Archaeological studies on early sedentary settlements in southwest Asia

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24251013
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 海外学術
• Research Field: Archaeology
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: MIYAKE Yutaka 筑波大学, 人文社会系, 教授 (60261749)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 丹野 研一 山口大学, 農学部, 助教 (10419864) ; 本郷 一美 総合研究大学院大学, 先導科学研究科, 准教授 (20303919) ; 米田 穣 東京大学, 総合研究博物館, 教授 (30280712) ; 近藤 修 東京大学, 大学院理学系研究科, 准教授 (40244347)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): MAEDA Osamu 筑波大学, 人文社会系, 助教 (20647060)
• Research Collaborator: ITAHASHI Yu 東京大学, 総合研究博物館, 特任研究員 ; TASHIRO Megumi 筑波大学, 人文社会科学研究科, 大学院生
• Project Period (FY): 2012-10-31 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 西アジア / 初期定住集落 / 狩猟採集民 / 新石器時代 / 生業

Outline of Final Research Achievements

New evidence from Hasankeyf Hoyuk in southeast Anatolia, which was mostly occupied during the later tenth millennium cal. BC, indicates that rather complex societies may have been built without relying on cereal exploitation. All the plant and animal remains recovered from the site are morphologically wild, and wild progenitors of cereals are virtually absent. The thick cultural deposits, solidly built architecture, possible storage facilities, numerous human burials and heavy duty tools suggest that the site was occupied by sedentary hunter-gatherers. The presence of communal buildings, complex mortuary rituals, elaborate craftsmanship, long-distance trade networks and lively symbolic behaviour indicate that the sedentary hunter-gatherers of the upper Tigris developed rather complex societies during the Early Holocene that compare well with those of the PPNA in the Levant.

Free Research Field

西アジア考古学