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For more than two decades, Göbekli Tepe – the Pre-Pottery Neolithic era architectural complex of Transcaucasian Anatolia – has been referred to as the “First Temple in the World”. Not all scholars agree with this assertion, questioning the theses of the excavation authors. In this essay, we attempt to examine the validity of the arguments from both sides (after all, criticism can sometimes be “short-sighted”). So, do the refined data indeed refute Klaus Schmidt’s revolutionary observations? Can we, considering all the currently available evidence, question the new theses that themselves challenge previous assertions? And how deep is the chasm between our perception of the status of “residence” and “sanctuary” regarding the oldest artificial stationary structures? Attempting to answer all these questions is the aim of this essay. We are discussing the angle of cultural prehistory, human reactions to upheavals, and the worldview transformations that must have occurred among the settled hunter-gatherers of the early Holocene. Comparative analyses of the settlements and structures in the Taş Tepeler region demonstrate dialecticism – on one hand, a specific variety of details, and on the other, clear trends indicating that the circular enclosures of Göbekli Tepe could not have been domestic dwellings. Despite the reasonable and well-argued remarks of E. Banning, it seems that M. Kinzel and L. Clare are closer to the truth when they argue that what we are looking at is unlikely to be a complete temple complex. However, the central part of the Potbelly Hill is clearly occupied by the so-called “special structures,” which are actually both “Theaters of memory” and a kind of “island” of relative stone permanence amidst the constantly renewed clay houses. It is currently difficult for us to comprehend all aspects of the reverence or hierophany experienced by early Neolithic people during the mysteries held within such enclosures. It seems that due to the new findings from the Stone Hills region, specific temenological discourse of Göbekli Tepe only strengthens. Nevertheless, the accumulated factual material over this period forces us to look at this monument from a noticeably different perspective. The discussion has only just begun in earnest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constraining secular variation of the Earth's magnetic field strength in the past is fundamental to understanding short-term processes of the geodynamo. Such records also constitute a powerful and independent dating tool for archaeological sites and geological formations. In this study, we present 11 robust archaeointensity results from Pre-Pottery to Pottery Neolithic Jordan that are based on both clay and flint (chert) artifacts. Two of these results constitute the oldest archaeointensity data for the entire Levant, ancient Egypt, Turkey, and Mesopotamia, extending the archaeomagnetic reference curve for the Holocene. Virtual Axial Dipole Moments (VADMs) show that the Earth's magnetic field in the Southern Levant was weak (about two-thirds the present field) at around 7600 BCE, recovering its strength to greater than the present field around 7000 BCE, and gradually weakening again around 5200 BCE. In addition, successful results obtained from burnt flint demonstrate the potential of this very common, and yet rarely used, material in archaeomagnetic research, in particular for prehistoric periods from the first use of fire to the invention of pottery.

The humans of the Göbekli Tepe Neolithic culture of the Upper Euphrates Basin left behind long-term settlements with surprising monumental structures and a rich set of symbolism. This study puts the various symbolic themes of this culture to its center, and attempts to offer a reasonable interpretation of how the people of this culture and period constructed a “reality” about themselves. When the themes of human head and phallus are positioned at the center of the interpretations of this period’s symbolism, it is possible to claim that the Neolithic people conceptualized/explained themselves through an complex mythological narrative. This paper also hopes to contribute to the disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, sociology and history of religions by asserting that the T-shaped pillars of the Göbekli Tepe Culture are the phalli of the ancestors representing these ancestors’ remaining fragment/aspect on “the world,” and thus, are the material representations of the “now” and “this world,” rather than mythological ancestors, supernatural beings or gods. In this context, it is possible to relate the T-shaped pillars with ancestor cult, and also an important part of the anthropomorphic statues and reliefs with the initiation rites in which a person gains status in society. One of the biggest goals of this study is to begin a discussion about what can be the main mythological narrative of this culture.

Reconstructing the origins of plant cultivation in southwest Asia is crucial for understanding associated processes such as the emergence of sedentary communities and domesticated crops. Among the criteria archaeobotanists developed for identifying the earliest plant cultivation, the presence of potential arable weeds found in association with wild cereal and legume remains has been used as a basis for supporting models of prolonged wild plant cultivation before domesticated crops appear. However, the proposed weed floras mainly consist of genus-level identifications that do not differentiate between arable weeds and related species that characterise non-arable habitats. Here we test, for the first time, whether the potential arable weed taxa widely used to identify wild plant cultivation also occur in non-cultivated wild cereal populations. Based on modern survey data from the southern Levant we show that the proposed weed taxa characterise both grasslands and fields. Our findings, therefore, do not support the use of these taxa for reconstructing early cultivation. Instead, for future studies we suggest an approach based on the analysis of plant functional traits related to major agroecological variables such as fertility and disturbance, which has the potential to overcome some of the methodological problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stone is often regarded as the ideal medium for the long-term preservation of knowledge, as it is resistant to change. Early to middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey has repeatedly been treated as a prime example for such external memorial storage in durable stone. The present paper challenges this view. A close examination of pillars and their reliefs in Building F reveals the fluid character of imagery with repeated and frequent phases of erasure and re-making. It is argued that it is not the durability of stone that made it suitable for the preservation of ‘cultural memory’, but the possibility to re-shape the image carriers continuously over a long period of time, which resulted in processes of transmission, learning and memorization.

One of the most surprising and distinguishing characteristics of the symbolism in the Göbekli Tepe Neolithic Culture is the widespread use of animals. The interpretations of this symbolism up to this date were more often on the wildness of these animals and the roles that they have played in the spiritual world of the humans of the period. The perspective in question led to the conclusion that at this period the physical interaction between humans and animals was limited. This study is based on the new archaeofaunal data and approaches regarding Southwest Asia and the hunting ground economy of "the Göbekli Tepe Neolithic Cultural Region" that is generally neglected in the archaeological studies, and will offer an alternative perspective on the animal symbolism of the region. This study argues that this cultural area might have hosted rituals that could be related with the deadly animal-human and animal-animal contests based especially on the animal symbolism of this region. Furthermore, this study suggests at least some of the contests might have been held in the entrapment areas of this region. In addition, despite the claim in the literature that that the animal symbolism of the region caused the control and domestication of animals, the claim here is that a more reasonable argument would the presence of a more interactive process: the perspective in this study suggests an already existing intense human-animal interaction, and that the prevalent emotion in the Göbekli Tepe symbolism was not the fear of the wild. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Black Sea / Karadeniz is the property of Black Sea / Karadeniz and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The site of Körtiktepe in southeastern Turkey is one of few sites in the Upper Mesopotamia basin that attests continuous, permanent occupation across the boundary from end of the colder, drier Younger Dryas (YD) into the comparatively wetter and warmer Early Holocene (EH). This allows for the study of the degree of environmental change experienced on a local level over this boundary as well as for the study of the adaptations that the occupants of the site undertook in response to these changes. The mammal assemblage of Körtiktepe remains relatively stable across the YD – EH transition with the main contributors to diet being mouflon (Ovis orientalis) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in approximately the same quantities, although the contribution of aurochs (Bos primigenius) increases in the EH. The most significant changes can be seen in the shift in avifauna remains, with a sharp increase of waterbirds during the EH. It is proposed that these shifts reflect changes in the local environment with an increase in woodland cover as well as expansion of local waterways, which is generally consistent with previously published archaeobotanical studies. In terms of species exploited, mortality profiles as well as size distribution of mammals, a great deal of continuity is observed. This suggests that over this particular period the local impact of the beginning of the Early Holocene was not overly dramatic, allowing for cultural continuity of previously established subsistence strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sheep and goats (caprines) were domesticated in Southwest Asia in the early Holocene, but how and in how many places remain open questions. This study investigates the initial conditions and trajectory of caprine domestication at Aşıklı Höyük, which preserves an unusually high-resolution record of the first 1,000 y of Neolithic existence in Central Anatolia. Our comparative analysis of caprine age and sex structures and related evidence reveals a local domestication process that began around 8400 cal BC. Caprine management at Aşıklı segued through three viable systems. The earliest mode was embedded within a broad-spectrum foraging economy and directed to live meat storage on a small scale. This was essentially a "catch-and-grow" strategy that involved seasonal capture of wild lambs and kids from the surrounding highlands and raising them several months prior to slaughter within the settlement. The second mode paired modest levels of caprine reproduction on site with continued recruitment of wild infants. The third mode shows the hallmarks of a large-scale herding economy based on a large, reproductively viable captive population but oddly directed to harvesting adult animals, contra to most later Neolithic practices. Wild infant capture likely continued at a low level. The transitions were gradual but, with time, gave rise to early domesticated forms and monumental differences in human labor organization, settlement layout, and waste accumulation. Aşıklı was an independent center of caprine domestication and thus supports the multiple origins evolutionary model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The water-well recovered from a Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) level in Tell Seker al-Aheimar, Northeast Syria, represents the oldest well thus far known in Upper Mesopotamia. It demonstrates that the construction of water-wells was a wide-spread practice among the PPNB communities across Cyprus, the Mediterranean coast, and now a far inland region of Upper Mesopotamia. This article provides detailed data on the water-well's excavation and its stratigraphy, morphology, spatial positioning in the settlement, dating, and associated artefacts. An important implication of these data is that the construction and use of this well involved community activities that may have included rituals. Further, its location close to the Khabur River suggests that the well was not constructed to merely obtain fresh water; its major purpose could have been to guarantee the procurement of non-polluted water as this was an increasing concern among the developing Neolithic villages. On the whole, the water-well of Tell Seker al-Aheimar gives us important insights that develop our understanding of the Neolithisation processes of the region, notably the 'domestication of water'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The excavation of KHB‐1 archaeological site was part of the Joint Hadd Project [Joint Hadd Project is a project operating in the Ja'lān region since 1985, born under the collaboration between ISIAO (Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente, Rome), CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris) and the University of Bologna] carried out in the Ja'lān region, along the coast of the Sultanate of Oman. Different phases of occupation with significant structural evidences were identified within the deposit: an early short‐term occupation in the 7th millennium, followed by a longer, extended period of occupation during the 4th millennium by a community of hunter‐gatherers, with some evidence of animal husbandry. The material culture recovered from KHB‐1, which includes architectural remains, provides new insights on the cultures of this region, highlighting a need for further excavations and analysis. This paper will illustrate the stratigraphic sequence and the main features recovered at KHB‐1, followed by a discussion on the two main periods of occupation which will help shed a light on the site function and more broadly provide key insights on mobility, economy, and material culture of Ja'lān in the beginning of 7th and along the 4th millennium B.C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cremation is an unusual burial practice in the Neolithic of the Near East. At Kharaysin, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic site in Jordan, we found a secondary burial with evidence of burnt human bones. This paper assesses (1) the intentionality of fire-induced alterations on human bones, (2) the pre-burning condition of the human remains, and (3) their significance within the burial customs of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in the Near East. Burial SU-815 was a secondary multiple burial with burnt and unburnt human remains from at least three adult individuals. Directly dated at 8010 ± 30 BP (7058–6825 cal BC), it corresponds to the Late Pre-Potttery Neolithic B (LPPNB). Macroscopic changes in human remains were analysed to investigate the circumstances of burning. Some bones were selected for mineralogical and compositional analysis through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Colour changes, fractures, cracking, and chemical changes on bones were identified as resulting from fire-induced alterations. Our results show that the bones were intentionally burnt when they were already skeletonised or almost dry. This intentional manipulation using fire happened after other burial practices took place. After burning, the bones were collected and transported to this burial during a final episode. Fire-induced manipulation or cremation was not a significant development of the habitual burial practice, but evidence from Kharaysin shows an innovation in handling the human remains. Therefore, this case provides new insight into the complexity and variability of burial