31441800-Prehistoric-Settlements-of-the-Middle-East.pdf
Transcript of 31441800-Prehistoric-Settlements-of-the-Middle-East.pdf
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IDDLE EAST
THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZARTION
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THE MIDDLE EAST
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LOWER PALEOLITHIC
2,700,000- 200,000 BC
MIDDLE PALEOLITHIC
200,000- 30,000 BC
UPPER PALEOLITHIC
40,000- 12,000 BC
MESOLITHIC
12,000- 5000 BC
PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC
9500- 4500 BC
POTTERY NEOLITHIC
4500- 3300 BC
CHALCOLITHIC4500- 3300 BC
EARLY BRONZE3300- 2200 BC
MIDDLE BRONZE
2200- 1550 BC
LATE BRONZE
1550-1200 BC
TIME PERIODS 2,700,000- 1200 BC
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ALEOLITHIC : SUSTENANCE
2,700,000- 200,000 BC
Throughout the Palaeolithic, humans werehunters, fishers, and gatherers
; in fact for thegreater part of the Lower Palaeolithic, early humans (Australopithecus, Homo habilis, and
Homo erectus) were probablyscavengers
rather than hunters.
It was during the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic that hunting really came into its own, andbecame more
efficient
, with morespecialized tools
andcommunal drives
.
Hunters concentrated on herbivoressuch as the horse, bison, deer, goats, and antelopes,
depending on the climate which fluctuated through the Ice Ages.
Artists rendition of hunting scene.www.methodfitness.com
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ALEOLITHIC : SHELTER
2,700,000- 200,000 BC
Palaeolithic peoples appear to have been
highly mobile
, ornomadic
, moving with theanimals that they hunted or with the seasons.
Throughout the Lower Palaeolithic, they musthave lived mostly in
flimsy camps
, traces ofwhich are found primarily in open-air sites
and river terraces
, though somecaves
werealso occupied. In the Middle and Upper
Palaeolithic cave-mouths and rock-shelterswere far more intensively and extensivelyused, but people also continued to live in
open-air settlements.
In the Lower Palaeolithic, simple windbreaksor crude hutswere erected, but by the Upper
Palaeolithic there is evidence for light tentssophisticated huts made of hundreds of
mammoth bones.
An assortment of prehistoric tools provides evidenceof the hunting and gathering methods of early
peoples. Slabs ofbark
were often used to gather nutsand berries and functioned as crude dishes or bowls(top left). Reproductions of fishing tackle and arrowsbelieved to have been used around 8000 BC aredisplayed on the lower left. Recovered tools fordigging and cutting (right) are shown with recreatedwooden handles. The heads of the adzesare madefrom flint, as is the fire-startershown below them.Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia
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ALEOLITHIC : FIRE
2,700,000- 200,000 BC
Fire appears to have been masteredby
1.5 million years ago
, andhearths
are commonplace in living-sites ofthe Middle and Upper Palaeolithic.
Fire was probably used originally for
light
,warmth
, andprotection from
wild animals, but eventually also forcooking food.
By the Upper Palaeolithic it was also
being used forheating flint
to makeit more workable; forchanging the
colours of mineral pigments; and insome areas for firing clay figurines
and vessels. www.dkimages.com
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ALEOLITHIC : BURIAL
2,700,000- 200,000 BC
The first clear evidence of burialpractices occur during the Middle
Palaeolithic. One NeanderthalburialatShndr Cave, Iraq
appears to have been accompanied byflowers. It is in the Upper Palaeolithic
that burial becomes moreelaborate
,with red ochre, grave goods, and
beads
, as well as other forms ofornamentation
, andtools
.
PALEOLITHIC : ART
2,700,000- 200,000 BC
Similarly, while somerudimentary
examples of art are known from theMiddle and even the Lower
Palaeolithic, it is in the UpperPalaeolithic on every continent that
figurative art appears, as rock or caveart or as portable engravings and
carvings
.
The Red Lady ofPaviland is afairly completeUpperPaleolithic-erahuman maleskeleton dyed inred ochre.
www.pembrokestory.org
Horse (c.
15,000-10,000BC), Lascaux,Francearthistory.about.
com
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OLDOWAN ERA
2,580,000- 1,500,000 BC
The Oldowan era is theearliest
formallyrecognized cultural tradition of the
Lower Paleolithic and Oldowan tools arethe oldest known, appearing first in theGona and Omo Basins in Ethiopia. They
are named after theOlduvai Gorge
site innorthern Tanzania, and are associated
withomo habilis
andomo
rudolfensis.Oldowan hominids primarilygatheredfruits and vegetables and
scavenged medium and large size game .
Possibly, like chimpanzees, Oldowanhominids occasionally killed small game
to supplement their diet.
insidethecosmiccube.blogspot.com
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The tools likely came at the end of a longperiod of
opportunistic tool usage
:chimpanzees today use rocks, branches, leaves
and twigs as tools. The key innovation is thetechnique of chipping stonesto create a
chopping or cutting edge. Most Oldowan tools
were made by a single blow of one rockagainst another to create a sharp-edged flake.
Flakes were used primarily ascutters
,probably to dismember game carcasses or tostrip tough plants
. Fossils of crushed animal
bones indicate that stones were also used tobreak open marrow cavities. And Oldowan
deposits include pieces of bone or hornshowing scratch marks that indicate they were
used as diggersto unearth tubers or insects.
OLDOWAN TOOLS
2,580,000- 1,500,000 BC
Oldowan stone tools were simply broken to give a sharpedgewww.ushumans.net
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OLDOWAN SITES
2,580,000- 1,500,000 BC
Erq-el-Ahmar is a rock-shelter located in the Wadi Khareitoun southeast ofBethlehem. The site had pebble tools belonging to the Oldowan era.
YIRON, ISRAEL: 2,400,000 BC
The early human colonization of south Asia is represented by stone toolassemblages in the Siwalik hills at Riwat, near Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Pebble
core, flake and chopping tools have been found.
Kashafrud Basin provides evidence of the oldest-known human occupation ofIran. There are some collections of simple core and flake stone artifacts made of
quartz, indicating skill and good knowledge, since quartzs friable naturerequires experience and control.
El-`Ubeidiya in the Jordan Rift Valley preserves traces of the earliest migrationof Homo erectus out of Africa. The site yielded core-flake (developed Oldowan)
tools.
The oldest occurrence of Oldawan art is in Yiron, in the north of the Israeli Rift
where flint artefacts were found.
RIWAT, PAKISTAN
:>1,900,000 or 2,500,000 BC
UBEIDIYA, ISRAEL
:1,400,000- 1,100,000 BC
KASHAFRUD, IRAN
: 800,000 BC
ERQ-EL-AHMAR, ISRAEL
:1,96,000- 1,78,000 BC
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ACHEULEAN TRADITION
1,400,000-100,000 BC100,000 BC
The Acheulean Tradition gets its name from the site of St. Acheul, France. The Acheuleantradition originated in Sub-saharan Africa, and early forms of Homo spread the
culture out of Africa into thenear east, southern
andwestern Europe
. They continuedwith large, medium andsmall game hunting, scavenging andgathering.
By 500,000 years ago the Acheulean methods had penetrated into Europe, primarilyassociated with omo heidelbergensis, where they continued until about 200,000 yearsago. The industry spread as far as the Near East and India, but apparently never reached
Asia, where Homo erectuscontinued to use Oldowan tools right up to the time thatspecies went extinct.
