Jarmo
35.54888888888944.950277777778Koordinaten: 35 ° 32 ' 56 "N, 44 ° 57 ' 1" O
Jarmo Jarmo also Qal or Dscharmo is an archaeological site in Northern Iraq on the foothills of Zagros Mountains east of Kirkuk city. The place is known as the oldest agricultural community in the world and about 9000 years old. Jarmo is thus roughly the same age as other important find spots, such as the Neolithic Jericho in the southern Levant and Çatalhöyük in Anatolia. The total Jarmos is about 12,000 to 16,000 square feet and is located at an altitude of 740 meters in a belt of oak and pistachio woodlands.
Discovery and excavation
Originally the place was discovered in 1940 by the Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities and later by the American archaeologist Robert John Braidwood ( 1907-2003 ) from the University of Chicago Oriental Institute, which explored the Neolithic Revolution, excavated. Braidwood worked in cooperation with the Iraqis three field seasons (1948, 1950-1951, 1954-1955 ) long in the investigation of the place. A fourth season of excavations from 1958 to 1959 did not materialize because of the revolution and the overthrow of the Iraqi King Faisal II in 1958. Later excavations at Tepe Braidwood Asyab in Iran turned to and changed because of difficulties there in 1963 in Turkey.
New archaeological methods
During the excavations in Jarmo 1954-1955 Braidwood used for the first time a multidisciplinary approach, in an attempt to refine the methods of investigation and clarify the origin of the domestication of plants and animals. His team included the geologist Herbert Wright, who palaeobotanist Hans Helbaek, the expert in ceramics and radiocarbon dating Frederic Mason and the zoologist Charles Reed, as well as a number of other archaeologists. The interdisciplinary method was then used by other teams in the archaeological field work.
The village of Jarmo
The excavations revealed a small village with an area 12000-16000 square meters and twelve layers. The radiocarbon dating of the age of the oldest layer on 7090 BC and 4950 BC to the recent v. was determined. It seems that Jarmo consisted of two permanent settlements. These were the same time as Jericho and the Neolithic phase of Shanidar. The highlight was probably Jarmos 6200-5800 BC.
This small village consisted of little more than 25 houses with a simple floor plan with sun-dried mud roofs and adobe walls, resting on stone foundations. These dwellings were frequently repaired or rebuilt. A total of about 150 people lived in the village, which was clearly a permanent settlement.
In the earlier stages there is a preponderance of objects made of stone, flint and obsidian. The use of obsidian, which originates from the 320 km distant area of Lake Van shows that even a form of organized trading existed, as well as the presence of decorated shells from the Persian Gulf. In the oldest level baskets have been found which were impregnated with pitch. Pitch is readily available in the area.
Agriculture and Livestock
Agricultural activity in Jarmo has been demonstrated by the discovery of stone sickles, knives, bowls and other objects. These objects were suitable for harvesting, processing and storage of foods. In addition, marble vessels were found with engravings. In the later phases instruments made of bone, particularly perforating tools, buttons and spoons were found.
The villagers of Jarmo planted on two types of wheat, emmer and einkorn, a kind of primitive barley and lentils. Your diet and that of their animals contained wild plants, peas, acorns, carob seeds, pistachios and wild wheat. Snail shells are also abundant. There is evidence that goats, sheep and dogs were domesticated. In younger layers porcine bone were found together with the first detection of ceramics.
Pottery and Religion
Jarmo is one of the oldest sites where pottery was found. She appears in the final stages of excavation from the 7th millennium BC This pottery is simple in execution, vegetable tempered with thick walls and. In addition, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic clay figurines were found. Clay figurines of pregnant women are interpreted as images of goddesses of fertility. Such mother goddesses are known from the region from the late Neolithic.