sequences and, as a result, is often restricted to surface deposits limiting the application of geoarchaeology. This paper outlines a new integrated field and microanalytical methodological protocol to investigate deep stratigraphic sequences (up to 2 m) within the submerged Pre‐Pottery Neolithic (PPN) site of Atlit‐Yam (9267–7970 cal. B.P. [calibrated years before the present]). A new coring method for the extraction of deep underwater stratigraphy was developed to extract three cores: two between architectural remains within the site and one outside the site. The cores were analysed using Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, phytolith and pollen analysis and archaeological micromorphology to detect anthropogenic signals and undertake paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Our results indicate anthropogenic evidence at 95 cm depth based on the presence of heat‐altered sediments, high phytolith concentrations and micromorphological observations of archaeological remains. Radiocarbon analysis indicates the oldest anthropogenic layers date to the Mid Pre‐Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) and Late PPNB (9859–9323 cal. B.P.), bearing implications for reassessing the emergence of the first coastal Neolithic villages in the Mediterranean. Our integrated field and multiproxy micro‐geoarchaeological protocol offers a new approach to detecting and studying submerged archaeological sites worldwide.

Wealth in Livestock, Wealth-in-People, and Shifting Modes of Production in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Jordan – CORRIGENDUM

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Wealth in Livestock, Wealth in People, and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Jordan

Within archaeology, the value of livestock is usually presented in terms of use values, the calories and products animals provide humans. Yet domestic animals are also sources of wealth that accrue symbolic and social values, tying livestock production to the reproduction of human social relations. Taking a Marxist perspective that recognizes dialectical relations between forms of value, we develop a model based on ethnographic examples in which the cycling between use value and social/symbolic values adhering to wealth in livestock are mobilized for the reproduction of ‘wealth in people’, or the accumulation of rights stemming from relationships between people. This model of cycling between forms of value can be applied to many ethnohistorical agropastoral political economies. We apply it to Pre-Pottery Neolithic B societies (c. 8500–7000 bc) in Jordan. During this time, the mode of production shifted from one grounded in the community to one centered on extended households. We suggest wealth in people was a key asset for LPPNB households and that wealth in livestock served as a major component of, and a particular ‘moment’ within, its reproduction. This might help explain the accelerated pace by which livestock production overtook hunting in the southern Levant in the eighth millennium bc.

Plants to textiles: Local bast fiber textiles at Pre-Pottery Neolithic Çatalhöyük

Textiles from Neolithic Çatalhöyük are among the earliest and best-preserved woven plant artifacts from ancient Southwest Asia. Recent examinations of textiles from Çatalhöyük’s East Mound middle habitation phase (6700–6500 cal. B. C.) provide surprising evidence that instead of being made from flax (linen, Linum usitatissimum), as previously thought, the fibers are from the inner bark of trees (tree bast), some samples identified as bast from locally growing oak (Quercus sp.). The present paper reports on a separate analysis of five woven textile and two cordage fragments, also from the middle habitation phase. Our aims were to identify their raw material origins, distinguish the thread-making technology present, and to situate them within the broader chaîne opératoire of thread and textile making in the prehistory of the region. We observed that the thread-making technology was based on an end-to-end splicing method, and while agreeing with the earlier published study, that tree bast, not flax, was the source of the fiber, our results further suggest that elm (Ulmus sp.) and willow/poplar (Salicaceae) were also among the bast raw materials used in textile manufacture at the site. From these results we can infer that the textile makers possessed complex understandings of the biology, physiology, and seasonality of local wild tree genera throughout the surrounding environment.

Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia.

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.

Kaizer Hill (Modi'in), a pre-pottery neolithic a quarry site - the terraced slopes.

