Tell Abu Hureyra: A Neolithic Community Beneath a Lake

The Neolithic Age saw humanity’s great leap forward in its history. Agriculture, animal domestication, and sedentary living developed resulting to the foundations of future civilizations. In the Levant, Abu Hureyra provided one of the largest site to serve as a window during this revolutionary period.

Unearthing Tell Abu Hureyra

The excavation of Tell Abu Hureyra came as part of a rescue mission in the 1970’s. Located in the south banks of the Euphrates River, a British archaeological team led by Andrew Moore, Gordon Hillman, and Anthony Legge excavated the site with support from the Syrian government and UNESCO from 1972 to 1974. The construction of the Tabqa Dam resulted to rising water levels that endangered numerous site with flooding so UNESCO called for a massive archaeological rescue of numerous historical sites. Numerous countries joined the effort including Moore and company’s team to collect and document as many information, samples, and artifacts as they can before the water level rose and created the lake now known as Lake Assad.

The site of Abu Hureyra measured around 11.5 hectares making it one of the largest Neolithic sites in the Levant alongside Jericho. The site once flourished during 11,000 – 5,000 BCE. During the excavation, the archaeological team gathered about 250 different species of wild plants. Abu Hureyra tells the story of a people that transformed from a community of hunter-gatherers to a settlement of farmers – a narrative of the Neolithic Revolution.

History of Abu Hureyra

Abu Hureyra had 2 periods conveniently named Abu Hureyra 1 and Abu Hureyra 2. The first revealed a community of hunter-gatherers, but with sudden change in climactic condition ushered the development of agriculture. The second revealed a developing Neolithic community with expanding agriculture.

Abu Hureyra 1 flourished from 11,000 to 10,000 BCE. Hunter-gatherers established the village relying on surrounding flora and fauna to survive. Around 9,000 BCE, they suffered a subtle change in climate that annihilated their traditional food source. They then domesticated plants and developed agriculture. Around 8,000 BCE, the people of Abu Hureyra abandoned the site. Their homes later became filled with ruble and dirt starting the formation of a tell or mound built by layers of successive inhabitation. Then, people returned to build a new settlement above the first founding Abu Hureyra 2.

Abu Hureyra 2 began around 7,000 BCE and built up the agriculture started by the previous period. Agriculture and livestock progress until 5,000 BCE, when the site once again laid abandoned.

Living in Abu Hureyra

Life in Abu Hureyra 1

Abu Hureyra 1 survived through living of the land. They built semi-subterranean houses, foraged for fruits and seed, and hunted available animals in the area. Eventually they developed agriculture centered on grain and lentils.

People of Abu Hureyra 1 lived in semi-subterranean pit houses. This meant the half of the house laid below ground level. They dug a circular pit from which they built their houses up using wood for walls and reeds for roof.

Abu Hureyra’s inhabitance survived through foraging and hunting. Excavation team extracted about 250 species of fruits and seeds from the site showing the bountiful sources of food for the people. They also hunted Persian gazelles, deer, hare, and foxes using desert kites – made of stone walls in a v layout to trap animals. When the climate changed and their traditional cuisine drastically altered, they developed agriculture centered on rye and lentils. They also showed early signs of developing wheat.

Living in Abu Hureyra 2

Abu Hureyra 2, on the other hand, expanded the developments that began with the previous period. They have greater number of crops and tools and also showed the rise of trade and communication. They literally built a new Abu Hureyra above the first.

The dwellings of the people of Abu Hureyra 2 greatly differed from the first.  After dirt and ruble filled the homes of the Abu Hureyra 1, the next batch built above this with level rectangular houses made of sundried mud bricks with several rooms. Their floors plastered and either painted black then burnished or red.  They also had platforms in the house to serve as beds or workstations. During night, their hearth in the middle provided light and warmth.

The economy of Abu Hureyra 2 saw greater improvements. In agriculture, they cultivated rye, lentils and einkorn wheat. Later on, they also included emmer wheat, two- and six-rowed barley, chickpeas, and common vetch. In livestock, from hunting Persian gazelles, they domesticated and raised in pens sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs. With the expanding food production, they started to conduct trade with neighboring regions including the people from Anatolia, Taurus Mountains, and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Abu Hureyra imported materials such as malachite powder, said to be used for cosmetics, cowrie shells, as well as gypsum for wares.

More tools also seemed to develop during this period. They used flint and bones to make various tools such as arrowheads and burins. Later on, with trade, they developed instruments utilizing obsidian but in small quantities only.

Like those in Catal Hoyuk, the people of Abu Hureyra also buried their dead beneath their homes. They initially buried their dead in a crouched position and later exhumed the body when only the bones remained. They then removed the skull to be buried in another place while the body remained beneath the home. They also sometimes buried along the dead several artifacts such as flints tools or pieces of unique butterfly bead.

At the apex of Abu Hureyra 2, the population reached 4,000 – 6,000 people. A division of labor emerged with the men working in the fields and women doing domestic chores and the processing of produce. They did most of their labor kneeling, thus they mostly suffered from either arthritis or lower back pains.

Summing Up

Abu Hureyra served as a window during the life of the earliest people. They reminded the modern world the simple roots of today’s achievements. Sadly, Abu Hureyra today would not be able to shed more about the life of early humans as it fell victim to the progress of mankind and now laid beneath the waters of Lake Assad.

See also:

Catal Hoyuk

Bibliography:

Books:

Akkermans, Peter & Glenn Schwartz. The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to early Urban Society (ca. 16,000 – 300 BCE). New York, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Lockard, Craig. Societies, Networks, and Transitions: A Global History, Volume: To 1500. Boston, Massachusetts: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2011.

McCarter, Susan Foster. Neolithic. New York, New York: Routledge, 2007.

Website:

Hirst, K. Kris. “Abu Hureyra, Syria: Early Evidence of Agriculture in the Euphrates Valley” ThoughtCo. Accessed on June 6, 2020. URL: https://www.thoughtco.com/abu-hureyra-syria-170017

Thesis:

AMT Moore. “The Neolithic of the Levant.” (Oxford University, 1978)