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Burials and Crafts

Housing

  • Burials took place either right outside the home in burials pits, or bodies were buried underneath the floors of houses.

  • Burials found in the home consisted mainly of women. This suggests a loose division of labor in Neolithic Abu Hureyra.

  • Clay pots were found. They were undecorated, suggesting that they served more practical purposes (i.e. cooking and storing grains) than artistic or religious.

  • There was also a possible tool industry. Large hooks were found and possibly used to transport or weigh items.
  • During the first occupation period, people lived in timber and reeds huts that were set deep into the ground.

  • Mud-brick houses developed during the Neolithic occupation. They were also clustered together.

Tools found at Abu Hureyra

http://bcrfj.revues.org/docannexe/image/6391/img-3.png

Skeletal Evidence

Diet

Neolithic mud/brick housing.

Epipaleolithic reed pit houses.

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  • 162 individuals. 75 children, 87 adults.

  • Gross deformities on many skeletons: collapsed lower back vertebrae, enlarged neck vertebrae, arthritic big toes, and deep groves in teeth.

  • Studies on the bones indicate that hard labor performed several hours per day during the person's developing years contributed to these bone abnormalities.

Diet - Gazelle

  • Abu Hureyra provides some of the earliest clues of experimental agriculture.

  • Plants grown and eaten include lentils, einhorn, rye, barley, hackberries, pistachios, emmer, oats, and chickpeas.

  • Animals eaten include sheep, goats, pig, and wild cattle. But these domesticated animals appeared later in the archaeological record, because....
  • 80% of the animal protein remains were gazelle.

  • They were hunted seasonally soon after the birthing season (April to May), when the gazelle migrated north through the area around Abu Hureyra.

  • It is thought that hunters chased the younger/weaker gazelle into "desert kites," walled structures with only one entrance point. The hunters slaughtered the gazelle by shooting them from niches in the wall.

  • The surplus meat was salted, dried, and eaten throughout the year.

Aerial view of a "desert kite."

http://www.megalithic.co.uk/a558/a312/gallery/Middle_East/Israel/sh3.JPG

Skeletal Evidence

Niche in a "desert kite."

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In-house skeletal remains at Abu Hureyra.

Einkorn wheat seeds from Abu Hureyra.

  • Most of these bone deformities were caused by the rough, daily lifestyle of early agriculture.

  • Back and neck damage caused by transporting heavy loads on the back and shoulders.

  • Grooves in teeth caused by pulling canes while weaving.

  • Arthritic toes caused by the stress of kneeling while grinding seeds.

Artist's rendition of Neolithic Abu Hureyra:

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http://www.syriatoday.ca/index.files/arch-abu-hureyra.jpg

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Canes during weaving.

Woman kneeling while grinding seeds.

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Abu Hureyra today:

About Abu Hureyra

Importance of Abu Hureyra

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Bibliography

About Abu Hureyra

  • Excavated in 1973 to 1974 by Andrew Moore and his team.

  • Located in modern-day northern Syria.

  • The site was due to be flooded by the Tabqa Dam project, and Moore was sent to collect as much evidence and material as possible.
  • Hillman, G C., A J. Legge, P A. Rowley-Conwy, and Naomi F. Miller. "On the Charred Seeds from Epipaleolithic Abu Hureya: Food or Fuel? and Reply." Current Anthropology 38.4 (1997): 651-59. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

  • Molleson, Theya, Karen Jones, and Stephen Jones. "Dietary Change and the Effects of Food Preparation on Microwear Patterns in the Late Neolithic of Abu Hureya, Northern Syria." Journal of Human Evolution 24 (1993): 455-68. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

  • Molleson, Theya. "The Eloquent Bones of Abu Hureya." Scientific American 271.2 (1994): 70-75. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

  • Legge, Anthony J., and Peter A. Rowley-Conwy. "Gazelle Killing in Ancient Syria." Scientific American 257.2 (1987): 88-95. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.

  • Lewin, Roger. "A Revolution of Ideas in Agricultural Origins." Science 240.4855 (1988): 984-86. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.
  • Occupied over two periods....

  • Abu Hureyra I: (Paleolithic period) 11,500 bp to 10,000 bp
  • Site abandoned for 500 years
  • Abu Hureyra II: (Neolithic period) 9,500 bp to 7,000 bp

  • There is speculation as to why the site was abandoned for 500 years. Some archaeologists believe that economic distress led to the village's demise, but it was re-settled during the Neolithic.
  • Shows some of the earliest evidence of agriculture.

  • However, demonstrates that agriculture and animal domestication could develop at different times; they were not dependent on each other.

  • Rich number of human skeletal remains reveals the challenging lifestyle of Neolithic people.

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The Site of Abu Hureyra

Hayley Pangle

January 17, 2013

HIST 311-01

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