EPIPALEOLITHIC PERIOD [ca 10,000 – 9,200 BC]
“Despite the existence on the adjacent mainland of cultures of the Old Stone Age (Palaeolithic), remains of this very early phase have not so far been discovered in Cyprus” [Ian Todd, 1989]. This was said by Ian Todd in 1989 and still remains a fact in Cyprus in 2021. According to Simmons (2013), “for the time being, it appears that there were no Neanderthals exploring Cyprus” [Alan Simmons, 2013].
On the contrary, the myth linking the absence of connection between the late Pleistocene fauna and people living on Mediterranean islands is stressed by Simmons: “Archaeologists working in the Mediterranean traditionally have believed that islands, including Cyprus, were first inhabited by humans relatively late, during the Neolithic period around 6,500–7,000 BC (Cherry 1990; Le Brun et al. 1987). Researchers also believed that when these early colonists arrived, they did not encounter any of the islands’ unique native mammals, such as pygmy hippopotamus or dwarf elephants. These island-adapted species were felt to have gone extinct long before the arrival of humans, probably as a result of deteriorating climatic conditions. Recent multidisciplinary excavations on the Akrotiri Peninsula along the southern coast of Cyprus at Akrotiri Aetokremnos – or “Vulture Cliff” in Greek – have challenged these traditional scenarios” [Alan Simmons, 2001].
The deliberate “introduction” of wild boars, mice, cats, goats, sheep, cattle, dogs and deers in Cyprus by colonists
According to Vigne, Carrere, Briois and Guilaine (2011) suids [small wild boars], cats, goats, cattle, and dogs were living in Cyprus before or starting from the earliest phase at Shillourokambos, as they were deliberately introduced in Cyprus by humans somehow – and did not pre-exist. More precisely, the small wild boar was introduced in Cyprus during the Late Natufian or Early Khiamian culture (this means between 12,000-9,500 BC). According to Helmer (2008), the bezoar goats of the era were significantly smaller in size than the domestic goats we have today, as they evolved in size, in time and according to Vigne, Carrere, Briois and Guilaine, they were already domestic when they were introduced around 8,500 BC or later; “sheep were introduced up to 5 centuries later than goats in the form of small, horn-modified domestic animals”. Foxes were introduced in Cyprus “at the beginning of the tenth millennium BP [before present, 8,000 BC]” to control the population of mice, just as cats were supposed to do; dogs were already in Cyprus at 9,000 BC or earlier, as they “probably played a role in autochthonous-wild-boar hunting or control”; “Cattle were introduced to Cyprus ca. 10,300 cal BP [8,300 BC] or shortly before”; the small, Cypriot, fallow deer is assumed that it was introduced after 9,000 BC [Jean-Denis Vigne, Isabelle Carrere, Francois Briois, JeanGuilaine, 2011].
Vigne, Carrere, Briois and Guilaine’s (2011) assumption that “the house mouse and the cat were introduced to Cyprus in the middle of the eleventh millennium [Before Present, around 8,500 BC] at the latest, and the probably unintentional transport of the former possibly led to the introduction of its predator” fell through as cat bones were discovered at the site where they dug themselves [Briois and Vigne] 5 years later, and this was Agios Tychonas-Klimonas in 2016, which dates from 9,200 to 8,600 BC.
Vretsia-Roudias [10,000 – 6,500 BC], the oldest site in Cyprus
This place, which is the oldest that has been excavated so far in Cyprus, was according to Efstratiou (2011) a place of persistent visit and perhaps the temporary residence of hunting and foraging teams, throughout the early history of Cyprus, from the 10th millennium BC and until the middle of the 7th millennium BC [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Enigmatic finding
According to Efstratiou (2014), an early “stone structure” was unearthed, perhaps for the first time in Cyprus in undisturbed layers of the early Holocene. In this stone construction, many small stones placed next to each other – giving the image of cobblestone. Also, concentrations of large slabs in a horizontal and vertical position that appear to form a kind of construction that is at a slightly higher level than that of “stone structure” were unearthed. Another interesting development was the discovery of a second layer of stone that appeared after the removal of part of the “stone structure” in one of the squares. All this shows that there are different phases (at least three) of construction and use of stone surfaces and structures, the extent and boundaries of which are still undiagnosed. On the surface of the stone structure, but also inside it and probably in second use, thousands of stone tools were found – rounded and broken stones by high temperature – pieces of flint raw material and fragile bones such as of wild pigs. The tools include millstones, choppers, tool cores and many more [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Evidence of wild pigs existence in Epipaleolithic Cyprus
At the site, there were discovered bones belonging to wild pigs [Cyprus Department of Antiquities] that match with the claim of Vigne, Carrere, Briois and Guilaine that this species could had been introduced in Cyprus during the Late Natufian or Early Khiamian culture [Jean-Denis Vigne, Isabelle Carrere, Francois Briois, JeanGuilaine, 2011].
The excavations at Vretsia-Roudias have not been concluded and detailed information regarding the finding is scarce. As soon as we learn more about this site, more information will be added to clarify if indeed precedes the Akrotiri-Aetokremnos site as it is speculated, especially following radiocarbon dating of bones and other material.
Akrotiri-Aetokremnos [9,940 – 9,640 BC]
An also early evidence of human occupation on the island has been found at the south end of the Akrotiri peninsula, where a small, collapsed, rock shelter eroded by the sea, named “Aetokremnos” (eagles’ cliff) about 60 meters above the Mediterranean Sea today, but at an unknown level above the sea 12,000 years earlier [Alan Simmons, 2013]. The site was eroding into the Mediterranean year by year […] [Alan Simmons, 2001]. It was utilized by a small group of hunting people, circa 10,000 BC, for a period of 300 years [Alan Simmons, 2013]; the origin of these inhabitants is unknown as their fate. According to Todd, the occupants of the shelter likely coexisted with the last remaining examples of the island’s Pleistocene fauna, especially the pygmy hippopotamus, and they may have been responsible for the extinction of the fauna [Ian Todd, 1989]. The weather conditions are the other alternative according to Simmons who also regards the hunters as the most possible reason for their extinction [Alan Simmons, 2013]. These people were essentially practising hunting (primarily) and gathering economy [Alan Simmons, 2001].