Bhimbetka, Auditorium Cave, Madhya Pradesh:Acheulian Petroglyph Site, c. 200,000 - 500,000 BC.
Acheulian artisans who placed the cupules on
Chief's Rock may have seen the rock as a figurationof one or even two elephants. The larger 'elephant'appears to have a flake removed to create the eye.
The possible smaller 'elephant' which appears tohave two eye chips (noted in highlight) has a verysteeply sloping back, which suggests a very young
elephant.
www.originsnet.org
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ACHEULEAN TOOLS
1,400,000-100,000 BC100,000 BC
Phases in the experimental reduction of a hand axe.blogs.sciencemag.org
The tradition is characterized bybifaces
i.e. largebifacially flaked stone tools, such as hand axes,
cleavers
andpicks
. The most common tool materialswere
quartzite, glassy lava, chert
andflint
. Makingan Acheulean tool required both strength and skill.
The key innovations were
chipping the stone from both sides to produce asymmetrical
(bifacial)cutting edge
the shaping of an entire stoneinto a recognizableand repeated tool form
variationin the tool forms for different tool uses.
Acheulean tools show aregularity of design and
manufacturethat is maintained for over a millionyears. This is clear evidence of specialized skills anddesign criteria
that werehanded down
byexplicit
socializationwithin a geographically dispersedhuman culture. 1
1: http://www.handprint.com/LS/ANC/stones.html
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Large cutting tools have been
known for a long time in South Asiaand have always been considered to
be related to the Acheulian. Thecharacter of the Indian Acheulian,
however, has not been welldescribed and its evolution is poorly
known, as there are few sites whichare dated.
The large cutting tools (especiallycleaversbut also hand axes) are
mostly based on the production oflarge flakes
.
They compare well with the earlyAcheulian from other parts of the
world.
ACHEULEAN SITES :INDIA
1,200,000-100,000 BC69,000 BC
1 Dina and Jalalpur, Pakistan 2 Didwana, Rajasthan3 Adi Chadi Wao & Umrethi, Guj. 4 Pilkasaur, MP5 Navasa, Maharashtra 6 Bori, Maharashtra7 Yudurwadi, Maharashtra 8 Isampur, Karnataka9 Attaripakkam, Tamil Naduwww.assemblage.group.shef.ac.uk
1
2
3
4
5
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8
9
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SITE AGE CHARACTERISTICS
Adi Chadi Wao, Gujarat 69,000 BC Final AcheulianKaldevanhalli 174,000- 166,000 BC
Umrethi, Gujarat 190,000 BC
Didwana, Rajasthan > 390,000 BC Levallois technique
Teggihalli, Karnataka > 350,000- 287,333 BC Late AcheulianSadab, Karnataka 290,405 BC Late Acheulian tools, red
ochre
Nevasa, Maharashtra > 350,000 BC Late Acheulian, Levalloistechnique
Yudurwadi, Maharashtra > 350,000 BC Late AcheulianDina and Jalalpur, Pakistan 700,000- 500,000 BC
Bori, Maharashtra 670,000- 537,000 BC Acheulian with trihedrals
Isampur, Karnataka > 1,200,000 BC
ACHEULEAN SITES :INDIA
1,200,000-100,000 BC69,000 BC
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UBEIDIYA, ISRAEL
1,400,000-1,100,000 BC
Ubeidiya is an early paleolithic archaeologicalsite located on a low rise in the
Jordan Valley
of
Israel, and is one of theoldest hominid sites
outside of Africa.
Bone found at the site include extinct species ofhippopotamus and deer, and molluscs; hominid
teeth
were found at the site, unidentifiable to
species.
The site consists of several identified 'living floors'of concentrations of Acheulean tools such as
handaxes, picks, and bifaces
, andpebble-core
tools and flake-tools.
Homo erectuspopulations effortlessly shiftedtheir stone tool technology between theproduction of large cutting tools (picks,
handaxes, cleavers, etc.) and pebble-core
reduction.
Core tools of theOldowan type
were found in'Ubeidiya, Israel(I), as wereAcheulianbifaces (II)www.uiowa.edu
(I)
(II)
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HOLON, ISRAEL
201,000-198,000 BC
Excavations at the open-air siteof
Holon, Israel, have provided aunique perspective on homininbehavior, technology, andsubsistence strategies in the MiddleEast.
Late Acheulian tools found usetrifacial reduction method. Theflakes were not derived from handaxes but rather from corereductions.
Tools from the Paleolithic site of Holon,Israel.A: Handaxe.B: Chopper.C: Retouched Flake.www.semioticon.com
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Traces of human existence found in Anatolia date back to approximately 2 million yearsago. Many sites have remains of the
Homo Neanderthal
species along with tools and
implements.
Turkey
www.google.com
Yarimburgaz
Maarack
Karain and Belbacaves
Dlk
ANATOLIA
600,00010,000 BC
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ANATOLIA
600,00010,000 BC
Earth was covered with ice during this age.
Human beings were hunters and gatherers,andsurvived in small groups.
Their style of living was nomadic.
Control over fire was gained through the end of the age.
Primitive religious believes called totemismwere alsoseen in this age. [1]
1. Birth Of Civilizations, Microsoft Word Document, www. turkishdaysinny.org 2. www.wikipedia.org
A totemis any supposed entity thatwatches over or assists a group ofpeople, such as a family, clan, ortribe.
Totems support larger groups thanthe individual person. In kinship anddescent, if the apical ancestor of aclan is nonhuman, it is called a totem.Normally this belief is accompaniedby a totemic myth. [2]
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Yarimburgaz (The city of Bathonea, near Istanbul)
humans (homo-erectus) occupied the area from 800,000 BC.
Pre-pottery neolithic naviform tools and cores, made inneolithic potteries. homo-sapiens have occupied the area forthe past 15 millennia.
Karain and Belbai caves (Antalya)
Among the finds are many carved stone and bone tools,
moveable art objects, remains of the bones and teeth of HomoNeanderthal and Homo Sapiens, burnt and unburned animaland bread fossils.
Dlk (Gaziantep)
Ma
arack
(Antakya)
Excavation site at Yarimburgazwww.heritage-key.com
A Lower Paleolithic chopper fromBalitepe, NW Turkeywww. pb-archaeology.blogspot.com
Karain Caveswww.flickr.com
ANATOLIA
SITES
600,00010,000 BC
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TABUN CAVE, ISRAEL
387,000-100,000 BC40,000 BC
The Tabun Cave, located at Mount Carmelwas occupied intermittently during the
Lower and Middle Paleolithic ages
. Itfeatures one of the longest sequences ofhuman occupation in the Levant.
Large amounts of sea sand and pollen tracesfound suggest a
relatively warm climate
at
the time. TheCoastal Plain was narrower
than it is now, and was covered withsavannah vegetation
.
The cave dwellers of that time usedhandaxes of flint or limestone for killing
animals
(gazelle, hippopotamus, rhinocerosand wild cattle) and for digging out plant
roots
. Over time, thehandaxes became
smaller and better shaped, and scrapersmade of flint were probably used for
scraping meat off bones
and forprocessing
animal skins
.
