Posted on 05/15/2012 7:39:27 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Previously it was believed that, due to the island's geographic isolation, the first Neolithic farming societies did not reach Cyprus until a thousand years after the birth of agriculture in the Middle East... However, the discovery of Klimonas, a village that dates from nearly 9000 years before Christ, proves that early cultivators migrated to Cyprus from the Middle Eastern continent shortly after the emergence of agriculture there, bringing with them wheat as well as dogs and cats...
The archaeologists have found a few votive offerings inside the building, including flint arrowheads and green stone beads. A great many remnants of other objects, including flint chips, stone tools and shell adornments, have been discovered in the village. The stone tools and the structures erected by these early villagers resemble those found at Neolithic sites from the same period on the nearby continent. Remains of carbonized seeds of local plants and grains introduced from the Levantine coasts (including emmer, one of the first Middle Eastern wheats) have also been found in Klimonas.
An analysis of the bone remains found on the site has revealed that the meat consumed by these villagers came from the hunting of a small wild boar indigenous to Cyprus (the only large game on the island at the time), and that small domestic dogs and cats had been introduced from the continent. This would indicate that these early farming societies migrated from the continent shortly after the emergence of agriculture there. In addition, their ability to move a whole group of people long distances shows that they had already mastered maritime navigation at the dawn of the Neolithic period.
The Klimonas site will be excavated until the end of May 2012, and a new round of excavations will begin in 2013.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
The communal building in Klimonas partially excavated. It measures 10 m in diameter. Credit: J.-D. Vigne, CNRS-MNHN. This image is available from the CNRS photo library.
Small shell pendant left as an offering in the large communal building of Klimonas. Credit: J.-D. Vigne, CNRS-MNHN. This image is available from the CNRS photo library.
Archaeologists uncover early Neolithic activity on Cyprus
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wheat?
Why would wheat be the first crop there? :p
wheat?
Why would wheat be the first crop there? :p
Maybe they didn’t like going against the grain.
Sounds like a great reason to go!
Oh.
heh.
That is so bad.
Furrow a FReeper, I’m not all that funny.
I have lots of friends who have been there.
The squeaky cheese is truly iconic of the place.
Lots of kabobs.
They call it squeaky cheese because it squeaks on your teeth even when it has been grilled over a fire.
They say the Roman ruins in Turkish held Cyprus are really cool.
Quite lovely pendant.
Could be a lot of truth in that little pun.
It could be that the first settlers came from where wheat was first domesticated (Anatolia, I believe I read somewhere).
Wouldn't want to go against the grain if you only have one to go with.
I’d like to visit both sides of the green line.
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