Extinct Pleistocene fauna and contemporary others found at Akrotiri-Aetokremnos
The inhabitants of the remote location of Akrotiri lived in the rock shelter, which appears today eroded by the sea. They were food foragers and prey hunters, and in their shelter were found the remains of 300,000 bones; of those, 98.3% belonged to 505 pygmy hippos Phanourios minutus and at least three dwarf elephant Elephas cypriotes, species that existed on the island and became extinct. Other fauna included over 70 birds, primarily great bustards, and over 70,000 shells representing over 20,000 individuals. “The presence of fallow deer (4 bones) and pig (13 bones) is puzzling” for Simmons since he reckons that these animals had been introduced in Cyprus only in the Neolithic period, and did not pre-exist on Cyprus [Alan Simmons, 2013].
Artefacts
According to Simmons, was an artefact assemblage exceeding 1,000 pieces of chipped stone. Of importance was that this assemblage did not resemble a typical Cypriot Neolithic assemblage. Rather, it would be perfectly at home in a mainland Late Epipaleolithic context [Alan Simmons, 2013].
ACERAMIC NEOLITHIC PERIOD [9,200 – 5,500 BC]
“Aceramic” is an alternative term used for “Pre-pottery” and it is the long Period preceding the Ceramic Neolithic Period, where pottery in Cyprus was manufactured for the first time. The Aceramic Neolithic Period in Cyprus is divided into the Early Aceramic Neolithic Period [10th mil.-7,000 BC] and the Late Aceramic Neolithic Period [7,000-5,500 BC] [Ian Todd, 1989].
Architecture during the Aceramic Neolithic Period in Cyprus
Despite marked variations in the architecture of the three main excavated Late Aceramic Neolithic Period (Parekklishia-Shillourokambos, Kalavasos-Tenta, Khirokitia), according to Todd, certain features are standard: all the domestic structures are circular or at least curvilinear, and built of mudbrick and/or [unshaped] stone [limestone or/and diabase]; in some cases double or even treble walls betray “a lack of confidence in the strength of the building”. Todd assumes that both domed and flat roofs were employed in Tenta and Khirokitia. “The curvature clearly visible on some walls is almost certainly intentional, strongly suggesting that some buildings bore domed roofs”. Single or double rectilinear piers occur frequently within the buildings, and in the view of Ian Todd, these were used to support a partial upper wooden floor [Ian Todd, 1989].
Common artefacts encountered during the Aceramic Neolithic Period in Cyprus
According to Todd, the artefacts employed by the inhabitants of the Aceramic Neolithic villages display a certain degree of standardization: The use of metals was completely unknown and pottery was not generally in use. A sophisticated range of stone vessels was in use. Axes and various domestic grinding and pounding tools, formed of the local hard stones [diabese, picrolite] occur in quantities inside and outside the buildings. Various types of stone were also used for small items of jewellery, and simple tools were made of animal bone. Locally available chert was extensively used for the making of blades, scrapers and other tools; obsidian was imported from Anatolia in smaller quantities than before [Ian Todd, 1989].
Common plants utilized in Cyprus during the Aceramic Neolithic Period
According to Hansen, common plants that were utilized by the prehistoric Cypriots in Aceramic Neolithic Period were primarily the following: einkorn, emmer, barley, lentil, vetch, fig, pistachio and ryegrass [Julie Hansen, 2001].
Common animals used for their meat in Cyprus during the Aceramic Neolithic Period
As we read from Vigne, Carrere, Briois and Guilaine, generally during the Aceramic Neolithic Period the inhabitants of Cyprus ate the meat of fallow deers, small wild boars, sheep, goats and cattle [Jean-Denis Vigne, Isabelle Carrere, Francois Briois, JeanGuilaine, 2011].
Ayios Tychonas-Klimonas [9,200 – 8,600 BC], the oldest village of Cyprus
This is the earliest known village in Cyprus. The buildings are situated around a circular, 10-meter communal building, that building dates to between 11,200 and 10,600 years BP (before present). The surveys and excavations have shown that the village would have covered an area of at least half a hectare. The Ayios Tychonas-Klimonas villagers were hunter-cultivators who did not produce pottery [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
This is the earliest manifestation of an agricultural and village way of life known to date, worldwide. Ayios Tychonas-Klimonas has demonstrated that, even though Cyprus was separated from the continent by more than 70 km of sea, the island was part of broader Near Eastern Neolithic developments. The organization of the village, its architecture, the stone tools and the presence of agriculture and hunting are elements that are very similar to those that have already been identified in the early Pre-Pottery Neolithic Levant, between 11,500 and 10,500 years Before Present [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Architecture of Agios Tychonas-Klimonas village
According to the Cyprus Department of Antiquities, more than 20 round buildings were recovered, with a diameter of between 3 and 6 meters. The buildings were constructed on small terraces, notched into a gentle slope facing the sea. The walls were built with earth and strengthened with wooden poles and the floors were often plastered. In most buildings large hearths were discovered, sometimes accompanied by a 30-50 kg millstone. These buildings were probably frequently reconstructed, as seen by the multiple layers of remains that were found, one above the other, on the terraces [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Artefacts
Large quantities of stone tools, stone vessels, stone and shell beads or pendants, were also found [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Fauna and flora
The animal bones indicate that domestic dogs and cats were already introduced to Cyprus and that the villagers hunted a small Cypriot wild boar and birds. Intensive sieving provided strong evidence for the cultivation of emmer wheat: a primitive cereal introduced from the continent [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Ayia Varvara-Asprokremnos [8,800 – 8,600 BC]
This site is located 3 km southeast of the village of Ayia Varvara of Nicosia and it is at the moment the second earliest village discovered in Cyprus. Ayia Varvara-Asprokremnos provides evidence of intensive resource procurement and manufacturing activity at a relatively small but extensively occupied campsite. The site provides early prehistoric archaeological remains dated to the early Holocene when the transition from hunting to farming economies was taking place throughout the Middle East. The character of both the structure and its unique assemblage of finds provide significant parallels to other Early Neolithic sites across the Near East, establishing important links between Cyprus and the Levant during the 9th-millennium cal BC and crucial evidence concerning the development of the Neolithic both on Cyprus and across the Near East [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