B: 40,000 years C: 150,000 yearsD: 250,000 years E: 400,000 yearsF: 500,000 years G: 1,000,000 years
dottieandrichard.info
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TABUN CAVE, ISRAEL
387,000-100,000 BC40,000 BC
Neanderthal woman found at Tabun in Israelmathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com
Theupper levels
in the Tabun Cave consistmainly of clay and silt, indicating that a
colder, more humid climate
prevailed; thischange yielded awider coastal strip
,covered by dense forests and swamps. Thematerial remains from the upper strata of
the cave are of the Mousterian culture(about 200,000 - 45,000 years ago).
The large number of fallow deer bonesfound in the upper layers of the Tabun
Cave may be due to thechimney-like
openingin the back of the cave whichfunctioned as a natural trap. The animals
may have been herded towards it, and fellinto the cave where they were butchered.
The Tabun Cave contains aNeanderthal-
type female, dated to about 120,000 yearsago. It is one of the most ancient human
skeletal remains found in Israel.
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MOUSTERIAN
INDUSTRY
2,00,000-40,000 BC
Named after the site of Le Moustier, arock shelter in France, Mousterian
describes a style of predominantly flinttools (or industry).
The Mousterian industry appeared inmuch the same areas of unglaciated
Europe,
theNear East
andAfrica
whereAcheulean tools appear. In Europe these
tools are most closely associated
with omo neanderthalensis,butelsewhere were made by bothNeanderthals and early
omo sapiens.
Artists rendition of a neanderthal
www.google.com
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Mousterian toolmakers either shaped a
rock
into arounded surfa
ce beforestriking off the raised area to get a wedgeshaped flake, or they shaped the core as a
long prism
of stone before striking offtriangular flakes from its length.
Tools included smallhand axes
,flake
tools probably used as knives and toothedinstruments produced by making notches
in a flake, perhaps used as saws or shaftstraighteners. Wooden spearswere used
tohunt
large game such as mammoth andwooly rhinoceros. Scrapersappear for thedressing of animal hides, which were
probably used for shoes, clothing,bedding, shelter, and carrying sacks.
MOUSTERIAN
TOOLS
2,00,000-40,000 BC
Neanderthal toolswww.boneclones.com
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By this time the entire process hadstandardizedinto explicit stages (basic
core stone, rough blank, refined finaltool). Variations could be produced bychanges at any stage. A consistent goal
was to maximize the cutting areawhichmade the process more labour intensive
but also meant that the tools could be
reshaped or sharpened
, so that theylasted longer.
Because tools were combined with othercomponents (handles, spear shafts) and
used in wider applications (dressing
hides, hunting large game), thistechnology led to manufacturing
activities in other materials
. Mousteriantool making procedures made possiblethe
accumulation of physical comforts
which implysocial organization and
stability
.
MOUSTERIAN
TOOLS
2,00,000-40,000 BC
Replica stone tools of the Acheulean industry, used by Homoerectusand early modern humans, and of the Mousterian
industry, used by Neanderthals.www.britannica.com
Mousterian tool kits often have quitedifferentcontents from site to site., whicheither means that different groups ofNeanderthal men had varying toolmakingtraditions or that they were used by the same
peoples to performdifferent functions
.
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MOUSTERIAN
SITES :INDIA
2,00,000-40,000 BC
The number of Mousterian sites are
few. In general, however, the middlePalaeolithic populations occupiedthe same regions and habitats as thepreceding Acheulian populations.
SITE TIME CHARACTERISTICS
16R Dune, Didwana, TharDesert, Rajasthan
150,000- 100,000 BC Mousterian tools
Hathnora, Narmada, Madhya
Pradesh
200,000- 300,000 BC Hominid cranium (around 200,000
years old) represents an advancedstage of Homo erectus or early stageof Homo sapiens
Patpara, Middle Son >103,000 BC (100,000-150,000 BC)
Blade and flake blade middlePalaeolithic tools
Amnapur, Narmada, MadhyaPradesh
74,000 BC Middle Palaeolithic tools
Mousterian stone tool assemblages have been found at:
Stone toolsassemblage from
the centralNarmada Basin
www.assemblage.
group.shef.ac.uk
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QAFZEH CAVE, ISRAEL
100,000 BC
A dozen or so remains found in theQafzeh Cave are the oldest specimens of
modern humans in the Near East.This precedes the known dates for theexistence of Neanderthals in the region,
which goes on to prove that modernhumans and Neanderthals were actually
contemporaries, at least for some time,
and do not have any direct ancestral
linkages.
Neanderthal skull (left) and modern human skull (right)www.nationalgeographic.com
The fossils of
Skhul andQafzeh found
at Qafzeh cave,Israel are theoldest Homo
sapiens
sapiens of theMiddle East.
geoserver.itc.nl
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KEBARA CAVE, ISRAEL
60,000 BC
Kebara Cave isan Israeli limestone cavelocality ofthe Wadi Kebara.
Excavations in this part of the worldhave revealed
skeletal remains of
Neanderthals.
The most significant discoverymade at Kebara Cave was that in1982 of the mostcomplete Neanderthal skeletonfound to date.
A throat bone called thehyoid
,needed for speech, was found in theNeanderthal remains. This points atthe fact that they could speak, but didnot have an effective communicativelanguage, which eventually led to
their downfall.
Neandarthal skeleton found in Kebara Cavewww.nationalgeographic.com
www. nationalgeographic.com
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The 4 meter thick cave deposit hasLevallois stone artifacts, many hearths, andmidden deposits.
The oldest occupations at Kebara Cave arethought to be associated with the MiddlePaleolithic Aurignacian andMousterian traditions, and range between60,000 and 48,000 years ago.
These oldest levels yielded thousands ofanimal bone- primarily mountain gazelle
and Persian fallow deer- much with cut
marks, burned bones, hearths, ash lenses
and stone artefacts
. [3]
3. www.archaeology.about.comby K. Kris Hirst
KEBARA CAVE, ISRAEL
60,000 BC
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SHANIDAR CAVE, IRAQ
60,000 BC
The cave site of Shanidar is located in theZagros Mountains of Kurdistan in Iraq. It
yielded thefirst adult Neanderthal skeletons
in Iraq, dating between 60-80,000 BC.
The skull had a flat back and the bodyhad many deformities and injuries.Around 9 more such remains were alsofound.
The Neanderthals buried their dead, andwere ritualisticas well
One of the buried skeletons has traces ofplants and flower pollen
next to the body.
Injury signs on the skeletons of theNeanderthals point at
the possibility of a
clash between the Neanderthals and
modern humans.
Shanidar Cavewww.wikipedia.com
Neandarthal SkullShanidar 1www.wikipedia.com
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IRANIAN STEPPES
43,000 B.C.
Artist's impression of the Hunter gatherers of the MiddleEast.
www.scienceblogs.com
The vast Eurasian and Iranian Steppes were an unbroken grasslandstretching from theGulf of Aqaba to Mongolia
, rich with big game likeantelope and bovids.
Upper Paleolithic era hunters soon began expanding along its length.
Climateshifted and became colder, more aridand dry, as droughthit the region, turning itinto a desert, effectively closing the Saharan Gatewayfor the next 20, 000 years, and most
hunter gatherers remained
in theMiddle East.
These semi-arid plains were a part of anancient superhighway
stretching fromFrance to Korea.
A small group of these hunter gatherers
kept moving north
of the Middle Easttoward Anatolia
and thereafter formedthe founding settlements of this region.
They hunted in groups, and hadtemporary shelters, and no organized
activities or social structures
yet.