The research of the Kaizer Hill site (the Hilltop and its Terraces), recognized as a Pre Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) quarry site, involved studies of the rock damage associated with the quarrying activities as well as of the recovered material remains, mostly chipped stone artifacts. We present here the results of our on-site explorations (excavations, surveys and surface-collections), focusing on the findings deriving from the Terraces. Diverse rock damage patterns were identified and described, portraying systematic rock mass-exploitation through quarrying fronts, natural rock joints and fissures enlargement, drilling and chiseling. There are multiple indications that the local bedrock (Bi’na Formation, Turonian) comprising flint and limestone was quarried under a systematic quality evaluation, leaving residual flint unsuitable for exploitation. Of interest to note that nearly all of the flint artifacts excavated and collected on the Terraces were made on raw material transported from the Hilltop (Mishash Formation, Campanian), knapped in-situ, on the quarried rock surfaces of the slopes. The flint tools bear witness to intensive use involving mainly boring and drilling. The dominant tool type is the flint axe for which a variety of waste products related to its production were found in-situ, enabling the reconstruction of axe reduction sequence. Similar axes and waste products were found in many PPN sites indicating that there was a common, widely-used scheme of making flint axes during the PPN. Interestingly, besides the flint waste, there were also limestone waste products typical of the last shaping and thinning stages of axe production, indicating that limestone axes were shaped technologically similar to the flint ones, contrary to what has been assumed before. Rare findings, such as obsidian pieces, originating from much further a-field indicate ties with other PPN communities, near and/or far. Overall, this study provides unique and novel insights on Levantine PPN lifeways.

Symbolism in action: Techno-typology, function, and human-artefact dynamics in figured/non-figured bone plaques from Pre-Pottery Neolithic Boncuklu Tarla, Turkey

Among the artefacts of fundamental importance in the context of symbolism and iconography during the Neolithization process in northern Mesopotamia, there is much research about, and publication relating to, human figurines or statues, animal figurines or statues, figured stone objects, stone vessels, bone plaques, wall decoration (paint, relief, or incision) and stone pillars. While among these various research topics bone plaques have been noticeably less studied than other classes of small finds, they are gradually gaining importance. From the figurative and typological perspective, these objects carry importance for their visual characteristics and their regional variety, but it is notable that their typological differences and functions are still not well understood. This study opens a new debate about the techno-typological characteristics, regional distribution, and modes of use of these objects starting from a group of bone plaques recovered from burial contexts during the excavations of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement of Boncuklu Tarla in southeast Turkey. Portable symbolic artefacts are found to show significant overlaps between materials, iconography and use as well as regional identities and temporal continuities in techniques and decoration.

Review and Synthesis of the Early Neolithic Cultural Development in Fars, Southern Iran

After the eve of domestication of some wild species of cereal grains as well as sheep, goat, and pig in the Iranian central Zagros Mountains in the 2nd half of the 8th millennium BC, the process of Neolithization and sedentism began with earnest outside of this core region. This initial Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) phase appeared in Lowland Susiana, in the province of Khuzestan, southwestern Iran, and in highland province of Fars around 7200 BC. While the Pottery Neolithic (PN) phase in Susiana developed into a set of regionally uniform material culture, the contemporary PN landscape in Fars developed into a mosaic of regional cultures with both related and unrelated ceramic tradition. Yet, from the onset of PN, these early communities had inter-regional connection, as the presence of Persian Gulf shells, copper, and obsidian in many of these early settlements indicate. This mosaic of different ceramic traditions eventually developed into two distinct pottery traditions with specific geographic distribution in northern and southeastern Fars.

Bones geometric morphometrics illustrate 10th millennium cal. BP domestication of autochthonous Cypriot wild boar (Sus scrofa circeus nov. ssp)

Epipaleolithic hunter-gatherers from the Near East introduced wild boars (Sus scrofa) to Cyprus, with the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) settlers hunting the wild descendants of these boars. However, the geographic origin of the Cypriot boar and how they were integrated into the earliest forms of pig husbandry remain unsolved. Here, we present data on 11,000 to 9000 cal. BP Sus scrofa from the PPN sites of Klimonas and Shillourokambos. We compared them to contemporaneous populations from the Near East and to Neolithic and modern populations in Corsica, exploring their origin and evolution using biosystematic signals from molar teeth and heel bones (calcanei), using 2D and 3D geometric morphometrics. We found that the Cypriot PPN lineage of Sus scrofa originates from the Northern Levant. Yet, their phenotypic idiosyncrasy suggest that they evolved into an insular sub-species that we named Sus scrofa circeus, referring to Circe, the metamorphosis goddess that changed Ulysses companions into pigs. The phenotypic homogeneity among PPNA Klimonas wild boars and managed populations of PPNB Shillourokambos suggests that local domestication has been undertaken on the endemic S. s. circeus, strengthening the idea that Cyprus was integrated into the core region of animal domestication.

