Revisiting Neolithic Ali Kosh: New Insights into Settlement Sustainability, Human Mobility, and Subsistence Strategies
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In western Asia, the Zagros foothills played a fundamental role in the formulation of early explanatory hypotheses on the origins of agriculture. The excavations at the emblematic Neolithic site of Ali Kosh, Deh Luran, led to the development of the so-called “marginal zone hypothesis.” However, some chronological inconsistencies remained until a new stratigraphic excavation was carried out in 2017 to revise the findings. According to the new evaluation, Ali Kosh was occupied from ca. 7500–6500 cal b.c. During the Boz Mordeh phase (ca. 7500–7350 b.c.), the inhabitants occupied the site seasonally, but they became increasingly sedentary in the succeeding Ali Kosh phase (ca. 7350–7000 b.c.). In addition to obsidian, they also imported beads of stone and sea shell. Moreover, they increasingly relied on herding sheep and fully domesticated goats. The emergence of Neolithic life in the lowlands was a direct consequence of cultural changes in the central Zagros. It is not yet known whether this was a result of climatic deterioration or population pressure in the highlands.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Field Archaeology |
| ISSN | 0093-4690 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:
The excavation was financially supported by the General Office of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicraft of Ilam Province, Iran. Also, radiocarbon dating was financed by the Iranian-Danish project entitled Tracking Cultural and Environmental Change (TCEC) and the University Museum, University of Tokyo. Permission for the fieldwork was kindly granted by the Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research (ICAR). Support from local organizations, including the Governor\u2019s Office and the local Cultural Heritage Office of Deh Luran County, enabled us to better conduct the fieldwork. Undoubtedly, the excavation would not have been possible without the admirable efforts of the field research members: S. Mostafapour, S. Bahramiyan, M. Khademi Bami, and A. Yari. The location map of Ali Kosh was prepared by H. Ghobadizadeh. The flotation samples were also kindly sorted by Golnaz Ahadi. We thank all of the organizations and persons for their support and help over the course of both fieldwork and post-fieldwork research. Research on human remains from Ali Kosh has been supported by the National Science Centre (NCN) in Poland, grant No. 2016/22/M/HS3/00353. Thanks are due to Feridoun Biglari, who allowed access to the male cranium from Frank Hole\u2019s excavations, now stored in the National Museum in Tehran. Finally, we would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of the article.
Publisher Copyright:
© Trustees of Boston University 2024.
- Ali Kosh, Deh Luran, early agriculture, early sedentism, Iran
Research areas
ID: 401123228