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Jarmo (Qal'at Jarmo) ( ku, Çermo) is a prehistoric
archeological 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 and ...
located in modern
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
on the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. It lies at an altitude of 800 m above sea-level in a belt of
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
and
pistachio The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food. ''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other sp ...
woodlands in the Adhaim River watershed. Excavations revealed that Jarmo was an
agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
community dating back to 7090 BC. It was broadly contemporary with such other important
Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
sites such as
Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...
in the Southern Levant and
Çatalhöyük Çatalhöyük (; also ''Çatal Höyük'' and ''Çatal Hüyük''; from Turkish ''çatal'' "fork" + ''höyük'' "tumulus") is a tell of a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from appr ...
in
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
.


Discovery and excavation

The site was originally discovered by the Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities in 1940, and later became known to archaeologist
Robert Braidwood Robert John Braidwood (29 July 1907 – 15 January 2003) was an American archaeologist and anthropologist, one of the founders of scientific archaeology, and a leader in the field of Near Eastern Prehistory. Life Braidwood was born July 29 ...
from the
University of Chicago Oriental Institute The Oriental Institute (OI), established in 1919, is the University of Chicago's interdisciplinary research center for ancient Near Eastern ("Orient") studies and archaeology museum. It was founded for the university by professor James Henry Bre ...
. At the time, he was looking for suitable places to research the origins of the
Neolithic Revolution The Neolithic Revolution, or the (First) Agricultural Revolution, was the wide-scale transition of many human cultures during the Neolithic period from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to one of agriculture and settlement, making an incre ...
.Robert J. Braidwood, The Iraq-Jarmo Project of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Season 1954–1955, Verlag nicht ermittelbar, 1954 Braidwood worked as part of the Iraq-Jarmo programme for three seasons, those of 1948, 1950–51 and 1954–55; a fourth campaign, to be carried out in 1958–59 did not come about because of the
14 July Revolution The 14 July Revolution, also known as the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état, took place on 14 July 1958 in Iraq, and resulted in the overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq that had been established by Faisal I of Iraq, King Faisal I in 1921 under the ...
. During the excavations in Jarmo in 1954–55, Braidwood used a multidisciplinary approach for the first time, in an attempt to refine the research methods and clarify the origin of the domestication of plants and animals. Among his team were a geologist, Herbert Wright, a palaeo-botanist,
Hans Helbaek Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...
, an expert in pottery and radio-carbon dating, Frederic Mason, and a zoologist, Charles Reed, as well as a number of archaeologists. The interdisciplinary method was subsequently used in all serious field work in archaeology.


Jarmo, the village

The excavations exposed a small village, covering an area of 12,000 to 16,000 m2, and which has been dated (by carbon-14) to 7090 BC, for the oldest levels, to 4950 BC for the most recent. The entire site consists of twelve levels. Jarmo appears to be two older, permanent Neolithic settlements and, approximately, contemporary with
Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...
or the Neolithic stage of
Shanidar Shanidar Cave ( ku, Zewî Çemî Şaneder ,ئەشکەوتی شانەدەر, ) is an archaeological site located on Bradost Mountain, within the Zagros Mountains, in the Erbil Governorate of Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. It is known for the ...
. The high point is likely to have been between 6,200 and 5,800 BC. This small village consisted of some twenty five houses, with adobe walls and sun-dried mud roofs, which rested on stone foundations, with a simple floor plan dug from the earth. These dwellings were frequently repaired or rebuilt. In all, about 150 people lived in the village, which was clearly a permanent settlement. In the earlier phases there is a preponderance of objects made from stone,
silex Silex is any of various forms of ground stone. In modern contexts the word refers to a finely ground, nearly pure form of silica or silicate. In the late 16th century, it meant powdered or ground up "flints" (i.e. stones, generally meaning the cl ...
—using older styles—and
obsidian Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...
. The use of this latter material, obtained from the area of
Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...
, 200 miles away, suggests that some form of organized trade already existed, as does the presence of ornamental shells from the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
. In the oldest level baskets have been found, waterproofed with pitch, which is readily available in the area.


Agriculture and cattle farming

Agricultural activity is attested by the presence of stone sickles, cutters, bowls and other objects, for harvesting, preparing and storing food, and also by receptacles of engraved marble. In the later phases instruments made of bone, particularly perforating tools, buttons and spoons, have been found. Further research has shown that the villagers of Jarmo grew wheat of two types, emmer and einkorn, a type of primitive barley and lentils (it is common to record the domestication of grains, less so of pulses). Their diet, and that of their animals, also included species of wild plant, peas, acorns, carob seeds, pistachios and wild wheat. Snail shells are also abundant. There is evidence that they had domesticated goats, sheep and dogs. On the higher levels of the site pigs have been found, together with the first evidence of pottery.


Pottery and religion

Jarmo is one of the oldest sites at which
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
has been found, appearing in the most recent levels of excavation, which dates it to the 7th millennium BC. This pottery is handmade, of simple design and with thick sides, and treated with a vegetable solvent. There are clay figures, zoomorphic or anthropomorphic, including figures of pregnant women which are taken to be fertility goddesses, similar to the
Mother Goddess A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or th ...
of later Neolithic cultures in the same region. These constitute the inception of the Art of Mesopotamia.


Gallery

File:Jarmo (Qal'at Jarmo), late 8th century BCE to late 6th century BCE. Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, March 2021. Aftermaths of 1948-1955 excavations conducted by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.jpg, Jarmo, March 2021. Remains of the 1948-1955 excavations conducted by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago File:Jarmo (Qal'at Jarmo), late 8th century BCE to late 6th century BCE. Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. Recent excavations by a Japanese team were conducted on the previous excavations conducted by the Oriental Institute of Chicago between 1948-1955.jpg, Jarmo, March 2021, recent excavations by a Japanese team were conducted on the previous excavations carried out by the Oriental Institute between 1948 and 1955 File:Jarmo (Qal'at Jarmo), late 8th century BCE to late 6th century BCE. Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, March 2021. Aftermaths of 1948-1955 excavations conducted by the Oriental Institute of Chicago.jpg, Jarmo, March 2021. Remains of the 1948-1955 excavations conducted by the Oriental Institute File:Fragments of alabaster jars, Jarmo circa 7500 BC, before the 7000 BC invention of pottery Louvre Museum.jpg, Fragments of alabaster jars, Jarmo circa 7500 BC, before the 7000 BC invention of pottery. Louvre Museum File:Pottery bowl, 7100-5800 BCE, from Jarmo, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. Sulaymaniyah Museum, Iraqi Kurdistan.jpg, Pottery bowl, 7100-5800 BCE, from Jarmo


See also

*
History of Mesopotamia The history of Mesopotamia ranges from the earliest human occupation in the Paleolithic period up to Late antiquity. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing i ...


Notes


Further reading

* *


External links


Link to letters from the archeologist

Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée details on Jarmo

University of Cologne Radiocarbon CONTEXT database dates for Jarmo
{{Neolithic Southwest Asia 1940 archaeological discoveries Archaeological sites in Iraq Neolithic sites of Asia Neolithic settlements Former populated places in Iraq Sulaymaniyah Governorate