The earliest complete human figurine currently known on Cyprus
Among the important discoveries in the site was a collection of four igneous stone objects including two flat cobbles, one with an extensive red ochre reside, a perfectly pecked stone sphere and a complete female statuette. This cache of artefacts was used to mark the abandonment of the structure and provides the earliest complete human figurine currently known on Cyprus [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Other artefacts unearthed
Evidence of significant manufacturing activity associated with the production of lithic tools including beautifully made arrowheads and a large array of ground stone tools used for the processing of ochre pigment and the likely processing of plants for subsistence were unearthed from the site. The tools produced, indicate a subsistence focus on hunting and tools including burins, notches and scrapers were used to manufacture other tools and objects. In addition, unique stone vessels, a carefully engraved teardrop-shaped picrolite pendant, and chipped stone waste amounting to well over half a metric ton in weight were found [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Parekklishia-Shillourokambos [8,200 – late 8th mil. BC]
Five kilometres north of the coast is found the earliest known large Aceramic Neolithic site on Cyprus [Jean-Denis Vigne, 2001], that of Parekklishia-Shillourokambos, which according to Guilaine and Briois has two main periods of occupation: “The Early Phases A and B (8200–7500 B.C.E.) are characterized by deep wells, large wooden enclosures probably for livestock, the gradual evolution from wattle and daub to the use of stone and mud, the choice of translucent chert for projectile points and elements in sickles, as well as quantities of imported Anatolian obsidian. The Middle and Late Phases (from 7500 B.C.E.) show considerable evolution and the appearance of typically Cypriot cultural traits, such as the use of local opaque chert, the production of robust blades, the development of harvesting knives that replace the multiple elements for sickles, and a paucity of obsidian. A large depression contained a contracted burial and a range of artefacts, and the building tradition is characterized by massive circular structures of canonical Khirokitia Culture type. The site is reoccupied during the Ceramic Neolithic Sotira Culture or the Early Chalcolithic”. The site chosen for Shillourokambos was a plateau rising slightly above the surrounding plain which trends gently south [Jean Guilaine, François Briois, 2001].
Shillourokambos’s association with the mainland
According to Todd predates the sites of Kalavasos-Tenta and Khirokitia. We learn from Todd that the architecture is represented by post holes and slots cut in the bedrock, and no circular stone structures had been encountered; the types of the chipped stone tools and techniques of manufacture show a greater degree of similarity with those of the surrounding mainland, and there is a greater use of obsidian – a black volcanic glass-like material imported from central Minor Asia – in the early phase. Moreover, “closer contacts with the mainland would seem to be supported by the reported occurrence of cattle on the site; cattle are known in contemporary contexts in Anatolia (Turkey) and the Levant, but they have not been found on Cypriot sites before the Early Bronze Age [circa 2,300]. These closer connections with the mainland would seem to suggest a time nearer to the initial colonization of the island, following which mainland traits became progressively less visible; the use of obsidian declined, cattle died out and circular architecture of a particularly Cypriot variety became widespread” [Ian Todd, 1989].
The oldest evidence of cat taming in the world was found at Shillourokambos
The discovery of an 8 months’ cat buried with what could be its master in a shallow grave suggests domestication of cats had begun at least since 7,500 BC. The complete cat skeleton was found about 40cm from a human burial. The similar states of preservation and positions of the burials in the ground suggest the person and the cat were buried together. The cat specimen is large and best resembles the African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica), rather than present-day domestic cats. It seems the eight-month-old cat in the Cypriot burial was killed in order to be buried with the person. The person, who was about 30 years of age and was regarded of high status, was buried with rich offerings such as polished stone, axes, flint tools and ochre pigment [Paul Rincon, 2004].
The fauna of Aceramic Neolithic Shillourokambos
Vigne claims that cat (Felis silvestris lybica), domestic pig (Sus scrofa, dominant in Phase A), Mesopotamian fallow deer (sufficient amounts of deer bones suggest that animals were killed and butchered far from the site), “predomestic” sheep and goat (Ovis orientalis and Capra aegagrus, both species seem to have been killed near or on the site) and cattle (Bos primigenius/taurus – slaughtered and butchered on-site or nearby), of which bones were found in the site “were introduced to the island at that time” and consequently did not pre-exist in Cyprus. “Dog (Canis familiaris) and the European fox (Canis familiaris) are attested from Early Phase B” and “cattle are very scarce in the Middle Phase and are absent from the Late Phase” [Jean-Denis Vigne, 2001]. Prior to the excavations at Shillourokambos none of the previously known Aceramic Neolithic settlements had provided evidence for cattle, which were present at Shillourokambos, but for unknown reasons, the species died out in the 8th millennium BC [Jean Guilaine, François Briois, 2001]. Burnt cat bones from the site, attest to the fact that humans did eat the animals on certain occasions [Paul Rincon, 2004]. According to Vigne, shell, fish, bird and small mammal remains were very rare, which “probably indicates that marine resources and small game were of lesser importance to the subsistence economy”. He also adds that “there are absolutely no remains attributed to, or even suggesting the presence of the Cyprus autochthonous endemic mammal species of the dwarf hippopotamus, pygmy elephants and the genet” [Jean-Denis Vigne, 2001].
Kalavasos-Tenta [7,560 – 3,200 BC]
According to Ian Todd (1989), the site of Tenta is located on a small hill overlooking the Vasilikos river valley from its west side, and it provides a clear picture of an Aceramic Neolithic village with well-preserved circular stone and mudbrick buildings surrounded, “at least in an early phase of its existence by an outer settlement wall and a ditch”. The Tenta site comprises a small village with circular or curvilinear densely built-up houses, and a building or complex of structures of unusually large size or elaborate plan, clustered around the upper part of a small hill. It has been estimated that the settlement may have grown from an area of circa 1,600 m² or more, early in its life, to 2,500-3,000 m² in the latter part of its existence. The settlement within the boundary wall “consisted of approximately 40-45 building” and “the adult population of Tenta never exceeded about 150 persons” [Ian Todd, 1989].