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UPPER PALEOLITHIC
40,000- 12,000 BC
In the Upper Paleolithic period Neanderthalman disappears and is replaced by the
omo
sapiens.
It marked the beginnings of communalhunting and extensive fishing
, and the firstconclusive evidence of belief systems centeringon magicand the supernaturalcome from this
time.
Pit houses, the first man-made shelters, werebuilt, sewn clothingwas worn, and sculptureand paintingoriginated. Toolswere of greatvariety, including flintand obsidianbladesand projectile points.
Characteristic of the period were hunting andfishing settlementsalong riversand on lakeshores, where fish and molluscs wereabundant. Portable art from the Upper paleolithic era.
www.blue.utp.edu.com
Catalogued tools from the Upper paleolithic era.www.blue.utp.edu.com
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UPPER PALEOLITHIC :INDIA
40,000- 12,000 BC
Due to arid climate
andsparse vegetation
, humanpopulations faced restricted food resources in this period.
This explains thelimited number of upper Palaeolithic
sites
in the arid and semi-arid regions. However,excellent
archaeological evidenceof this period comes from theBelan and Son valleys in the northern Vindhyas , ChotaNagpur plateau in Bihar
,upland Maharashtra
,Orissa
and from the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh.
SITE TIME CHARACTERISTICS
Baghor I, Son Valley 8,000 BC Stone tools used for foodprocessing, hunting, craftwork
Chopani Mando, Belan Valley 23,000- 17,000 BC Habitation site with culturalsequence from Upper Palaeolithicto Neolithic.
Budha Pushkar, Thar Desert 40,000-12,000 BC Parallel Sided blades struck fromPrismatic cores.
Paisra, Munger, ChottaNagpur
7,000 BC Blade and Burin tools
Cave art from the Upper paleolithic era.
www.blue.utp.edu.com
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EMIRIAN
40,000- 12,000 BC
The Emirian culture represents the transition between theMiddle Paleolithic and the Upper Paleolithic in the Levant
(Syria, Lebanon, Palestine).
There are also numerous stone blade tools, including somecurved knivessimilar to those found in the Chatelperronianculture of Western Europe.
The Emirian eventually evolved into theAntelian
culture,still of Levalloise tradition but with some Aurignacianinfluences. [1]
Emirian stone toolswww. adias-uae.com
www.google.com
1. www.wikipedia.org
32 000 26 000 C
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AURIGNACIAN ART INFLUENCE
32,000- 26,000 BC
The Lion Man of the
Aurignacian culture.www.wikipedia.org
The Aurignacian cultureis an archaeological culture ofthe Upper Paleolithic
, located inEurope and southwest Asia,
whichexerted a strong influence on the Middle East.
Aurignacian flint tools were more varied than those of earlierindustries, employing finer blades struck fromprepared cores(typical 8 shape) rather than using crudeflakes.
The people also madependants, bracelets and ivory beads, and
three-dimensional figurinesto ornament themselves.
The Aurignacian tool industry is characterized by complex art,which includes
figurines depicting faunal representations of the
time period associated with now-extinct mammals,
includingmammoths, rhinoceros, and the European horse
, alongwith
anthropomorphized depictions
that could be inferred assome of theearliest evidence of religion.
The oldest known example of figurative art, the Venus of HohleFels, comes from this culture.
12 000 5000 BC
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MESOLITHIC
12,000-5000 BC
The Mesolithic peoples were hunter-fisher-gatherers, like their predecessors, but they often
focused on very different species (such as reddeer and boar rather than reindeer) because ofthe change to a more to a more temperate climateat the end of the Ice Age.
Their toolkits reflect these changing conditions,
and are characterized by the presence ofgeometric microliths. These they used not only asbarbs on
arrows
but also probably in compositetools, mounted with resin on to handles or shaftsto be used as sicklesand other plant-processingimplements. There were also
stone axes
or adzes
used inwoodworking
.
It was the middle east Mesolithic people, such asthe Natufians of Palestine, who took the firstdecisive steps towards
producing food
and
adopting a sedentary lifestyle
.Mesolithic toolswww.wikipedia.org
Mesolithic rock artwww.wikipedia.org
12 000 5000 BC
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MESOLITHIC :INDIA
12,000-5000 BC
Increased food security duringthis period led to reduction in
nomadism
and to seasonallysedentary settlement. This isreflected in the large size ofMesolithic sites, the marked
growth in human population,and the presence of
large
cemeteries
.
The explanation for this dramaticincrease in human settlements
lies in the increased rainfallandits effect on the
growth of plant
and animal life
.
Microliths
, are tiny tools madefrom microblades of one to five
cm length, by blunting one ormore sides with steep retouch,
wereextensively used
.
The first human colonization of the Ganga plainstookplace during this period, as proved by the presence of
more than two hundred archaeological sites inAllahabad, Pratapgarh, Jaunpur, MirzapurandVaranasi
districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Similarly, the effective colonization of the deltaicregion of
West Bengal
andWest Coast
, particularly
aroundMumbai
and inKerala
also took place duringthis period.
Mesolithic huntingscenes in red, Urden,
Indiawww.chenzhaofu.cn
12 000 5000 BC
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The first evidence ofintentional
disposal of the dead comes from this
period. The dead wereburied
ingraves both in
extended and crouched
position. Sometimes two individualswere buried in a single grave. The
dead were occasionally provided withgrave offerings which include chunks
of meat, grinding stones, stone, boneand antler ornaments, and pieces of
haematite.
Mesolithic human burials have beenfound at Bagorin Rajasthan, Langhnaj
in Gujarat, Bhimbetkain MadhyaPradesh, and Lekhahia, Baghai Khor,
Morhana Pahar, Sarai-Nahar-Rai,Mahadaha
andDamdamain UttarPradesh.
MESOLITHIC :INDIA
12,000-5000 BC
Mesolithic Sites in IndiaPrehistoric human colonization of India
10 000 8000 BC
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ANATOLIA
10,0008000 BC
Glacier covering the earth surface started melting,and climatic conditions of today first appeared.Transformationof humans from hunters and
gatherers intomanufacturers
also started in this ageIt is considered that primitive farming was alsofirst done in this speriodHunting and the collecting of plants continued tobe the main supply of food, but the human began to
store his food in storage
s for later consumption
Excavated wall
www.blogspot..com
LizardUrfa Excavation
www.wikipedia.com
10 000 8000 BC
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Pottery and small tools first appeared, bowsand arrows were used.
Animals became smaller in size and fasterthan before, so human had to develop hisstone tools and weapons in a lighter andmore practical form.
More tools and weapons which were madeof bones and woodand also some otherpersonal ornamentation and daily use
items such as combs.
One of the most interesting usages of stone
of this period is what is calledMicroliths
that are small tools made from Obsidianand flints.
Domestication of Animalsis the maindevelopment of this period; the Dog was
domesticated during the Mesolithic Age. Mesolithic Tools www.google.com
ANATOLIA
TOOLS
10,0008000 BC
9000 B C
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NATUFIAN CULTURE
9000 B.C.
Natufian Culture thrived in the Near astsLevant Region (the Eastern Mediterranean)
Warming temperaturesgave rise to new plantfoodswhich enabled nomadic hunter-gatherers
tosettle down in large communities based on
foraging.
Its members were probably the first todomesticate dogs.
Cemeteries yield clues of
social hierarchy
inwhich jewellery, burial artifacts and gravemarkersserve as indicators of status.Artists rendition of Natufians working in the
fields.amscoextra.blogspot.com
9000 B C
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Natufian reaping tool in which small, sharp blades mightve been set.www.nationalgeographic.org
Natufians developed basic agricultural skills, such as the use of stone bladed sickles
The focus shifted from hunting, but when theyhunted
, the did soin a more effective and co-
operative manner.
The knowledgeable Natufians compensated for the drastic change in climatearound 9000B.C. by supplementing plants of their traditional food crops.
This heralded the age offarming dominated societies allover the Middle East and anagrarian lifestyle all over theworld.
They grew mostly cereals, oftenclearing wild scrubs to
experiment with new seeds.
NATUFIAN CULTURE
9000 B.C.
9000 B C
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Open settlements that were of modest size,
with some traces ofround huts
, some ofwhich were built onstone foundations
,although cavesare also known to have still
been inhabited.
Traces of normal developments of flint
industries based essentially upon local
Upper Palaeolithic antecedents, bothinfluenced in their food getting by the
alreadyintensified food-collecting practices
of immediate predecessors
Sheep
used at theincipient level
, hints offlint sickles, ground-stone mullers, mortars
and pestles, and probable hoe blades suggestthat
food plants
alsoreceived marked
attention.
NATUFIAN CULTURE
9000 B.C.
Ruins of supporting wall of an ancient Natufian housewww.wikpedia.org
10 000 B C
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THE FERTILE CRESCENT
10,000 B.C.
The Fertile Crescent (Green)
www.staff.4j.lane.edu
Stretches in graceful curvefrom theNile Valley, across the Syrian Desert, to
theTigris
andEuphrates rivers
ofmodern Iraq.
Birthplaceof irrigated agriculture andurban civilizationapproximately 12,000years ago.
Shifting climate and growingpopulationsmade hunter-gatherersustenance insufficient and
spurred the
shift to agriculture.
Region washome to wild crops (barley)that could be supplementedand wild
animals (goats and sheep) that could bedomesticated.
Incorporated two of the most important
regions :Mesopotamia
and theLevant.
7000 BC
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JARMO, IRAQ
7000 BC
The oldest known agricultural community in theworld, dating back to 7000 BC.
There were approximately100 to 150 people
who lived in the village.
The people reaped their grain with stone sickles,stored their food in stone bowls
. They grew emmerand einkorn wheat, barley, and lentils. In addition
to their agriculture, they also foraged for wildplants such as the
field pea, acorns, pistachio nuts,
and wild wheat
possessed domesticated goats, pig, sheep, anddogs.. The later levels of settlement contained
evidence ofclay pottery.
Jarmo is an archeological site located in northern Iraq on the foothills of theZagros Mountains. The site of Jarmo is approximately three to four acres(12,000 to 16,000 m) in size and lies at an altitude of 800 meters abovesea level in a belt of oak and pistachiowoodlands.
Excavations at Jarmowww.google.com
7000 BC
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Twenty permanentmud-walled houses
were excavated. whichhad:1. stone foundations
2. tauf walls
3. reed bedding
.
A primitive form of commerce existed. Bone tools, especially awls,were abundant.
Bone
spoons and beads
were also found
Bone awls
www.google.com
Sitting figure, Hassuna,6000 B.C.www.wikipedia.com
Jarmo as a settlement was a social and economicalexample for future Mesopotamian cultures that would
arise around 4000 BC. [1]
Jarmo is one of the oldest sites at
which pottery has been found
. Thispottery is
hand made, simply
designed with thick sides, treated
with vegetable solvents. There areclay figures, zoomorphic or
anthropomorphic , including figures
ofpregnant women
(fertilitygoddesses) similar to the MotherGoddess.
1. www.mnsu.edu
JARMO, IRAQ
7000 BC
9500 3300 BC
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NEOLITHIC
9500- 3300 BC
These early farming tools date from about 6000 BC. The
axe
, bottom,was used for clearing;flint sickles
, left,were used for harvesting cereal crops; a
flat rock and
rounded stone, centre,were used for grinding flour; andperforated clay slabs, upper right,were probably used toventilate bread ovens.Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia
The Neolithic has traditionally beenassociated with the origins of farming and asedentary way of life
, together with the useof potteryand of ground (polished) stone
tools.
In the Near East food production developedbefore pottery occurred (thus giving rise to
the terms Pre-Pottery Neolithic andPottery Neolithic).
The Neolithic also saw the rise of the first
true villages
, with houses being built ofdifferent materials, for example, mud-brick
houses in the Levant
9500 3300 BC
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NEOLITHIC
9500- 3300 BC
The mobile hunter-gatherers of thePalaeolithic knew how to make pottery,
but did not generally do so, as it is tooheavy to carry; their receptacles wereundoubtedly made of leather and basketry.
Pottery, thus a natural development forsedentary peoples, was widely used by the
neolithic people.
Pottery was often richly decorated withincised, stamped, or painted motifs.
Neolithic art also included a wide varietyof figurines(often of females, as in the
Mother Goddess
).
The cultivation of cerealsanddomestication of animals
such as cattle,sheep, goats, and pigs was adopted, not as
a brilliant discovery, but as a necessitycaused by the pressures of a
rising
population
.
Pottery excavated at Jericho, dating from the period3300-1550BCwww.bible-archaeology.info
9500 3300 BC
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NEOLITHIC :INDIA
9500- 3300 BC
SITE TIME CHARACTERISTICS
Kashmir Neolithic Culture 3,000 BC Lived in pits dug into the compactKarewa loess
Ganga Valley NeolithicCulture
2500 BC Convergence of Indo-Aryan,Dravidian and Austro-Asiaticpeoples
Eastern Neolithic Culture 2200 BC Pointed-butt celts and cordimpressed pottery
Peninsular Neolithic Culture 3,000 BC Ash Mounds
Neolithic toolswww.wikipedia.com
Toranagallu ash moundwww.wikipedia.com
7000- 2500 BC
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TheNeolithic phase
atJhusi
is
characterised byhand made potterybone tools and arrowheadsstone tools.A big structure that might have beenused as hearth-cum-pottery-kilnhas also
been found.
Lahurdewa
, in the central ganga plain issurrounded by water bodies. Availability of waterand
well-suited soil conditions
would have been
determining factors
for the locations.early innovations associated with the ceramictypes and other artefacts
cereal domestications and some sort ofcultivations at quite an early date.Appearance of morphologically distinct form ofrice
, comparable to cultivatedOryza sativa - an
early beginning of agriculture.
There is a strong possibility that people havebeen living in Ganga Plains since late Palaeoliticand interacted with the communities living in the
Vindhyas,Himalayas
and other areas.
` lahuradewa
Jhusi
Prehistory in
India,
doc. By VN Misra
JHUSI LAHURADEWA :INDIA
7000- 2500 BC
7000- 2600 BC
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MEHRGARH :INDIA
7000 2600 BC
Mehrgarh is aNeolithic
site inBaluchistan
,Pakistan
, andone of the earliest sites with evidence of farmingand
herding
in south Asia. Mehrgarh is now seen as aprecursor
to the Indus Valley Civilization. The site was occupiedcontinuously until about 2600 BC, when it was abandoned.
The settlement was transformed froma cluster of smallmudbrick storage units with evidence of domestication of
cattle and barley
to asubstantial Bronze Age village
at thecentre of its own distinctive craft zone. The absence of early
residential structures has been interpreted by some asfurther evidence of the sites early occupation by mobile
early humanspossible travelling through the nearby passseasonally.
