Neolithic Voyagers-Inter-Disciplinary Investigations at Ais Yiorkis and the Colonization of Cyprus

在国家科学基金会的支持下，艾伦·西蒙斯博士将对地中海岛屿塞浦路斯的最初殖民进行为期两个季节的考古调查。多年来，学者们认为地中海岛屿是人类占领的晚期接受国。然而，塞浦路斯拥有最早的证据，大多数数据表明，第一批村庄的建立是在公元前6000年左右的新石器时代晚期。新石器时代，即从狩猎和采集经济向以粮食生产为基础的经济的过渡，首先发生在公元前9000年左右的近东大陆，因此地中海岛屿的殖民被认为是相对较晚的。此外，新石器时代的岛屿被描述为其大陆祖先的不起眼的对应物，通常被视为更广泛的新石器时代世界的一个脚注。艾斯·约尔基斯的研究挑战了这种看法。最近在塞浦路斯的发现表明，塞浦路斯最初是在公元前10,000年左右占领的，这可能导致了当地更新世动物的灭绝，如侏儒河马。其他研究将该岛实际新石器时代殖民的年代和范围延长了约1000年。这一新定义的阶段--塞浦路斯--PPNB，目前由几个地点组成，其中约奥尔基斯就是其中之一。对该定居点的研究旨在了解为什么它与其他新石器时代遗址不同。首先，它位于高原而不是沿海地区，几乎所有其他遗址都位于沿海地区。其次，它包含了技术和类型上复杂的文物组合，包括进口的黑铁矿文物。第三，尽管它看起来不像是一个村庄，但它包含了一个巨大的圆形石头结构，不同于以前在塞浦路斯新石器时代发现的任何东西。最后，经济数据表明，中国的生存基础比之前怀疑的要广泛得多。这包括牛的有限存在，直到很晚的青铜时代才有记录。另一个塞浦路斯-PPNB遗址最近也报告了牛的情况，因此这些动物似乎是伴随着该岛第一批殖民者的“新石器时代包”的一部分。这项研究将建立新定义的塞浦路斯-PPNB时期的基线数据。该项目将测试与塞浦路斯被永久占领初期的可变性有关的模型，目前已知这一情况比最初认为的要复杂得多。特别是，这项研究既考察了高地占领的性质，也考察了该岛新石器时代早期牛的经济影响和可能的仪式影响。这项工作有助于更好地理解早期粮食生产社会在动荡的“新石器时代革命”期间如何传播到整个地中海地区的轨迹。现在很明显，塞浦路斯是这一事件的积极参与者，比人们认为的要早得多。新石器时代导致地中海农牧经济模式的建立，以及与粮食生产和高人口密度有关的生态退化，该区域今天仍能感受到这种退化。因此，这是一个具有当代意义的相关研究问题。塞浦路斯和美国的学生都将加入这个项目，从而获得宝贵的研究经验。来自羽翼未丰的塞浦路斯大学的考古学学生将被鼓励参加，从而加强美国和塞浦路斯之间的联合参与。

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Allan Simmons will conduct two seasons of archaeological investigation into the initial colonization of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus,. For many years, scholars considered the Mediterranean islands as late recipients of human occupation. Cyprus, however, had the earliest evidence, with most data pointing to the founding of the first villages during the later Neolithic period, around 6,000 B.C. The Neolithic, the transition from hunting and gathering economies to those based on food production, first occurred on the Near Eastern mainland about 9,000 B.C. and thus the colonization of the Mediterranean islands was seen as relatively late. Furthermore, the island Neolithic was characterized as a nondescript counterpart of its mainland ancestors, often regarded as little more than a footnote in the wider Neolithic world. Research at Ais Yiorkis challenges this perception.Recent discoveries on Cyprus demonstrated an initial occupation around 10,000 B.C., which likely resulted in the extinction of native Pleistocene fauna such as the pygmy hippopotamus. Other research has extended the chronology and scope of the actual Neolithic colonization of the island by about 1,000 years. This newly defined phase, the Cypro-PPNB, presently consists of a handful of sites, of which Ais Yiorkis is one. Research at the settlement is oriented towards understanding why it is atypical from other Neolithic sites. First, it is located in the uplands rather the coastal area, where nearly all other sites are situated. Second, it contains a technologically and typologically sophisticated artifact assemblage, including imported obsidian artifacts. Third, although it does not appear to be a village, it contains a large circular stone structure unlike anything previously found in the Cypriot Neolithic. Finally, economic data suggest a far more wide ranging subsistence base that previously suspected. This included the limited presence of cattle, which had not been documented until the much later Bronze Age. Cattle also have recently been reported from another Cypro-PPNB site, thus these animals appear to have been part of the "Neolithic Package" that accompanied the island's first colonists.This research will establish base-line data for the newly defined Cypro-PPNB period. The project will test models related to variability in the early permanent occupation of Cyprus which is now known to be far more complex than initially believed. In particular, the research examines both the nature of an upland occupation and the economic, and possible ritual, impact of cattle in the early Neolithic of the island. The work contributes to a better understanding of the trajectory of how early food producing societies spread throughout the Mediterranean area during the tumultuous "Neolithic Revolution." It is now clear that Cyprus was an active participant in this event much earlier than believed. The Neolithic resulted in both the establishment of the Mediterranean agro-pastoral economic pattern and the ecological degradation associated with food production and high population densities that is still being felt in the region today. It is, therefore, a relevant research issue with contemporary significance. Both Cypriot and U.S. students will join the project, thereby gaining valuable research experience. Archaeology students from the fledging University of Cyprus will be encouraged to participate, enhancing joint participation between the U.S. and Cyprus.