Todd argues that it seems more likely that villages such as Kalavasos-Tenta and might have been founded by a population already resident on the island [and not migrated from Syria, but this can not be certain]. Also, the reasons for the demise of the Aceramic Neolithic settlements are as well unknown; no evidence of widespread destruction has been found, and the villages seem to have been abandoned for whatever reasons in peaceful conditions, as both Kalavasos-Tenta and Khirokitia were reused in the Ceramic Neolithic Period, “probably after a long gap, and a new wave of colonists has been postulated to account for the resumption of life on these sites” [Ian Todd, 1989].
The defensive nature of Kalavasos-Tenta
According to Todd, Tenta was a flourishing settlement, with substantial mudbrick and stone architecture. The site for this settlement was carefully chosen with strategic considerations in mind. The hill is itself naturally defensible. It was surrounded by a stone outer settlement wall and a ditch was cut in the natural limestone outside the wall at Tenta. Although the nature of the dangers facing these early settlers is unknown, the desire for security was a very real concern [Ian Todd, 1989].
The architecture of the Kalavasos-Tenta settlement
Limestone and diabase (from the Vasilikos river) stones were also locally available for the construction of the houses (and for the manufacture of many of the stone tools). Domestic structures may be built entirely of (unshaped) stone, entirely of mudbrick, of mudbrick on a stone footing, or they may consist at least in part of a double wall composed of both stone and mudbrick. The diameter of the domestic structures varies from 2.40 m to 3.60 m. Single or double rectilinear piers often occur in the medium-sized and larger structures of Tenta, as “they most likely they were used to support an upper wooden floor, which would have increased the floor space of the building to an appreciable extent”. According to Todd, “most likely that the many of the structure at Tenta would have had flat roofs”, but other buildings which inward inclination “could have had domed”. Windows, doorways and niches were found in the walls of a number of structures. Internal features such as hearths, benches and platforms occur in some of the buildings but much of the cooking was done out of doors. Nearby gypsum was used for small areas of floor paving and for the manufacture of floor and wall plaster. The floors of the buildings varied from finely rendered plaster surfaces to beaten earth. Red ochre, used as a colouring material, was available in the more northern reaches of the valley. The threshold was raised above the exterior ground level. All of the architecture visible today at Tenta belongs to the Later Aceramic Neolithic Period [Ian Todd, 1989].
Burial practices in the Kalavasos-Tenta settlement
The 18 individuals found were either buried below the floors of houses in economically-sized pits and at Tenta or interred in the open spaces between domestic buildings. The bodies were contracted to fit into the limited space provided, especially the ones of the adults. The skeletons were usually contracted on their sides or their backs. Five burials were found under a single structure (two adults, two young children and a newborn infant). Grave goods were very rarely deposited with the dead and only one artefact was recovered within a grave. A decree of artificial cranial deformation was practised and approximately 11% of the skeletons provide evidence of occipital flattening. The average adult stature attained by males is circa 163 cm and 154 for females. The skeletal remains offer evidence that the Tenta inhabitants suffered from thalassaemia or sicklemia and/or iron deficiency anaemia [Ian Todd, 1989].
Important artefacts unearthed from the site
According to Todd, a sophisticated range of stone vessels was in use. Highly polished axes, pestles, grinders and querns formed of the local hard stones (diabase, picrolite) were unearthed. Various types of stone were also used for small items of jewellery (dress-pins, pendants, rings, beads and others), and simple tools were made of animal bone. Locally available chert was largely used for the making of blades, flakes, scrapers, awls and other tools; small amounts of chalcedony, jasper, quartz and a very small quantity of (imported) obsidian was used. It is essential that Todd notes “the quantity of domestic tools found in situ on the floors of buildings at Tenta is generally small, and most serviceable tools must have been removed when the site was abandoned” [Ian Todd, 1989].
Dietary habits (Flora and Fauna) of the Kalavasos-Tenta inhabitants
According to Todd, regarding the flora, analysis of the excavated plant remains revealed the presence of cultivated emmer and einkorn wheat, barley and lentils. Traces of fig, pistachio, grape, olive and plum were also recovered. Regarding the fauna, 99.7% of the findings conclude the consumption of fallow deer (presumably non-domestic, now extinct from the island), pig, sheep and goat (presumably all three domestic). The rest of the remains derived from cat, fox, rodent, bird and fish [Ian Todd, 1989].
The most ancient wall-painting recovered in Cyprus
The first intelligible early prehistoric wall painting in Cyprus was discovered by Todd’s crew in Tenta. The red ochre painting represents two human figures side by side with their arms upraised and it is now on display in the Nicosia Museum [Ian Todd, 1989].
Kissonerga-Mylouthkia [from circa 7,300 BC]
The Kissonerga-Mylouthkia settlement was according to Peltenburg inhabited in several periods of which Period 1A from ca 7,300-6,200 BC, Period 1B from ca 6,200-4,800. It covers an area of 235 x > 350 metres [Edgar Peltenburg, 2003].
The location of the Mylouthkia settlement
According to Gomez and Pease (1992), the coast at that time could have been circa 1.5-2.5 km further out than it is presently and the offshore western islands of Petra you Limniti and Yeronisos would have been part of the mainland. Peltenburg notes that “since the earliest inhabitants’ exploitation of marine resources was significant, we assume here that Mylouthkia was a coastal site in prehistory”. The nearest source of fresh surficial water is the Apis torrent to the north and a spring near the base of the seacliff some 150 metres from the site but it is not known whether the torrent was perennial or the spring existed in antiquity [Edgar Peltenburg, 2003].
Artefacts
According to Peltenburg, “plentiful obsidian” was unearthed [which was an imported product from Anatolia] and according to McCartney and Gratuze several chipped stones, such as blades, flakes, tools and others were found (a total of 140 items); according to Jackson axes, hammerstones, grinders, pounders, rubbing stones, polishers, cupped stones, anvils, a perforated disc, a macehead, grooved stones and 400 bowls’ fragments [chalk (87.8%), reef limestone (6.5%), calcarenite (4.5%), diabase (0.7%), gabbro (0.2%)] were unearthed. Generally speaking, the tools excluding the chipped stones were primarily made from chalk, then reef limestone and to a lesser extent from calcarenite [Edgar Peltenburg, 2003].
Fauna and Flora of Aceramic Neolithic Mylouthkia
According to Croft, during the A1 & A2 bones from pigs, sheep, goats, deers, a pigeon, crabs, several fish and thousands of limpet shells were found in two wells where they were thrown, and there was as well evidence that molluscs were consumed by the inhabitants of Mylouthkia. A fish hook made on a sliver of pig tusk from a wet sieved sample from basal fill provides further evidence for marine-related activities here. Non-food animal remains included an owl, cats, frogs, toads, snakes, mice, shrews, lizards and others. From a pit, a bone of fox was found. Regarding flora, according to Murray, evidence was found that the inhabitants of Mylouthkia during the Aceramic Neolithic Period consumed [at least] einkorn wheat, emmer wheat, hulled barley, lentil, linseed, figs, pistachio and unknown nuts and roots/tubers [Edgar Peltenburg, 2003].
Khirokitia-Vounoi [from 6,800 BC]
Khirokitia is situated about 6 km from the southern coast of the island. The Neolithic settlement covers an area of approximately one and a half hectares on the slope of a hill. According to Le Brun, Khirokitia differs in many respects from Shillourokambos: by its location, its massive architecture, its chipped and ground stone industries, the scarcity of obsidian, and its faunal assemblage [Alain Le Brun, 2001].
Defence
We learn from Le Brun that ”the hill chosen for the Neolithic settlement lies within a sharp bend of the river, which protects it on the north, east and southeast. When the site was occupied, the river had a more substantial rate of flow than at present”. Also, “this natural protection, however, does not exist to the west where the village is open to the neighbouring hills. In place of such natural defences, a long, linear stone structure was built, crossing the settlement from north to south, providing artificial protection – When the settlement spread to the west onto previously unoccupied land, the same pattern was repeated and the development was accompanied by the simultaneous building of a new boundary in the form of an impressive stone wall” [Alain Le Brun, 2001].
Architecture
According to Le Brun, “the architecture at the site is always substantial”. For the creation of domestic and public buildings, the inhabitants were using “stone and mud in the form of mudbricks”. For domestic architecture, “the basic architectural unit is a structure with a circular ground plan and not a rectangular one as seen in most contemporaneous villages in the Near East. This cultural choice remains constant throughout the occupation of the site and buildings are round from the earliest level to the latest. The exterior diameters of structures vary from between 2.3 m for the smallest and 9.8 m for the largest. Before construction began, the ground surface was roughly prepared to support the walls, which were then built directly onto the underlying deposits, usually without a foundation trench. Floors were covered with mud plaster also placed directly on the underlying deposits, or more rarely, on a layer of stones. The mud plaster was worked from the floor up against the interior face of the wall where it also served as a base for painted mural decoration [Alain Le Brun, 2001]. Remains of a flat roof were found at Khirokitia collapsed in a building that had been burnt [Ian Todd, 1989] implying that the roofs were flat, something that Le Brun agrees with. Domestic installations such as fireplaces, pits, or basins are found [Alain Le Brun, 2001].
Burial practices
According to Todd, all the dead were buried under the structures’ floors. A decree of artificial cranial deformation was practised, as in Kalavasos-Tenta [Ian Todd, 1989].
Dietary habits (Flora and Fauna)
According to Hansen, common plants that were utilized by the prehistoric Cypriots in Aceramic Neolithic Khirokitia were primarily the following: einkorn, emmer, barley, lentil, vetch, fig, olive, pistachio and ryegrass [Julie Hansen, 2001]. According to Todd, regarding the fauna, the findings conclude the consumption of primarily sheep and goat (66%), fallow deer (19%) and pigs (15%). Caprines (sheep and goat) are thus twice as frequent at Khirokitia compared with Tenta. It is possible according to Todd that the considerably greater population at Khirokitia necessitated a distinctly greater reliance on domestic animals rather than wild acquired by hunting [Ian Todd, 1989].
Unknown reason for its destruction
According to Todd (1989), the reasons for the demise of the Aceramic Neolithic settlement of Khirokitia is unknown; no evidence of widespread destruction has been found, and the village seems to have been abandoned for whatever reasons in peaceful conditions, as it was reused in the Ceramic Neolithic Period, “probably after a long gap, and a new wave of colonists has been postulated to account for the resumption of life on these sites” [Ian Todd, 1989].
Cape Andreas-Kastros [6th Millenium BC]
It lied at the north-easternmost tip of the Karpasia Peninsula (Cape Apostolos Andreas), about 4 km north of Apostolos Andreas Monastery. The settlement was situated on a little plateau at the steep flank of the limestone promontory, about halfway between the main plateau of the peninsula and the sea in a very inaccessible situation. Between 1970-1973 three campaigns of excavations have been conducted by a French team headed by Alain Le Brun. The excavation was interrupted by the 1974 war in Cyprus [Wikipedia]. The Neolithic site of Apostolos Andreas-Kastros dates to ca 6th millennium BC. It is the only coastal site, probably a fishing village, belonging to the Aceramic Neolithic period which exemplifies the adaptation of the material culture of the period to the coastal environment and resources. The site was bulldozed and levelled by the Turkish army in 2005, and where there were once archaeological remains now stand the flag poles of Turkey and the pseudo-state. Further destruction to the ruins came with the creation of a road opened in order to give access to the flags [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Architecture
The settlement consisted of small round or roundish houses. Their diameter was between 2.5 and 2.8 m, which gave a living surface of between 5 and 6.8 m². The houses contained a hearth and sometimes container bins on the floor. The walls were thin, composed of a single course of dry stone walling. The houses contain querns. Only one house had a more substantial wall (1.70 m thick) and the excavator thinks it might have had a function different from the rest of the structures [Wikipedia].
Burials
One burial was discovered in a shallow trapezoidal pit measuring 0.75×0.45 m. The body laid on the back, with flexed legs, the head to the northeast, the face turned to the southeast. This type of burial is known from Khirokitia as well. The burial was situated near a house, but at the outside, in contrast to Khirokitia, where all burials are situated inside the houses. The grave contained four small shells with drilled holes and one dentalium shell [Wikipedia].
Flora
According to Hansen, common plants that were utilized by the prehistoric Cypriots in Aceramic Neolithic Period were primarily the following: einkorn, emmer, barley, lentil, vetch, fig, olive, pistachio, pea and ryegrass [Julie Hansen, 2001].
Kholetria-Ortos
According to Todd (1989), remains of the Aceramic Neolithic Period have been found in Kholetria-Ortos, but no architecture was revealed by excavation [Ian Todd, 1989].
Flora and Fauna
According to Hansen, common plants that were utilized by the prehistoric Cypriots in Aceramic Neolithic Period were primarily the following: einkorn, emmer, barley, lentil, vetch, fig, pistachio and ryegrass [Julie Hansen, 2001]. According to Croft, the faunal assemblage consists of caprines (about half, including both sheep and goat in the ratio 3:1), pig and deer (about a quarter each) with fox and cat also present. The absence of cattle from Ortos suggests that cattle keeping may have died out even in the west of Cyprus by this time [Edgar Peltenburg, 2003].
Mari-Mesovouni
According to Todd, Mari-Mesovouni is located 1.5 km southeast of Mari village and it comprises a village settlement on a steep-sided, flat-topped hill in a strategic position overlooking the coast at a distance of 1 km away from it. Artefacts found on the surface of the site included fragments of stone vessels, one with incised lozenge patterns, and an enigmatic stone figurine of a quadruped. The site has been destroyed and the hill quarried away [Ian Todd, 1989].
Ora-Klitari
According to Todd, Ora-Klitari lies on a gently sloping spur overlooking the Vasilikos valley just below the abandoned village of Drapia. The location is not strategic but it does command a good view over much of the surrounding area and has ready access to good arable land. Fragments of stone vessels and other domestic equipment were found on the surface of the site. The lack of pottery sherds suggests that the site was not preoccupied in the Ceramic Neolithic Period [Ian Todd, 1989].
Other settlements of this era
Other sites of this era include Dali-Agridi; Troulli; Petra tou Limniti and many more.
CERAMIC NEOLITHIC PERIOD [5,500 – 4,000 BC]
It is called “Ceramic” because during this period the manufacture of ceramics appears in Neolithic Cyprus. According to Clarke (1992), “perhaps one of the most interesting features of the Ceramic Neolithic period is the island-wide uniformity that is evident in the architecture, religious practices and material culture. Even the ceramic tradition shows, on a technical and functional level, a high degree of homogeneity between the north and the south of the island. This cultural similarity tends to signify that the separate village populations must have been in fairly regular contact with each other” [Joanne Clarke, 1992].
Ceramics
In contradiction with the technical and functional uniformity apparent in the ceramic industry of the south and the north of Cyprus during this Period, regarding the style of the ceramics, according to Peltenburg (1975) two major traditions exist: In the south, it is characterised by the predominance of Combed decoration seen at Sotira-Teppes, Khirokitia-Vounoi and others [Kalavasos-Kokkinoyia and Kantou-Kouphovounos excavated later], and in the north, the primary decorative technique is the application of red paint to plain or white slipped surface and is known as Red on White [Philia-Drakos, Ayios Epiktitos-Vrysi] [Joanne Clarke, 1992].
According to Clarke, the repertoire of the vessels created “is limited and consists primarily of large milk bowls with and without spouts, hole mouth jars, and large, narrow-necked flasks with globular body and flat, rounded or omphalos bases” [Joanne Clarke, 1992].
Burials
According to Mantzourani (2003), the Late Neolithic Cypriots did not follow only one burial norm; the dead could be buried inside or outside the houses, in specially reserved ground. “Common features remained the type of tomb and burial, and the type of offerings: simple pit graves, primary and secondary burials, and minimum or no gifts at all” [Eleni Mantzourani, 2003].
Kantou-Kouphovounos [5,370 – 4,050 BC]
The site is located on a hill, 243 metres above sea level, on the plateau and the slopes of the hill Kouphovounos of Kantou, and according to Mantzourani it “seems to have covered a rather large area”. An electromagnetic survey carried out in 1996 had located scattered architectural remains over an area of 20,500 m², of which only 900 m² have been excavated. This part revealed a large number of monocellular structures, belonging to different building phases. The so-far excavations revealed 39 houses of different size and building phase and their respective open areas. Later structures have been completely wiped out due to erosion and other factors [Eleni Mantzourani, 2003].
Architecture
According to Mantzourani, the site was so densely built that “there are instances where independent units share the same entrance and part of the same wall. The ground plans of the houses are generally rectangular with rounded corners [subrectangular] and have an average size of 20-25 m². “The walls of the buildings were made of limestone rubble and are generally preserved to an average height of about 40 cm above foundations, keeping in good condition three or four courses of stone”. The width of the walls extends from 35-40/45 cm and “on these lower stone courses rested the superstructure made up of pise or mudbricks”. Interiors, as well as exteriors, had beaten earth floors. Circular hearths “remain the dominant feature within buildings in an off-cental position”. Fireplaces also are present. Evidence for shelves or lofts seems inconsistent and internal divisions rarely occurred. Regarding the roof, Mantzourani writes “it is plausible to assume that there was a central wooden column on which other horizontal beams rested, in order to support a flat or pitched roof of light construction made of successive layers of timber, reed and mud plaster”. The initial structures were larger than the ones built afterwards [Eleni Mantzourani, 2003].
Ground stone tools, chipped stone tools and other artefacts
According to Mantzourani, thousands of ground stools have been excavated of which 2275 items have been listed and numbered. Most raw material comes from natural river stones easily collected from the Kouris nearby river, such as diabase, andesite, gabbro, micro gabbro, serpentinite and less limestone. The tools include grinders, rubbers, hammers, pestles, pounders, pecking stones, axes, hammer-axes, adzes, mortars and querns. On the other hand, the total number of chipped stone artefacts has been estimated at over 10,000 pieces, of which “the most remarkable feature of the Kantou industry is the long blades, frequently bearing retouch or traces of silica gloss”. Apart from the blades and flakes, sickle elements, notches, end scrapers, burins, denticulates and perforators appear [Eleni Mantzourani, 2003].
Other types of artefacts that occurred in Kantou-Kouphovounos are the following: a few anthropomorphic figurines made of picrolite and limestone, pendants, amulets, beads, dress pins and others, all made of picrolite, as well as an adequate number of small pierced limestone discs “of uncertain use” [Eleni Mantzourani, 2003].
Ceramics
According to Mantzourani, “the settlement yielded considerable quantities of pottery, although the state of its preservation is often very fragmentary and worn”. They bear the Combed ware type [the most popular in production, 47% in the initial phase and 35% in the final], the Red Monochrome [Red Lustrous or Matt or Red Slip, 29.5% in the initial phase and 23% in the final] type, the Red on White type, the Red on White and Combed style, as well as the Coarse ware type. Painted pottery motifs show a great variety; the main patterns are wavy bands and lines set vertically, horizontally, diagonally, circles, lattice, hatching, chevrons, dot borders, crescents and others. “It is obvious that Kantou pottery is very much like that of Sotira [Teppes] in both shapes and decoration techniques, motifs and styles” [Eleni Mantzourani, 2003]. It mainly includes both open and closed vessels such as bowls of various sizes, flasks, a small number of hole mouth jars and a few types of coarse ware shapes of which the most abundant was the tray [Eleni Mantzourani, Ioannis Voskos 2019].
Burials
According to Mantzourani, in house 15 two tombs were found in two pits dug in the floor. The first, 32 x 40 cm contained an infant, and another 99 x 46, contained the remains of the skeleton of a man in a flexed position. The filling of the tomb brought to light a few shells, chipped stone flakes, a ground stone tool, pottery sherd and debris, but according to Mantzourani “no burial gifts were deposited in either tomb”. Generally in Kouphovounos, “the dead could be buried inside or outside the houses, in specially reserved ground” [Eleni Mantzourani, 2003]. According to Korali remains of a total of four people have been found during the excavations, inside or outside the houses [Eleni Mantzourani, Ioannis Voskos 2019], but no cemetery has been found/excavated up to date.
Remains of flora and fauna
According to Mantzourani, the flora found represents primarily einkorn, and at much less emmer, domesticated barley, lentil, vetch, pea and grape. The animal bones were found in very poor condition and in small quantities [Eleni Mantzourani, 2003] and according to Korali, they included primarily sheep, goat and deer, as well as a plethora of marine species, and some evidence of pigs [Eleni Mantzourani, Ioannis Voskos 2019].
The importance of the site of Kantou-Kouphovounos
Kantou-Kouphovounos was more (continuously, non-interrupted) long-lived than its contemporary sites, since it was inhabited earlier and abandoned later than Sotira-Teppes and Ayios Epiktitos-Vrysi [Eleni Mantzourani, Ioannis Voskos 2019].
Sotira-Teppes [5,000-4,000 BC]
The Ceramic Neolithic site at Sotira, according to Dikaios, illustrates the phase of culture which falls between that of Khirokitia and that of Erimi, somewhat later and more developed. The Sotira site “is thus an important link in the development of the Neolithic culture of Cyprus. The settlement covers an area of 810 m² and on the plateau 23 house units were excavated [Porphyrios Dikaios, 1952].
A well-defended location
The site is named after the hill Teppes on which’s top exclusively it is located, which is clearly a defensive location. According to Dikaios, it holds a commanding position and forms a prominent feature easily identified from all directions. “The slopes chosen for this purpose are the southern and southeastern ones, while the northern and western ones, being abrupt, remained uninhabited. They were, however, strengthened with a massive wall”. Regarding the water sources, “there exist two springs of perennial water, one within the modern village and another rising from an impressive cave a few hundred yards south of the ancient site” [Porphyrios Dikaios, 1952].
Architecture
According to Dikaios, the ground plans of the exposed houses belong to three main types: (1) the circular, which may be slightly elongated; (2) the circular with one straightened side, forming a horse-shoe plan; (3) the rectangular with rounded angles. The placing of the house units on the site does not show any systematic arrangement with deliberate planning of houses and streets. Houses are erected rather haphazardly with narrow spaces for circulation left between them. In some cases, larger irregular spaces are left between house units, but these spaces are occupied by subsidiary light structures used as kitchens or workshops. “The walls of the dwellings of all types have a lower part built of stones (mostly limestone boulders) while the superstructure which has not survived”, and Dikaios presumes it was made of sun-dried mudbricks with a small quantity of stones “probably inserted to strengthen the mudbrick”. Regarding the roofing, it “must have been different in the various types of dwellings. The circular or oblong houses must have had thatched roofs” and “the roof of the horse-shoe shaped hut must have been a half-dome of pisé”. As far as the rectangular houses are concerned “the roofing must have been of beams and thatching, probably flat with vertical posts resting in the floor and supporting the roof-beams. Central post-holes have been found in nearly all the floors of the rectangular houses but post-holes are also found in other parts of the floor and in some cases near the walls”. Regarding the flooring and hearths, “the floors were made of yellowish mud or soil, beaten hard. The main feature on them was the hearth. Nearly all the houses possessed a hearth, some even having two. These hearths were built of yellow pisé and were circular in plan approximately one meter across. They were raised 15-20 centimetres above the general level of the floor and had at the centre a circular depression in which the fire was made … The position of the hearth varies, but central hearths have been found” [Porphyrios Dikaios, 1952].
Cooking was done in subsidiary huts adjoining the main ones. Here the floors were burnt by the continuous use of fire, and charcoal was found in quantities [Porphyrios Dikaios, 1952].
Ceramics
According to Dikaios, the pottery found on the floors included Red Lustrous ware [Red Slip or Red Monochrome ware], Combed ware, and Red on White ware. Deep bowls, open bowls with spouts, milk bowls and jugs were the four common shapes. The Combed ware is the most abundant of all and is most characteristic of the site [Porphyrios Dikaios, 1952].
Burials
Dikaios, who excavated the site, mentioned in 1948: “A number of floors paved with pebbles were brought to light with, in two of them, two burials” [Porphyrios Dikaios, 1948].
Philia-Drakos
Philia-Drakos is a village settlement located on the southern slope of the shallow Ovgos river valley, consisting of small sub-rectangular buildings with stone-built foundations supporting walls of mud or other materials. According to Croft (2013), the settlement was at least partly surrounded by a substantial wall and ditch arrangement. “It was occupied probably discontinuously, from an initial phase of the Ceramic Neolithic Period” [Paul Croft, 2013].
