Tell Ghoraifé
Encyclopedia
Tell Ghoraifé is a prehistoric, Neolithic
tell
, about 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) east of Damascus
, Syria
. The tell was the site of a small village of 5 hectare, which was first settled in the early eighth millennium BC.
A small, 2 square metre excavation was made on the tell by Henri de Contenson
in 1974. The excavations revealed about 7.5 metres (24.6 ft) of deposit on the site consisting of layers of mud, ashes and burned earth. The deposit at the site was phased into two levels owing to typological differences in the artifacts, but the site shows a continuous occupation through both phases.
Materials discovered, particularly the stylistic traits of the lithic tools
, show similarities with Southern Levant
ine Pre-Pottery Neolithic A
and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
sites. Tell Ghoraifé is closely related other Neolithic
sites in the Damascus basin, like Tell Aswad
and Tell Ramad
. Despite the similarities these sites share with Euphrates
valley sites such as building materials, pre-pottery White Ware
and burial rites, they represent a separate, distinct group from the Euphrates valley.
Tell Ghoraifé is an important site to our understanding of the origin of agriculture. It is an example of a site with a long sequence over a millennium where the study of the evolution from wild to domesticated barley has taken place. Finds also included early domesticated wheat. The mammal fauna at Tell Ghoraifé shows a distinct change from level I to II. While both sheep and goats are found in both levels, their ratio in level II is a reversal of the 1 to 3 sheep-to-goat ratio found at level I.
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
tell
Tell
A tell or tel, is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides.-Archaeology:A tell is a hill created by different civilizations living and...
, about 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) east of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. The tell was the site of a small village of 5 hectare, which was first settled in the early eighth millennium BC.
A small, 2 square metre excavation was made on the tell by Henri de Contenson
Henri de Contenson
right|250px|thumb|Henri de ContensonHenri de Contenson , is a French Archaeologist and was Research Director at CNRS, The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique , a research organization funded by France's Ministry of Research.A student of André Parrot, Raymond Lantier and André...
in 1974. The excavations revealed about 7.5 metres (24.6 ft) of deposit on the site consisting of layers of mud, ashes and burned earth. The deposit at the site was phased into two levels owing to typological differences in the artifacts, but the site shows a continuous occupation through both phases.
Materials discovered, particularly the stylistic traits of the lithic tools
Stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...
, show similarities with Southern Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
ine Pre-Pottery Neolithic A
Pre-Pottery Neolithic A
Pre-Pottery Neolithic A denotes the first stage in early Levantine Neolithic culture, dating around 9500 to 8500 BC. Archaeological remains are located in the Levantine and upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent...
and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B is a division of the Neolithic developed by Dame Kathleen Kenyon during her archaeological excavations at Jericho in the southern Levant region....
sites. Tell Ghoraifé is closely related other Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
sites in the Damascus basin, like Tell Aswad
Tell Aswad
Tell Aswad , Su-uk-su, Shuksa or Tell Sukas is a large prehistoric, Neolithic Tell, about in size, located around from Damascus in Syria, on a tributary of the Balikh River at the eastern end of the village of Jdeidet el Khass.-Excavation:...
and Tell Ramad
Tell Ramad
Tell Ramad is a prehistoric, Neolithic tell at the foot of Mount Hermon, about southwest of Damascus in Syria. The tell was the site of a small village of , which was first settled in the late eighth millennium....
. Despite the similarities these sites share with Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
valley sites such as building materials, pre-pottery White Ware
White Ware
White Ware or "Vaisselle Blanche" is the first precursor to clay pottery developed in the Levant that appeared in the 9th millennium BC, during the pre-pottery neolithic period....
and burial rites, they represent a separate, distinct group from the Euphrates valley.
Tell Ghoraifé is an important site to our understanding of the origin of agriculture. It is an example of a site with a long sequence over a millennium where the study of the evolution from wild to domesticated barley has taken place. Finds also included early domesticated wheat. The mammal fauna at Tell Ghoraifé shows a distinct change from level I to II. While both sheep and goats are found in both levels, their ratio in level II is a reversal of the 1 to 3 sheep-to-goat ratio found at level I.
Literature
- de Contenson, H., Bibliothèque archéologique et historique 137 Aswad et Ghoraifé : sites néolithiques en Damascène (Syrie) aux IXème et VIIIème millénaires avant l'ère chrétienne, Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique, 137, Beirut, 1995
- van Zeist, W. Bakker-Heeres, J.A.H., Archaeobotanical Studies in the Levant 1. Neolithic Sites in the Damascus Basin: Aswad, Ghoraifé, Ramad - Palaeohistoria, 24, 165-256, 1982.