Zooarcheological
evidence suggests that pigs were domesticated in Southwest Asia
∼8,500 BC. They then spread across the Middle and Near East and
westward into Europe alongside early agriculturalists. European pigs
were either domesticated independently or appeared so as a result of
admixture between introduced pigs and European wild boar. These pigs
not only replaced those with Near Eastern signatures in Europe, they
subsequently also replaced indigenous domestic pigs in the Near East.
The specific details of these processes, however, remain unknown. To
address questions related to early pig domestication, dispersal, and
turnover in the Near East, we analyzed ancient mitochondrial DNA and
dental geometric morphometric variation in 393 ancient pig specimens
representing 48 archeological sites (from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
to the Medieval period) from Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Syria
and Turkey. Our results firstly reveal the genetic signature of early
domestic pigs in Eastern Turkey. We also demonstrate that these early
pigs differed genetically from those in western Anatolia that were
introduced to Europe during the Neolithic expansion. In addition, we
present a significantly more refined chronology for the introduction
of European domestic pigs into Asia Minor that took place during the
Bronze Age, nearly 1,000 years earlier than previously detected. By
the 5th century AD, European signatures completely replaced the
endemic lineages possibly coinciding with the demographic and
societal changes during the Anatolian Bronze and Iron Ages. Link
Modern science has held that islands such as Cyprus and Crete were first inhabited by seafaring humans approximately 9,000 years ago by agriculturists from the late Neolithic period. Simmons writes that research over the past 20 years has cast doubt on that assumption however and suggests that it might be time to rewrite the history books. He cites evidence such as pieces of obsidian found in a cave in mainland Greece that were found to have come from Melos, an island in the Aegean Sea and were dated at 11,000 years ago as well as artifacts from recent digs on Cyprus that are believed to be from approximately 12,000 years ago. He adds that some researchers have also found evidence that something, or someone caused the extinction of pygmy hippos on Cyprus around the same time.
Simmons also suggests that the first inhabitants of many of the Mediterranean islands may not have been modern humans at all. Instead, he says evidence has been found that shows that they might have been Neanderthals, or Homo Erectus. Recent excavations on Crete have turned up artifacts that are thought to be 110,000 years old, for example, and a stone axe was found that is believed to have been made on the same island as far back as 170,000 years ago. Since modern humans are believed to have come into being roughly 100,000 to 200,000 years ago, the possibility exists that such artifacts were left behind by an early ancestor or cousin.
Science 16 November 2012: Vol. 338 no. 6109 pp. 895-897 DOI: 10.1126/science.1228880Mediterranean Island Voyages Alan Simmons Some of the classical world's most innovative cultures developed on Mediterranean islands, but their earlier human use is poorly known. The islands, particularly those further from the mainland such as Crete and Cyprus, were thought to have been first colonized about 9000 years ago by late Neolithic agriculturalists with domesticated resources. Until about 20 years ago, claims of earlier, pre-Neolithic occupations on any of the islands did not stand up to critical scrutiny (1), but current investigations are challenging these perceptions. Discoveries on Cyprus, Crete, and some Ionian islands suggest seafaring abilities by pre-Neolithic peoples, perhaps extending back to Neanderthals or even earlier hominins. In Cyprus, Neolithic sites have been documented that are nearly as early as those on the mainland.Link
From the paper:
The sediments used to backfill the monumental enclosures at the end of their use consist of limestone rubble from the quarries nearby, flint artefacts and surprisingly large amounts of animal bones smashed to get to the marrow, clearly the remains of meals. Their amount exceeds everything known from contemporary settlements, and can be taken as a strong indication of large-scale feasting. The species represented most frequently are gazelle, aurochs and Asian wild ass, a range of animals typical for hunters at that date in the region.
...
In concordance with Hayden’s thoughts, it seems obvious that repetitive feasts of the amplitude implied at G¨obekli Tepe must have placed stress on the economic production of hunter-gatherer groups.Maybe in response to the demand, new food sources and processing techniques were explored. In this scenario, religious beliefs and practices may have been a key factor in the adoption of intensive cultivation and the transition to agriculture. Archaeological and chemical evidence further suggests that this innovation may have been fuelled by alcoholic beverages,giving a new response to Braidwood’s question ‘Did man once live by beer alone?’ Probably not, but beer—and wine—may have played an important role in one of the most significant turning points in the history of mankind.
Personally, I am undecided whether the shift to agriculture was primarily ideological or utilitarian. Is Cauvin right about agriculture following the "birth of gods", being a dictate of some primordial religious-symbolic ideology, or did agriculture appear as a consequence of some ecological crisis that led Near Eastern hunter-gatherers to seek new reliable sources of sustenance? Or, was it more like a side product of an unrelated event, not dictated by a New Religion, but serving it indirectly by making possible the large-scale feasting exhbited in Göbekli Tepe?
Antiquity Volume: 86 Number: 333 Page: 674–695 The role of cult and feasting in the emergence of Neolithic communities. New evidence from Göbekli Tepe, south-eastern Turkey Oliver Dietrich1, Manfred Heun2, Jens Notroff1*, Klaus Schmidt1 and Martin Zarnkow3 Göbekli Tepe is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of modern times, pushing back the origins of monumentality beyond the emergence of agriculture. We are pleased to present a summary of work in progress by the excavators of this remarkable site and their latest thoughts about its role and meaning. At the dawn of the Neolithic, hunter-gatherers congregating at Göbekli Tepe created social and ideological cohesion through the carving of decorated pillars, dancing, feasting—and, almost certainly, the drinking of beer made from fermented wild crops. Link