Ceramics
According to Watkins (1970), pottery in Philia-Drakos passed through four phases [Joanne Clarke, 1992]. According to Watkins (1969), during the initial phase, the pottery was characterised by the Dark-Faced Burnished Ware [DFBW], with an absence of the Red on White ware that characterises the three subsequent phases on the site [Paul Croft, 2013]. Red on White pottery appears initially in small percentages in the second phase [Joanne Clarke, 1992].
Fauna
According to Croft (2013), a part (3343 fragments) of the bone remains of mammals found at the site belong to deer (66,5%), sheep and goats (22,6%), pig (9,1%), dog (1,2%), fox (0,5%) and cat (0,1%). Non-mammalian remains include three bird bones, a carapace fragment of a freshwater turtle, and nine claws of freshwater crab [Paul Croft, 2013].
Ayios Epiktitos-Vrysi [4,400-3,900]
According to Croft, the village settlement of Ayios Epiktitos-Vrysi consisted of superimposed small stone buildings clustered in artificial hollows located on a small headland on the north coast of Cyprus. According to Peltenburg (1982), a substantial ditch defined the landward edge of the settlement in its early phases. According to Peltenburg and Spanou (1999), radiocarbon dates encompasses three phases of occupation, running from circa 4400 to 3900 BC [Paul Croft, 2013].
Fauna
According to Croft, “a rather small amount of faunal material was reported by A. J. Legge”, and more specifically, 667 fragments were identified. Those, according to Croft belong primarily to goats and sheep (50,4%), fallow deer (37,2%), pig (10,5%), and a few fragments belong to dog, fox and cat. Fish remains were recovered “in surprisingly small quantities in view of the coastal location of the site” [Paul Croft, 2013].
Paralimni-Nissia
Fauna
According to Croft (2013), an assemblage of 1034 identified bones of large mammals comprise of deer (77,1%), sheep and goat (16,7%), pig (4,1%) and some fragments of dog, fox and cat. Marine turtles seem also to have been exploited to some degree at Paralimni-Nissia [Paul Croft, 2013].
Kalavasos-Kokkinoyia
Kalavasos-Kokkinoyia is a Late Neolithic / Early Chalcolithic site, situated in farmland, approximately 4 km south of the village of Kalavasos. It is the most southerly of a cluster of sites located around the intersection of the old Lefkosia/Limassol road and the road to the coastal village of Zygi that include the Early Chalcolithic site Kalavasos-Ayious [2 km away] and the Chalcolithic site of Kalavasos-Pamboules [0.5 km away] [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Unusual location, unusual subterranean settlement
Kokkinogia, located on the coastal plain with fully and partly subterranean features, appeared very different from sites usually considered typical of the Late Neolithic Period, as Late Neolithic sites in the southern part of the island are more typically located on hilltops with substantial above-ground architecture, e.g. Sotira-Teppes and Kantou-Koufovounos. According to Clarke, it is within the realms of possibility that Kokkinogia had been a settlement, of which negative features cut into the bedrock were all that survived. “By 2004 excavations had unearthed over nine pit-like features, plus four chambers inter-connected through a series of intricate tunnels, entranceways and portholes [Joanne Clarke, 2009].
Excavations’ results
At Kokkinogia was uncovered an impressive “chamber and tunnel complex” and a series of individual and inter-joining chambers. The purpose of these underground features remains enigmatic. In addition to the chamber and tunnel complex and the individual chambers, excavations uncovered a single circular structure, partly sunk into the bedrock, with a central post hole, fire pit and a series of crushed limestone floors. This structure appears to have been associated with at least some of the underground chambers but clearly had a different use [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Absence of economic data and of the full range of material culture
According to Clarke, ”Kokkinogia lacks the full range of material culture usually found at Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic sites. There are no bone tools (which are common on most prehistoric sites), no small objects, such as hooks, spirals, beads or pendants, and there are no figurines. The absence of figurines would not be unusual for a Late Neolithic site, where imagery of any kind was uncommon, but it is certainly unusual for the Early Chalcolithic period. If Kokkinogia was partly contemporary with Agious one would expect to observe similarities in the pottery and just as importantly, in the types and variety of other objects. Instead, the range of material culture represented is a depleted version of that which might be expected on a typical Late Neolithic settlement site”. Within the artefacts found are included hammerstones, rubbers, utilised pebbles, an anvil, grinders, flint blades, pottery and a moulded unfired cylindrical mud “lamp” [Joanne Clarke, 2009].
Ceramics
According to Clarke, At Kokkinogia, thousands of sherds have been found, “considerably less than what might be expected from a Late Neolithic settlement site, where sherd counts number in the tens of thousands”. The assemblage is characterised by Combed ware and Red Monochrome Painted ware in predominantly Late Neolithic forms, including hemispherical bowls with flat or omphalos bases. “Although a standard range of Late Neolithic pottery is represented, there is a significantly higher proportion of Coarse ware than in other broadly contemporary assemblages” [Joanne Clarke, 2009].
Burials
At least six individuals were interred in pits and chambers [chambers appear in Chalcolithic Period] around the only structure unearthed. In one shallow pit was found the fully articulated bones of a young female and the long bones of a second individual. In another pit were three fully articulated skeletons, one on top of the other, and in a chamber-like feature were the stacked bones of another individual [Cyprus Department of Antiquities].
Flora and Fauna
At Agious, the botanical evidence is poor (Hansen 2004) but faunal preservation is good and suggests that deer were predominant (Croft 2004) [Joanne Clarke, 2009].
Other settlements include Klepini-Troulli and Orga-Palialona.
CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD [3,900 – 2,300 BC]
It is called “Chalcolithic Period” because, despite still being in the Stone Age, copper is utilized in Cyprus during this period.
Kalavasos-Ayious [from circa 3,800 BC]
Ceramics
According to Clarke (2009), “at Agious, the pottery assemblage is characterised by Early Chalcolithic types of Red-on-White and Red Monochrome Painted ware, in typical Early Chalcolithic forms including platters, bottles with pointed bases, plus slipped or painted Coarse ware trays with lug handles and other decorative motifs that are diagnostic of the early 4th millennium BC” [Joanne Clarke, 2009].