Although Mehrgarh was abandoned by the time of theemergence of the literate urbanised phase of the Indus
Civilisation, its development illustrates the development ofthe civilisations subsistence patterns as well as its craft and
trade specialisation.
Early farming village in Mehrgarh, c.7000 BCE, with houses built withmud brickswww.wikipedia.org
7000- 2600 BC
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The earliest settled portion of Mehrgarh was in an areacalled MR.3, in the northeast corner of the 495-acre
occupation. It is asmall farming and pastoralist village
dated between 7000-5500 BC, with mud brick houses
and granaries.
The early Mehrgarh residents used local copper ore,basket containers lined with bitumen
, and an array ofbone tools. They grew six-row barley, einkorn and
emmer wheat, jujubes anddates. Sheep, goats andcattlewere herded at Mehrgarh beginning during this early
period.
The most recent studies at Mehrgarh showed they evenhad a pretty good grasp of evidence of dentistry.
Later periods includedcraft activities
such asflint
knapping, tanning, andbead production; also, asignificant level of
metal working
.
MEHRGARH :INDIA
7000 2600 BC
A figurine from Mehrgarh, c.3000 BCEwww.wikipedia.org
9500-7500BC
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URFA, ANATOLIA
9500 7500BC
The hilltop mound, around 300 meters in diameter and some 15 meters high, contains aseries of circular structures or temples, carbon dated to a period between 9,500 and
7,500 B.C.Structures were made by first building an "artificial" mound of debris, then hollowing itout to create a sunken chamber.
Each contains a series of T-shaped limestone monoliths, the tallest of which are uptofive meters high.
These freestanding stones are anthropomorphic, with the top of the T representing the
head of the figure. The stem of the T represents the body, with arms carved in light reliefon either side.
FoxUrfa Excavationswww.wikipedia.com
9500-7500BC
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The excavated architectural remains were of longrectangular houses
containingtwo to three parallel
flights of rooms. These are adjacent to a similarlyrectangular ante-structure, subdivided by wallprojections, which should be seen as a residentialspace.This type of house is characterized by thick, multi-layered foundations made of large angular cobbles
and boulders,
the gaps filled with smaller stones soas to provide a relativelyeven surface
to support thesuperstructure. These foundations are interruptedevery 1-1.5m by underfloor channels, at rightangles to the main axis of the houses, which werecovered in stone slabs but open to the sides. They
served thedrainage, aeration or the cooling of the
houses
In the northwest part of the village a cult complexhad been cut into the hillslopeMonolithicwere built into its dry stone walls, itsinterior contained two free-standing pillars of 3 m
height
.
The sitewww.turkeyforholidays.com
A housewww.ancient-wisdom.co.uk
URFA, ANATOLIA :ARCHITECTURE
9500 7500BC
9500-7500BC
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The local limestone was carved intonumerous statues and smaller sculptures,
including a more than life-sized bare humanhead with a snake or sikha-like tuft.There is also a statue of a bird.Some of the pillars also bore reliefs, includingones of human hands.The free-standing anthropomorphic figuresof limestone excavated at Nevali Cori belongto the earliest known life-size sculptures.Several hundred small clay figurines (about 5cm high), most of them depicting humans,have been interpreted as votive offerings.
They were fired at temperatures between500-600C, which suggests the developmentof ceramic firing technology before the adventof pottery proper. [1]
sculptureswww.google.com
1. www.wikipedia.org
URFA, ANATOLIA :SCULPTURE
9500 7500BC
9500-7500BC
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Many of the monoliths are covered inrelief carvings of wild animals, usually
either predatory or dangerous, such aslions, snakes, foxes and scorpions.
The floors of the temple chambers areof burnt lime, and benches line thewalls.
These massive stones were quarried,
cut to shape, carted into place andsculpted to such a high standard byStone Age man, obviously using onlystone and flint tools, is remarkable.
Some other Mesolithic sites areSarklimagara cave in Gaziantep region,Baradiz cave
from Burdur areaand
open air settlements and cemeteries of
Sogut Tarlasi, Birisnear Bozova.
Modern day Urfawww.google.com
Tshaped limestone monolithwww.wikipedia.org
URFA, ANATOLIA
9500 7500BC
9000 B C
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JERICHO
9000 B.C.
Dwelling foundations unearthed at
Tell-es Sultan in Jericho.www.wikipedia..org
Located near Jordan river in WestBank of Palestinian territories.
Site has been inhabited ever sincethe founding of the NatufianCulture.
Mesolithic city plan is similarto
that ofatalhyk
Site had abundant water supply,good climate
andcentral location
Site shows signs of violent
demolition in 15
th
century B.C.
Existedsince before potteryandagriculture.
9000 B C
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Neolithic watch tower built and destroyed inabout 7000-8000 B.C. in Jerichowww.bible-lands.info
During 8350- 7350 BC circular houses of mud brickwere built. From 7200 BC the houses were rectangularin shape with plastered walls and floors.
Populationin such houses as many as 1500.
Settlement surrounded by massive stone wallas adefense mechanism against invaders, animals or floods
A single gate had towersflanking it on either side
Densely packed houses were accessible by narrowallies.
There were buildings forworship
andstorage
Floor levels of houses were below ground level andgenerally had
two steps descending
into themain
room.
Benches ran along
mostwalls.
JERICHO :
ARCHITECTURE
9000 B.C.
8,000 BC
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BURUSHASKI LANGUAGE, INDIA/PAKISTAN
,
Burshaski is a language isolate, spoken till date by people in northwest Kashmir, but hasa history around 10,000 years old.
Karakoram range, where the Burosho people livewww.google.com
Linguists believe that Burushaski islinked to ancient languages like Basque,the extinct Sumerian tongue and someNorth American languages.
Ancient genetic markers ofmigrating humans suggesthow these different languagepockets might actually be
linked.
Usually Burushaski is notwritten. Occasionally,the Urdu version ofthe Arabic alphabet is used,but a fixed orthography does
not exist.
A woman from Buroshowww.paulstravelblog.com
AIN GHAZAL, JORDAN
7250- 5000 BC
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Ain Ghazal
is a Neolithic site located in North-Eastern Jordan, onthe outskirts of Amman.
In its prime time around 7000 BC, it extended over 10-15hectares
and was inhabited by approximately3000 people
(four to five times its contemporary - Jericho).After 6500 BC, however, the population droppedsharply toabout one sixth within only a few generations, probably
due to
environmental degradation
'Ain Ghazal was set on terraced ground at a valley-side,Rectangular mud-brick houses that accommodated a squaremain room and a smaller anteroom.Walls were plastered with mud on the outside, and with limeplaster inside
that was renewed every few years.Being
an early farming community
, the 'Ain Ghazal peoplecultivated cereals, legumens and chickpeas in a field above thevillageThey herded domesticated goats.However, they
still hunted wild animals
- deer, gazelle etc [1
1. www.wikipedia.org
An ain ghazal figurewww.google.com
ATAL HYK
63005500 BC
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Artists rendition of the city of atalHyk
northernblue.ca
atal Hyk was a very large Neolithicand Chalcolithic settlement foundin Southern Anatolia, or present day Turkey.
Sophisticated societywith many trade links.
Ruins yield materials fromtheIranian highlands, Syria and theLevant
region.
