NEOLITHIC AT KHIROKITIA (CYPRUS)
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I. Neolithic (New Stone Age), the earliest settled
communities of humans.
A. Agriculture and pastoralism
B. Dating from ca. 10,000 B.C. in the Near East.
C. Settlements such as Jericho exhibit considerable
sophistication.
II. Cyprus is an island in the Eastern Mediterranean,
between Asia Minor and Syria.
A. A cross-roads of culture, but (as an island) something
of a closed environment.
B. Apparently there were no humans on Cyprus until the
Neolithic period.
III. Excavations at Khirokitia revealed some of the earliest traces of
the Neolithic on Cyprus
A. Neolithic I (aceramic) 5800-5000 B.C.
B. Neolithic II (ceramic) 3500-3000 B.C.
IV. Characteristics of the Site:
A. Round (bee-hive) houses made of mud and reeds with a central pole
1. Only the foundations survive
2. Central hearths and hole in roof
3. Built ca. 3-8m. in diameter, close together
4. Interior walls made of plastered mud
5. Benches or tables around interior walls
B. At first thought that each house was for an individual family, but
now appears that each family had 2 or more buldings for different purposes
C. One building was larger than others and a roofed "porch"
was on the outside: house of a "chief" or an industrial center?
D. Stone vessels were used
1. Obsidian (not native to Cyprus) was found
2. This shows that there was contact with overseas cultures
E. Settlement surrounded by a defensive wall ca. 1 m. thick running
through the settlement, then rebuilt to enclose it
V. Diet and Economy
A. Determined by finds
B. Carbonized grain, stone sickle blades testified to farming
C. Arrowheads show they hunted
VI. Culture
A. People made stone figures of humans (purpose??)
B. The dead were buried inside the houses under the floor; libations
were made through a hole above the skull (religion?); gifts were offered to the dead
C. Skulls were deformed, probably for cosmetic purposes
VII. Major Questions:
A. Where were the Neolithic People from?
B. How to explain the 1500 year gap between Neolithic I and Neolithic
II
VIII. Other Prehistoric Sites on Cyprus
A. Kalavassos-Tenta
B. Vrysi
C. Philia
D. Erimi (Chalkolithic)
E. Lemba (Chalkolithic)
For further information on this topic (outside the class
website):
A detailed map of Cyprus, as it is today. Khirokitia
is in the south-center of the island, betwen Kiti and Zyyi on the map. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/europe/Cyprus.GIF
A brief recent description of the excavation: http://www.pio.gov.cy/cyprus/history/excav.htm#Khirokitia
A brief history of Cyprus in the Neolithic period, with some
objects from Khirokitia:
http://www.cosmosnet.net/cyprus/history/hist2.htm
Khirokitia is a UNESCO World Heritage site: see http://www.unesco.org/whc/sites/848.htm
http://www.greeksunited.com/newsletter/members/khirokitia.htm
Mid-Term
Exam