customs within the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B in Southern Levant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeobotanical evidence from southwest Asia is often interpreted as showing that the spectrum of wild plant foods narrowed during the origins of agriculture, but it has long been acknowledged that the recognition of wild plants as foods is problematic. Here, we systematically combine compositional and contextual evidence to recognise the wild plants for which there is strong evidence of their deliberate collection as food at pre-agricultural and early agricultural sites across southwest Asia. Through sample-by-sample analysis of archaeobotanical remains, a robust link is established between the archaeological evidence and its interpretation in terms of food use, which permits a re-evaluation of the evidence for the exploitation of a broad spectrum of wild plant foods at pre-agricultural sites, and the extent to which this changed during the development of early agriculture. Our results show that relatively few of the wild taxa found at pre- and early agricultural sites can be confidently recognised as contributing to the human diet, and we found no evidence for a narrowing of the plant food spectrum during the adoption of agriculture. This has implications for how we understand the processes leading to the domestication of crops, and points towards a mutualistic relationship between people and plants as a driving force during the development of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Evidence for domestic dogs in the PPNA in eastern Badia region of Jordan. • Dogs were living alongside people in substantial numbers. • Impact of hunting with dogs considered. • Long lineage of sight-hounds probably had a long history. Abstract Current evidence suggests domestications of the dog were incipient developments in many areas of the world. In southwest Asia this process took place in the Late Epipalaeolithic Natufian (∼14,500–11,600 cal BP) with the earliest evidence originating from the Mediterranean zone of the southern Levant. This paper presents new data for the importance of early domestic dogs to human groups in the region beyond this 'core' area where the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene environment is usually thought of as less favourable for human occupation. By the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A it is demonstrated that dogs were living alongside humans in significant numbers. Most discussions of early domestic dogs assume that these animals would have facilitated the hunting of larger prey following the innate behavioural traits of their wolf ancestors. This paper suggests that the benefits of hunting with dogs could also extend to the capture of smaller prey. An increase in the hunting of such animals, as part of the broad-spectrum revolution, was not necessarily a response limited to resource reduction in the Late Pleistocene and factors such as new hunting methods need consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies combining macroscopical observations and microCT analysis strongly suggested the diagnosis of tuberculosis for a child from the site of Khirokitia (Cyprus, 7th - early 6th millennium cal. BC), whose age at death is between 5 and 7 years. Many single primary burials were discovered at the site where the dead (MNI = 243) are buried in the same way, whatever their age. Nevertheless, the burial of this child presents a unique feature on the site (a male Ovis trophy marking the limit of the burial pit), probably indicating specific attention for this young deceased. This case is the oldest known in the Mediterranean islands and presents a particular interest from a paleoepidemiological point of view. Indeed, considering, on the one hand, the settlement pattern of the island of Cyprus by migrants from the Near East, and on the other hand, the presence of human tuberculosis in the Near East as early as about 10,500 years BP, it is very likely that the prehistoric migrants brought the disease from mainland to Cyprus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monumental architecture in Levantine sites such as Jerf el-Ahmar, Göbekli Tepe, or Jericho appears to play an important role in place-making practices and in the organization of a possibly hierarchical sociopolitical life at the very beginning of the Neolithic. This paper focuses on an underdeveloped aspect of this phenomenon: all these buildings were ritually destroyed in a highly spectacular and costly fashion. Their ruins were purposefully curated and accumulated. Far from being static remains, these structures are the meaningful result of the dynamic re-production of monumental space and of its inscription in the landscape. Understanding these actions calls for decentering the dominant vision of architectural valuation associated primarily with ideas of "creation" or "heritage." Architectural destruction, I shall finally claim, may well be more significant than construction for understanding the Neolithic consolidation of sedentism in the Near East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The region Cappadocia is located in southeastern Central Anatolia and has a significant place in history. This region which is called as "Volcanic Cappadocia" by geologists occurred by the volcanic activities that began 25 million years ago. After the volcanic eruptions of Hasan, Erciyes, Melendiz, Göllü and Nenezi mountains, the accumulation of the volcanic ashes and lava was hardened by rains and eroded by winds and floods; thereafter today's unique geography was