It had an average population ofbetween
5,000 to 8,000 people.
ATAL HYK :ARCHITECTURE
63005500 BC
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On-site restoration of a typical interiorwww.wikipedia.org
Mud-brick houses were crammed togetherin anagglutinative manner.
No footpaths or streets were used betweendwellings, which were accessed by holes in theceiling
, and were reached by interior and exteriorladders.
Eachmain room
served as an area forcooking and
daily activities.
In good weather, daily activities may also havetaken place on the rooftops, which conceivablyformed an open air plaza.
Typical homes feature benches, raised platforms,domed ovens
andgrain storage rooms
.
There are no houses with distinct features, whichpoints to an
absence of a social-class system.
ATAL HYK :ART
63005500 BC
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Mother goddess seated on a throne, flanked by twolionesses, as depicted in the above sculpturewww.reclusveleftist.com
Vivid muralsand figurinesare found throughoutthe settlement, on interior and exterior walls.
Predominant images include men with erectphalluses, hunting scenes, red images of the now
extinct aurochs (wild cattle) and stags,
and vultures swooping down on headless figures
Heads of animals
, especially of cattle, weremounted on walls.
Carefully made figurines, carvedand moldedfrom marble, blue and brown limestone, schist,calcite, basalt, alabaster
, andclay
, represent
theGreat Goddess
Arrows, spearheads, long knivesand daggerswere made out of imported flintand obsidian.
Obsidian mirrors, animal figurines,
monochromatic pottery
characterize their art.
ATAL HYK :BURIALS
63005500 BC
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Infant skeleton excavated from a atal Hykburial sitewww.catalhoyuk.com
The people of atalhyk buried their dead
within the village, inburial pits.
The bodies were tightly flexed before burial,and were often placed in baskets or wrappedin reed mats.
In some cases,graves were disturbed
andthe
individuals head removed
from theskeleton.
Some skulls were plastered and painted withochre to recreate human-like faces
, a custommore characteristic of
Neolithic sites in Syria
and at
Neolithic Jericho
than at sites closer by.
In some burials, remains are accompanied byfunerary items like food, mirrors and pottery
.
CHALCOLITHIC AGE
5500-2000 B.C.
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Copper ware from the Chalcolithic agewww.anistor. gr
The phase when copper metallurgy
was being adopted by Neolithiccultures in the Near East and south-eastern Europe is sometimes calledthe Copper Age (or Chalcolithic orEneolithic).
Metallurgy occurred
first in
the Fertile Crescent, where it gaverise to the Bronze Age in the 4thmillennium BC.
Copper may originally have been a
prestige material
since, unlike stone,copper ore is not common andneeded to be
mined
andsmelted
(heated to separate the metal fromthe rock).
CHALCOLITHIC AGE
5500-2000 B.C.
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Copper, obtained from nodules of locallyavailable copperor from copper ores, was used to
makeornaments
andweapons
(such asflat axe-
blades), but was too soft or brittle to be trulyuseful.
It could be cold-hammered into shape to makerough tools or beads; or it could be cast.
Temperatures of about 800 C that were requiredfor smelting were provided by the
high-
temperature kilnsdeveloped for firing finepottery.
Casting made it possible to producelarger and
more complex objectssuch as hammer-axes.
Crucibles and slag dating from the 4thmillennium BChave been found, and copper
mines
are known from a number of sites in the
Near East.
Chalcolithic mine in Timna Park, Negev Desert, Israel.www.wikipedia.org
CHALCOLITHIC :INDIA
5500-2000 B.C.
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SITE Characteristics
Indo-
Gangetic Divide andupper Ganga-YamunaDoab
ochre-coloured pottery (OCP)
Rammed earth floors, post-holes, baked andUnbaked bricksPottery with incised designs, graffiti, paintings in black pigmentCultivation of rice and barleyDomestication of animals
Ahar, Mewar region,
Rajasthan
Houses made of stone, mud-brick and mud,
Massive foundations more than a metre in width,Walls of mudWares made of well-levigated clay, slipped and burnished surface,well baked and sturdy.technology based on Copper,Copper objectsinclude flat axes, choppers etc
Narhan, NorthernVindhyas and themiddle andlower Ganga valley
The houses were generally made of wattle-and-daub asrepresented by postholes, burnt lumps of clay withbamboo and reed impressions, and compact mud floors.They were usually of rectangular shape.
CHALCOLITHIC :INDIA
5500-2000 B.C.
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SITE Characteristics
Kayatha,
MadhyaPradesh
The Kayatha culture people lived in small huts having
well-rammed floorscultivated wheat, barley and domesticated animals, possibly even horses.typical ceramic, chocolate-slipped, sturdy, well baked wares
Malwa,Malwaregion,MadhyaPradesh
wattle-and-daub houses of rectangular and round shape, burnt wooden posts,clay plaster with bamboo, reed impressionscultivated cereals, legumes, oil seeds and fruitspainted designs are primarily geometric such as triangles and lozenges(diamond shaped)
Jorwe,WesternMaharashtra
large villages like Bahal and NevasaRectangular structures, measuring 5 3 m with lowmud walls, rows with the longer axis in aroughly east-west orientation.
CHALCOLITHIC SITES
5500-2000 B.C.
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The site was settled from the Chalcolithic period in the fourth millennium BCuntil the Phrygian period in the first millennium BC. Aliar later developedinto a walled town. Eventually it became the most significant city in the
region. It was a center for trade attracting merchants from Assyria at thebeginning of the second millennium BC.
Can Hasan was a late Neolithic settlement dating from 6500BCE, inhabited into the Chalcolithic period.
HACILAR, TURKEYHacilar is an early human settlement in south western Turkey. It has been
dated back 7040 BC at its earliest stage of development. Archaeologicalremains indicate that the site was abandoned and reoccupied on morethan one occasion in its history.
BEYCESULTAN, TURKEY
CAN HASAN, TURKEY
ALIAR HYK, TURKEY
Beycesultan, an archaeological site in western Anatolia, was occupied during along sequence between Late Chalcolithic to Late Bronze Age (Hittite Empire)
and then also in the Byzantine period.
ARCHITECTURE :VILLAGE
5500-2000 B.C.
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In Hacilar, housing consisted of groupedunits
surrounding aninner courtyard
. Eachdwelling was built on a stone foundation to
protect against water damage. Wallsweremade of
wood and daub
ormud-brick
thatwas mortared with lime. Wooden polesalso
supported theflat roof. It is generally
believed that these houses had anupper
story made of wood.
The interiorswere finished smooth withplasterand were rarely painted. Over time
changes were made to the housing units;
Querns, braziers
andmortars appeared in
the floors. Recesses in wallswere also put togood use as
cupboards
. Thekitchen was
separated from the living rooms and theupper levels were used for granaries and/or
workshops
.
A mother goddess statuette from Canhasan, inTurkey. This figurine, along with other mothergoddess figurines found in Canhasan, is thought tobe an evidence of a continual matriarchal society incentral Anatolia during the Chalcolithic age.
www.wikipedia.org
ARCHITECTURE :DEFENCE
5500-2000 B.C.
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Village architecture also provides evidence forthe necessity of communal defence, which was
accomplished by means of acircuit wall
orasin Haclara continuous wall formed by the
outside rear walls of contiguous houses.
At Haclarand Can Hasan, the heavy ground-floor chambers of these houses had no doorways
and were evidentlyentered by ladders from a
more fragile upper story.
