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Agro-pastoralist colonization of Cyprus in the 10th millennium BP: initial assessments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Edgar Peltenburg ,
Sue Colledge ,
Paul Croft ,
Adam Jackson ,
Carole McCartney  and
Mary Anne Murray
Edgar Peltenburg
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Old High School, Edinburgh EH1 1LT, Scotland
Sue Colledge
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, England
Paul Croft
Affiliation:
Lemba Archaeological Research Centre, 8260 Lemba, Paphos District, Cyprus
Adam Jackson
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Old High School, Edinburgh EH1 1LT, Scotland
Carole McCartney
Affiliation:
8 Metamorphosios, 8574 Kissonerga, Paphos District, Cyprus
Mary Anne Murray
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31–34 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PY, England
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Extract

Unexpectedly early evidence for the precocious spread of farming has recently emerged in Cyprus. It is argued that the transmission occurred as a result of migration related to ecosystem stress in the Levant. So strong are the connections of the colonists with the mainland that we suggest the term Cypro-Pre-Pottery Neolithic B to describe what has hitherto been a major lacuna in Cypriot prehistory. Consistent dates from key sites and the evolution of material culture indicate that this Cypro-PPNB sequence represents the hitherto elusive ancestry for the Khirokitian.

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Antiquity , Volume 74 , Issue 286 , December 2000 , pp. 844 - 853
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2000

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