Chogha Golan is an

aceramic Neolithic Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) denotes the first stage of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, in early Levantine and Anatolian Neolithic culture, dating to years ago, that is, 10,000–8,800 BCE. Archaeological remains are located in the Levantine and U ...

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

in the foothills of the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgr ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, about from the right bank of the Konjan Cham River. Located in a

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

region about north of Mehran, Chogha Golan is one of the earliest aceramic Neolithic sites found in Iran. The people of Chogha Golan relied primarily on the exploitation of wild plants and hunting. Chogha Golan is notable for the early presence of domesticated

emmer wheat Emmer wheat or hulled wheat is a type of awned wheat. Emmer is a tetraploid (4''n'' = 4''x'' = 28 chromosomes). The domesticated types are ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccum'' and ''Triticum turgidum ''conv.'' durum''. The wild plant is ...

, dating to around 9,800 BP as such the archaeobotanical remains from Chogha Golan shows the earliest record of long-term plant management in Iran.

Archaeology

Chogha Golan was jointly excavated by archaeologists from the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-W� ...

and the in 2009 and 2010. The site consists of a tell with a height of about . Chogha Golan contains of cultural deposits. Archaeologists have divided the site into 11 layers, ''Archaeological Horizons I-XI''. Excavations have unveiled red-painted plaster floors and mudbrick walls. 10 clay animal figurines were excavated at the site.

Archaeobotany

With more than 100,000 analyzed charred botanical items, the high density of seed and chaff remains at Chogha Golan is notable when compared to contemporary sites and even later, Bronze Age sites. 110 different species of plants have been discovered at Chogha Golan. The plant assemblage is dominated by specimens from the Poaceae and Fabaceae families: wild

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

, ''

Aegilops ''Aegilops'' is a genus of Eurasian and North American plants in the grass family, Poaceae. They are known generally as goatgrasses.

'',

lentil The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest pro ...

, ''

Lathyrus ''Lathyrus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, and contains approximately 160 species. Commonly known as peavines or vetchlings, they are native to temperate areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe, 30 spec ...

'', ''

Pisum ''Pisum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to southwest Asia and northeast Africa. It contains one to five species, depending on taxonomic interpretation; the International Legume Database (ILDIS) accepts three speci ...

'' and ''

Vicia ''Vicia'' is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other ...

''. In addition to domesticated

, the wild varieties of several

Neolithic founder crops The founder crops (or primary domesticates) are the eight plant species that were domesticated by early Neolithic farming communities in Southwest Asia and went on to form the basis of agricultural economies across much of Eurasia, including Sout ...

were discovered at the site: barley,

and pea. Wild barley was found at every layer at Chogha Golan, starting with ''Archaeological Horizon XI''. Before the appearance of domesticated emmer wheat, wild barley was the predominant cereal found at Chogha Golan, while wheat was rarely found. After around 2000 years, domesticated emmer first appears at ''Archaeological Horizon II'' and is also found in ''Archaeological Horizon I''. After the initial appearance of domesticated emmer wheat, it became the predominant cereal grain found at the site.

Fauna

The faunal assemblage at Chogha Golan is dominated by ungulates (mostly sheep/goat but also gazelle, red deer, pig, and cattle), followed by fish. The remains of tortoise, hedgehog, red fox, and

Eurasian lynx The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is a medium-sized wild cat widely distributed from Northern, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits temperate and boreal forests up to an eleva ...

are also found.

Notes

References

* * * * {{refend 2009 archaeological discoveries Archaeological sites in Iran National works of Iran Prehistoric Iran Neolithic sites of Asia