The Early Neolithic of Iraqi Kurdistan: Current research at Bestansur, Shahrizor Plain

Abstract

Human communities made the transition from hunter-foraging to more sedentary agriculture and herding at multiple locations across Southwest Asia through the Early Neolithic period (ca. 10,000-7000 cal. BC). Societies explored strategies involving increasing management and development of plants, animals, materials, technologies, and ideologies specific to each region whilst sharing some common attributes. Current research in the Eastern Fertile Crescent is contributing new insights into the Early Neolithic transition and the critical role that this region played. The Central Zagros Archaeological Project (CZAP) is investigating this transition in Iraqi Kurdistan, including at the earliest Neolithic settlement so far excavated in the region. In this article, we focus on results from ongoing excavations at the Early Neolithic site of Bestansur on the Shahrizor Plain, Sulaimaniyah province, in order to address key themes in the Neolithic transition.Les communautés humaines ont fait la transition de chasseurs-foragers à une agriculture plus sédentaire et le maintien des stocks à plusieurs endroits à travers l'Asie du Sud-Ouest au cours de la période néolithique précoce (vers 10 000 à 7 000 Av. J.-C.). Les sociétés ont exploré des stratégies impliquant une gestion et développement intensifs des plantes, des animaux, des matériaux, des technologies et des idéologies propres à chaque région tout en partageant certains attributs communs. Les recherches actuelles dans le Croissant fertile oriental apportent de nouvelles perspectives sur la transition néolithique précoce et le rôle crucial que cette région a joué. Le Projet archéologique central de Zagros (CZAP) étudie cette transition au Kurdistan irakien, y compris le plus ancien site néolithique jusqu'à présent fouillé dans la région. Dans cet article, nous nous concentrons sur les résultats des fouilles en cours sur le site néolithique précoce de Bestansur sur la plaine de Shahrizor, province de Sulaimaniyah, afin d'aborder les thèmes clés de la transition néolithique.

Epipalaeolithic animal tending to Neolithic herding at Abu Hureyra, Syria (12,800–7,800 calBP): Deciphering dung spherulites

“…Outside of the middle Euphrates, many other examples of early small-scale tending are beginning to emerge. At early Neolithic Bestansur in the Shahrizor Plain of Iraq of the western Zagros foothills, for example, spherulites and omnivore coprolites document close proximity of animals and people within the settlement close to 10,000 years ago [ 33 ]. Beyond Southwest Asia, additional studies highlight the common practice of holding small numbers of animals immediately outside of a dwelling without penning, as people embarked on a transition from predominantly hunting to herding.…”

“…0.2–25%) of spherulites become darkened, serving as an indicator of burning [ 69 , 70 ], enabling identification of fuel use within pyric features. Spherulites dissolve within acidic conditions and sediments with high water flow-through, yet frequently occur on archaeological sites across Southwest Asia, where they have successfully documented animal penning, construction practices, and dung fuel use during the Neolithic [ 27 , 32 , 33 , 70 – 72 ]. Micromorphological samples have been used with much success to examine the in situ micro-archaeological context of spherulites, allowing for detailed reconstructions of depositional sequences [ 29 , 32 ].…”

“…Recent studies of animal dung in Neolithic and post-Neolithic sites have proven successful in recording a range of human activities that involve plants and animals, including on-site animal tending, penning, and use of dung as a fuel or construction material [28][29][30][31][32][33]. Despite the enormous potential of dung studies to explore the presence of animals on-site, they have not yet been widely applied to Epipalaeolithic sites to examine any changing relationships between people and animals, to some degree reflecting the belief that no other practices outside of hunting-and-gathering could have existed at that time (an assumption that was lamented more than 50 years ago by Higgs and Jarman [34] in their seminal article on the origins of agriculture).…”

Neolithic hydroclimatic change and water resources exploitation in the Fertile Crescent

“…Here, we present a multi-decadal hydroclimatic reconstruction spanning the 11.0–7.6 ka period (9000–5600 years BCE) obtained from a speleothem from the Zagros Mountains piedmont zone of Iraqi Kurdistan, located in the core region of the Fertile Crescent (FC). Current research along the Zagros high steppe and foothills indicates the region was a key zone in the Neolithic transition 3 . Ancient DNA evidence suggests that the area experienced an independent trajectory from hunter gathering to cultivation of cereal crops and animal husbandry 4 , 5 , 24 , while archaeological research indicates that it hosted some of the earliest, large and permanent settlements 3 , and some of the earliest evidence for pottery production 25 .…”

“…During the first half of the Holocene (11.6–7 ka, 9600–5000 BCE), human communities across SW Asia developed new strategies for living as sedentary farmers and herders following millennia of a mobile hunter-gathering existence 1 , 2 . This so-called “Neolithic Revolution” was a progressive and spatially nuanced process that involved fundamental social, economic, and technological transformations, resulting in the aggregation of people into permanent settlements 3 , the progressive domestication of animal and plant species 4 , 5 , and dramatic population growth 6 . Such innovations reorganized human–environment and social interactions, ultimately leading to the rise of complex societies 7 , 8 .…”