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

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，艾伦·西蒙斯博士将对地中海塞浦路斯岛的最初殖民进行两季的考古调查。多年来，学者们认为地中海岛屿是人类占领的较晚接受者。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新石器时代晚期，大约公元前6000年。新石器时代，从狩猎和采集经济向以粮食生产为基础的经济过渡，最早发生在公元前9000年的近东大陆，因此地中海岛屿的殖民化被视为相对较晚。此外，岛屿新石器时代的特点是与其大陆祖先的一个难以描述的对应，通常被视为更广泛的新石器世界的一个注脚。艾斯洛基斯大学的研究挑战了这种看法。最近在塞浦路斯的发现表明，大约在公元前1万年左右，最初的占领可能导致了当地更新世动物的灭绝，比如侏儒河马。另一项研究将新石器时代对该岛的实际殖民的时间和范围延长了大约1000年。这个新定义的阶段，Cypro-PPNB，目前由几个站点组成，Ais Yiorkis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，它位于高地而不是沿海地区，几乎所有其他地点都位于那里。其次，它包含了技术上和类型学上复杂的人工制品组合，包括进口的黑曜石人工制品。第三，虽然它看起来不是一个村庄，但它包含一个巨大的圆形石头结构，这与塞浦路斯新石器时代发现的任何东西都不同。最后，经济数据表明，维持生计的基础比之前所怀疑的要广泛得多。这包括牛的有限存在，直到更晚的青铜时代才有文献记载。最近在另一个Cypro-PPNB遗址也发现了牛，因此这些动物似乎是伴随该岛第一批殖民者的“新石器时代包裹”的一部分。本研究将为新定义的Cypro-PPNB期建立基线数据。该项目将检验与塞浦路斯早期永久占领的变动性有关的模型，现在知道这种情况比最初认为的要复杂得多。特别是，这项研究考察了高地占领的性质，以及新石器时代早期岛上牛群对经济和可能的仪式的影响。这项工作有助于更好地理解在动荡的“新石器革命”期间，早期粮食生产社会如何在整个地中海地区传播的轨迹。现在很清楚，塞浦路斯比人们认为的要早得多地积极参与了这一事件。新石器时代导致了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相关的生态退化，这在今天的地区仍然可以感受到。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参加这个项目，从而获得宝贵的研究经验。将鼓励来自初出乍到的塞浦路斯大学的考古学学生参加，加强美国和塞浦路斯之间的共同参与。

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.