The Neolithic Period: Triumphs of Architecture, Agriculture, and Art

Plants as material culture in the Near Eastern Neolithic: Perspectives from the silica skeleton artifactual remains at Çatalhöyük

“…Similarly, there are limited numbers of Near Eastern Neolithic sites with surviving evidence for textiles, and the best known examples are those studied from Çatalhöyük, Çayönü, Jarmo and Nahal Hemar (Adovasio, 1975;Bar-Yosef, 1985;Burnham, 1965;Schick, 1988;Vogelsang-Eastwood, 1993). From the Late Neolithic there are examples of basketry impressions on pottery bases, and hundreds of impressions on clay sealings at Tell Sabi Abyad I (Banning, 1998;Akkermans and Schwartz, 2003, 131). At Domuztepe, there are also examples of pottery sherds with patterning imitating basketry, and Kansa et al (2009) suggest that, although finds were rare, it is likely that the use of basketry was extensive during the Late Neolithic, and that potentially wetland areas nearby the site may have provided suitable raw materials.…”

“…It is nonetheless possible that these non-food uses may have been major categories of plant exploitation. Indeed, despite a general under representation in the archaeological record, basketry was possibly the main type of container prior to pottery (Banning, 1998). The continued importance of these skills into the later Neolithic is suggested by Mellaart (1967) who, based upon the numerous finds at Çatalhöyük in the 1960s, argues that weaving and woodwork may have been more highly esteemed than the early pottery.…”

A GIS method for assessing the zone of human-environmental impact around archaeological sites: a test case from the Late Neolithic of Wadi Ziqlâb, Jordan

“…BP to 7174 AE 102 cal BP (Banning, 2007). The Late Neolithic of Wadi Ziqlâb is typified by dispersed small hamlets or farmsteads of only one or two households each, where people engaged in small-scale subsistence horticulture and pastoralism (Banning, 1998(Banning, , 2001. Three such small farmsteadsdal Basitân, al Aqaba, and Tabaqat al Bûmadhave been discovered in the Wadi Ziqlâb drainage (Banning, 1992(Banning, , 1995(Banning, , 2001 (Fig.…”

Food Art Does Not Reflect Reality

“…This has been discussed in regard to clothing, agriculture, and social settings (Banning, 1998), but does it also apply to food as depicted in paintings and food consumption across countries and across time? Having the answers to these questions can offer a better understanding of consumption trends along with a better way to interpret the role of food in paintings.…”