formed. Before 1950's some scholars believed that Central Anatolia was not inhabited before the Bronze Ages. After James Mellaart's surveys and his excavations at Çatalhöyük in the Konya plain, the attitude about the prehistory of Central Anatolia changed. In the 1960's Ian Todd's comprehensive surveys in this region revealed significant results about the existence of some prehistoric sites in Cappadocia. In the 1980's Aşıklı Höyük excavations started due to the Mamasın Dam Project and in the following years Musular excavations in Aksaray, Tepecik Çiftlik, Kömürcü Kaletepe Obsidian Workshop and Köşk Höyük excavations in Niğde presented crucial information about the Cappadocian Neolithic. The role of Nevşehir in the Cappadocian Neolithic has been known from the survey projects. During Todd's and Gülçur's surveys on the areas of Acıgöl and Ürgüp some obsidian resources and a few prehistoric sites were revealed. Sofular Höyük which is located in the province of Ürgüp, 3 km northeast of the village Sofular was discovered by Prof. Dr. Okşan Başoğlu during her survey project in 2011. The existence of the chipped stone and ground stone materials on the mound indicate the presence of an archaeological fill. Moreover, the existence of some illicit dig pits requires an immediate excavation in order to prevent the destruction on the mound. Archaeological excavations at Sofular Höyük started in 2016 by Prof. Dr. Okşan Başoğlu (Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, Archaeology Department) and Asst. Prof. Dr. Fevzi Volkan Güngördü (Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, Archaeology Department). Excavations between 2016-2018 seasons at Sofular Höyük point out the existence of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period on the mound by means of the miscellaneous findings. Sofular Höyük is the first excavated Pre-Pottery Neolithic site on the edge of the Kızılırmak River in Cappadocia. The Cappadocian Pre-Pottery Neolithic Period is defined based on the excavations which are lead on the edge of the Melendiz River. Therefore, due to its unique location Sofular Höyük can be seen as a new evaluation point for the Cappadocian Pre-Pottery Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric resistivity tomography (ERT) prospection conducted at the Pre‐Pottery Neolithic site at Kharaysin, Jordan, building on previous surface prospection and excavation, found a number of new sub‐surface anomalies. Subsequent excavations determined that the anomalies corresponded with the stone walls of habitation structures and possibly terrace walls. These features covered large areas of the site slope, inclusive of clustered settlement structures and frequent building superpositions indicative of multi‐phase occupation. Despite the generally arid conditions, the moist soil matrix allowed for the effective use of ERT. This article presents the integrated data of the archaeological excavation and the geophysical survey. As a test case it proves the utility of ERT in the identification of Pre‐Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and Pre‐Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) sub‐surface anthropogenic features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews evidence for masks in the Upper Mesopotamian Pre-Pottery Neolithic. Possible stone miniatures (and one supra life-sized example) of masks from sites like Jerf el Ahmar, Göbekli Tepe and Nevalı Çori are discussed. It is argued that during the early Neolithic in the Near East, masks and masking possessed a significant role in rituals reenacting mythological narratives closely related to death, taking place at sites with special purpose buildings and a noticeably rich iconography. This importance justified the time-consuming and complicated manufacture of these paraphernalia as well as miniature and larger-than-life-sized representations of these items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to acquaint the reader with the majortrends of proto-urban settlements in the Near East since the beginnin gof Pre-pottery Neolithic (PPN) to the Early Chalcolithic (10/9000 BC– 6000 BC) and the Early Neolithic to the Early Eneolithic Southeast Europe (6 500 – 4500 BC).

This contribution provides a first characterization of the environmental development for the surroundings of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Göbekli Tepe. We base our analyses on a literature review that covers the environmental components of prevailing bedrock and soils, model- and proxy-based climatic development, and vegetation. The spatio-temporal scales that are covered are mainly the Eastern Mediterranean region and the Late Quaternary—whereby special attention is given to available data from the close vicinity of Göbekli Tepe. Information on Late Quaternary geomorphodynamics is largely absent for the environs of Göbekli Tepe, we therefore included remote sensing data, different terrain modeling approaches and field-based geomorphological mapping to gain insights into past process dynamics. The findings indicate that the environmental conditions at Göbekli Tepe during its time of occupation differed significantly from today, showing denser vegetation and a wide spread sediment cover. Different hypotheses are developed that aim to guide future research on environmental changes and their variations during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. These activities are crucial for a more profound understanding of the environment of the site, its potential perception by humans and therefore for the development of narratives on their landscape creation motives.

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The transition from the Middle to Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) happened throughout southwest Asia in the mid-8th millennium cal BC. It entailed the abandonment of a number of sites, rapid growth of others, as well as the wide spread of morphologically domestic caprines. What remains an unknown is how rapid these processes were in real time. Over the period when the transition was taking place, the calibration curve has two shallow sections divided by a sudden drop, which for many of the older dates creates an illusion of a sudden cultural break around 7600-7500 cal BC. Yet a more detailed study presented in this paper suggests that the transition event could have been spread over a more extended period of time. This, however, is still far from certain due to risks of old wood effects and complexities of site formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this paper is a social ontological approach to the site of Göbekli Tepe in south-east Anatolia. It is argued that modern Cartesian concepts and dichotomous archaeological frameworks are inadequate tools with which to understand and articulate people’s realities, past and present. Consequently, archaeological interpretation is reconfigured on the basis of indigenous theory and recent theoretical developments in anthropology, which provide ways to rethink relations beyond the conceptual confines of the dominant Western ontology. Indeed, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic world appears to be one that was fundamentally relational, predicated on engagements between potentially agential human, non-human and material entities. Through careful attention to the iconography, human and animal remains, and the phenomenal dimensions of the architecture, it becomes apparent that relations at Göbekli Tepe were founded on the socio-cosmic principles of consumption, predation and co-production. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Current evidence supports the idea that animal domestication occurred in multiple loci and at different time periods throughout the Near East rather than according to a single origin. In this scenario, the southern Levant is being increasingly considered as another presumed primary centre of goat domestication, alongside eastern Anatolia and the Zagros. Assessing the status (i.e. wild or domestic) of this animal in this region, however, is hampered by the difficulty of morphologically distinguishing domestic goats from their wild relatives. Diet reconstruction is a powerful approach to address this issue since the feeding of managed animals is partially controlled by their owners, unlike free-ranging wild populations. For the first time, we propose to contribute to this question through dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) using confocal microscopy. Characterising how the dietary behaviour of extant wild and domestic goats is reflected in DMTA is critical. For this purpose, we constructed a reference collection composed of three wild goat species (19 Capra pyrenaica from the southern Iberian Peninsula , 12 Capra ibex from the Alps and 12 Capra nubiana from the Near East) and 15 domestic goats (Capra hircus) reared in an extensive system in Mediterranean scrubland areas. The preliminary results indicate that DMTA allows discrimination of the groups of extant goats. The results obtained were used to characterise the palaeodiet of 16 goats (Capra format aegagrus) from two key Early and Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B sites in the southern Levant: Kharaysin (Zarqa, Jordan, ca. 8800-7500 cal BC) and Qarassa (As-Suweyda, Syria, 8700-8200 cal BCE). The higher variability in archaeological goats could be an indicator of controlled feedings. It could also support the hypothesis about diverse and experimental management systems at the first steps of animal domestication. This paper shows the potential of this tool to address the process of early animal domestication. Following this initial work, the reference collection will include a broader spectrum of livestock management strategies and the archaeological corpus will be expanded through new samples during upcoming excavations and the integration of additional sites. • The southern Levant could have been another primary centre of goat domestication. • The morphological distinction between wild and domestic goats of Pre-Pottery Neolithic is not a straightforward task. • Palaeodiet reconstruction using dental microwear texture can shed new light since diet of managed goats was controlled by their owners. • Dental microwear texture differs between extant domestic and wild goats. • Microwear variability of goats from archaeological sites is higher than that of extant goats, which could indicate controlled feedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to assess the finds from Harbetsuvan Tepesi, which we consider a small-scale satellite settlement located some 7km southwest of Karahan Tepe. The paper also endeavours to show analogous characteristics of Harbetsuvan Tepesi by comparing the site with PPN settlements in adjacent regions. The remains of a round-plan building, a recent discovery observed on the surface in Harbetsuvan Tepesi, which features T-shaped pillars, is particularly notable. The remains of this building, which has characteristics analogous to ‘Enclosure F’ at Göbekli Tepe, is extremely important, as it demonstrates that round-plan buildings were still in use during the early PPNB period.