Körtiktepe’den kalp biçimli kemik bir buluntu

Along with the emergence of sedentary life, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) settlements brought revolutionary changes in production of material cultures as well as cultic and ritual activities, which are often argued to be associated with new waves of interactions between humans and their natural world. Körtiktepe of southeastern Turkey yielded by far the richest PPN assemblage in the world, standing among the very few earliest cultural and production centers which acted to be the predecessors of the development and spread of the Neolithic in West Asia. In this paper, we report a heart-shaped bone artifact which is one of the rarest finds in the extremely large cultural assemblage of Körtiktepe. The manufacture features indicate that the “heart-like” shape of this unique artifact was the product of intentional human activity. Overall archaeological context indicates its probable use as a bone pendant or amulet for the dead; providing the fact of its association with three early PPNA burials, many other ritual objects, and a large number of grave goods. Although difficult to argue for its association with the sense for “emotion”, “affection” or “love” in the present world, it is still significant that the unique specimen traces the symbolic presence and ritual use of the shape of a “heart” in West Asian prehistoric context back to the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic of around 10000 cal BC.

Beyond the Jordan

Recent excavations in Jordan have demonstrated a long sequence of development from the late Pleistocene Epipalaeolithic through the early Holocene Pre-Pottery Neolithic. Superficially, the growing body of social and subsistence evidence suggests Neolithic communities emerged from traditions rooted in the early Epipalaeolithic. However, while developments such as the construction of shelters, population aggregation, and subsistence intensification may be essential for the emergence of a Southwest Asian Neolithic, they are typical of contemporary hunter-gatherer societies and not inherently Neolithic. Notably, the Neolithic in Southwest Asia was not a homogenous entity, but instead supported diverse expressions of subsistence, symbolic behaviours, and cultural trajectories across the region. To understand the emergence and development of the Neolithic, we need to examine this richly diverse history and its many constituent pathways.

Investigating the function of Pre-Pottery Neolithic stone troughs from Göbekli Tepe – An integrated approach

An integrated approach using contextual, use-wear, scientific and experimental methods was used to analyze the role of stone troughs of up to 165 l capacity at the Early Neolithic site Göbekli Tepe in the context of other stone containers found there. Around 600 (mostly fragmentary) vessels from the site constitute the largest known assemblage from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Near East. Besides the large limestone troughs, it encompasses middle-sized, coarsely made limestone vessels, finely executed platters and ‘greenstone’ vessels. All lines of evidence taken together indicate the use of limestone troughs for the cooking of cereals.

Emergence of corpse cremation during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Southern Levant: A multidisciplinary study of a pyre-pit burial.

Renewed excavations at the Neolithic site of Beisamoun (Upper Jordan Valley, Israel) has resulted in the discovery of the earliest occurrence of an intentional cremation in the Near East directly dated to 7031-6700 cal BC (Pre-Pottery Neolithic C, also known as Final PPNB, which spans ca. 7100-6400 cal BC). The funerary treatment involved in situ cremation within a pyre-pit of a young adult individual who previously survived from a flint projectile injury. In this study we have used a multidisciplinary approach that integrates archaeothanatology, spatial analysis, bioanthropology, zooarchaeology, soil micromorphological analysis, and phytolith identification in order to reconstruct the different stages and techniques involved in this ritual: cremation pit construction, selection of fuel, possible initial position of the corpse, potential associated items and funerary containers, fire management, post-cremation gesture and structure abandonment. The origins and development of cremation practices in the region are explored as well as their significance in terms of Northern-Southern Levantine connections during the transition between the 8th and 7th millennia BC.