Improvements in architecture, however, can beseen at Mersin, where one of its later phases is
represented by aneatly planned and constructed
fortress
. Thesteep slope
of the mound wascrowned by a continuous defensive wall, piercedby
slit windows
and entered through agateway
protected by flanking towers. Inside, there wasformally arranged accommodation for the
garrison
and other evidence of military
discipline as conceived in 5200 BC.
Excavation site at Tell Brak, Syria.www. mcdonald.cam.ac.uk
3300-1200 B.C.RONZE AGE
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Bronze Age is the period which corresponds tothe
introduction of metallurgy, for making tools,
weapons,
andceremonial objects
.
Sometimes, low percentages of other elements werenaturally present in the copper ore, and were found
to make the metal easier to cast and harder when set.Adding about 10 per cent tin to the copper, a far
harder alloy
bronzewas produced, which waseasy to cast (it flowed more easily) and could be madeinto many different shapes. It also held a hard, sharp
cutting edge
which could beresharpened
, whileworn or broken toolscould be melteddown and
recast.
Most bronze objects
swords, spearheads, axes,
knives, pins,
andbrooches
were made bycasting
.Other objects such as shieldswere made by
hammering sheets of metal into shape.
A drawing of an early cuneiformcarving of a procession by Hittites in
Boazkale, Turkey.www.wikipedia.org
3300-1200 B.C.RONZE AGE
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Modern experiments have shown thatbronze tools and weapons are
generallynot much sharper
than
theirequivalents in flint.
The adoption of bronze was, therefore,probably closely linked to social
status
: not only were thematerials
sometimes difficult to obtain
(andhence presumablyexpensive
), butbronze is a shiny gold-coloured metal
which can also be richly decorated.
Like gold itself, it was an ideal vehicle
for thedisplay of personal power and
wealth
, and was popular among theprehistoric aristocracyfor jewelleryand ornaments, as well as for often
profusely decorated weapons
and fortools.
Because the metal was highly valued, objects made of bronzewere often
hidden in hoards or buried with the dead
, and it isthese sources that have yielded most of the Bronze Ageartifacts known today. The assemblage shown here consistsof objects of personal adornment.Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2003
3300-1200 B.C.RONZE AGE
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Theagricultural way of life
, established in the Neolithic period, continued.Ploughing
appears to have become widespread, as shown by remains of implementsas well asplough-marks under barrows
, and depictions of ploughing in therock art
of the period.
As populations grew and expanded, pressure on land increased, and agriculture spread.Soil erosionalso increased.
Another trend towards the end of the Bronze Age was a growingemphasis on
fortifications
. Bronzearmour
andhelmets
, andnew types of weapons
such as the veryeffective slashing sword, suggest that warfare had come to the fore.
Bronze Age weapons includeslender spearheads, swords, andknives.Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia
2003
5900-1100 B.C.ESOPOTAMIA
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Mesopotamia, located in a region thatincluded parts of what is now
eastern
Syria, south-eastern Turkey
,
andmost
of Iraq, lay between two rivers, theTigris
and theEuphrates
. The nameMesopotamia is a Greek word meaning
between the rivers.
Its oldest known communities datefrom 7000 BC
. The world'searliest
urban civilizations arose here around3500 BC. Mesopotamia, known as the
cradle of civilization
, was the centre of
Sumerian
,Babylonian
,Assyrian
, andChaldeancivilizations.
In the 6th century BC, it became part ofthe Persian Empire, at the time the
largest empire in the world.
Ancient Mesopotamiawww.chaldean.org
5900-1100 B.C.ESOPOTAMIA :TIMELINE
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Time period/ Era
Pre-pottery
Neolithic
Pottery
Neolithic Chalcolithic
Early
Bronze
Middle
Bronze Late Bronze
59004400 BC Ubaid
44003200 BC Uruk
31002900 BC Jemdet Nasr
29002350 BC Sumeriancity states
23502193 BC Akkadian
21192004 BC Ur (3rddynasty)
20001800 BC Assyrian
18001700 BC Babylonian
16001200 BC Kassite(MiddleAssyrian)
12001100 BC Collapse of
Bronze Agewww.wikipedia.org
EBLA, SYRIA 3000- 1650 BC
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The image shows part of the excavated city of Ebla. Most of the ruins have been givena top layer of new bricks. Some stones used to grind flour are also seen in the picture.
www.wikipedia.org
Ebla was an important commercialcentre
ruled by amerchant oligarchy
that elected amonarch
andentrusted
the city's defence to paid soldiers. It wasa
polytheistic
society.
The Akkadians destroyed Ebla around2300 BC. Several centuries after its
destruction by the Akkadians, Eblamanaged to recover some of its
importance, and had a second apogeelasting from c.1850 to 1600 BC.
Ebla was part of a flourishing north Syrian civilization contemporaneous with early Egyptand Mesopotamia.
Excavations unearthed Ebla'sroyal archives
, a collection of more than14,000 inscriptions
on clay tablets dating from 2500-2200 BC. They were written in the cuneiformscriptdeveloped by Sumerians, but were adapted to the language of Ebla's Semitic inhabitants
TEPE GAWRA, IRAQ (UBAID)
5000-3000 B.C
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Tepe Gawra is a Mesopotamian city in northernIraq, fifteen kilometers from the modern town ofMosul
. The earliest occupations at Tepe Gawraare dated to the mid-sixth millennium BC, theUbaid period in Mesopotamia.
Burials at Tepe Gawra reveal socialstratification, expressed by the presence ofbeads of imported lapis lazuli as well as ivory,
etc.A storage facility called the "round house"stored grain and weaponry.
Tomb in Tepe Gawrawww.cnes.cla.umn.edu
1. www.cnes.cla.umn.edu
Mesopotamian tabletwww.google.com
www.google.com
TEPE GAWRA, IRAQ (SUMER)
5000-2000 B.C.
http://cnes.cla.umn.edu/courses/archaeology/1044/Uruk/TepeGawraTombs.htmlhttp://cnes.cla.umn.edu/courses/archaeology/1044/Uruk/TepeGawraTombs.htmlhttp://cnes.cla.umn.edu/courses/archaeology/1044/Uruk/TepeGawraTombs.htmlhttp://cnes.cla.umn.edu/courses/archaeology/1044/Uruk/TepeGawraTombs.html -
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Eridu is best known for its temples, called ziggurats.The earliest temple, dated to the Ubaid period about 5570 BC,consisted of a small room with a possible cult niche and anoffering table.Temples were built in the classical early Mesopotamianformat of tripartite plan, with abuttressed facade
and along central room withan altar.The city wasplanned on the basisof casteand economicstature
with the rich in thecenter and the poor surrounding
them.
Eridu is theoldest known Sumerian city
, 22 kilometers southof Nasiriya,during the Ubaidthrough Urperiods of southern
Mesopotamia. According to Sumerian tradition the citybelonged to the god Enki.
Zigguratwww.wayfaring.info Enkithe God of Eriduwww.wayfaring.info
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SOURCES
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Readers Digest Vanished Civilizations, The Readers Digest Association Limited, 2002Prehistoric human colonization of India, V N MISRA
Microsoft Encarta EncyclopediaStandard 2003
en.wikipedia.orgwww.handprint.comwww.originsnet.org
www.britannica
.commaps.nationalgeographic .comarchaeology.about.comancientneareast.tripod.comwww.history-world.org