An important early farming site on a tributary of the Tigris River in eastern Turkey, occupied for about a millennium c7500-6500 be. The site had five major levels, all characterized by impressive architectural remains with stone foundations. The economic evidence has shown that the community depended initially on hunting large game animals (auroch and red deer), but by the latest phase concentrated on domesticated sheep and goats; pigs may also have been domesticated by this stage. On the plant side, einkom wheat was cultivated from the beginning, and later emmer wheat; peas and lentils were also cultivated. Wild plants collected include pistachio nuts, almonds, hackberries and acorns. Another important feature of this site was the very early appearance of simple copper objects, derived from the Ergani Maden lodes, c20 km away.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied