The Middle East (6813–6670 BCE): Agricultural Innovations…
6813 BCE to 6670 BCE
The Middle East (6813–6670 BCE): Agricultural Innovations at Jarmo
The Settlement at Jarmo
Between 6813 and 6670 BCE, approximately one hundred and fifty inhabitants settled at Jarmo, an archaeological site named after the Kurdish village Qallat Jarmo, situated in the foothills of northern Iraq, approximately fifty-five kilometers (thirty-five miles) east of Kirkuk. By 6750 BCE, the community cultivated two varieties of domesticated wheat and managed flocks of sheep and goats.
Pioneering Agricultural Community
Jarmo holds distinction as one of the world's earliest agricultural settlements. It emerged contemporaneously with significant Neolithic sites such as Jericho in the southern Levant and Çatalhöyük in Anatolia. Covering an area of roughly twelve thousand to sixteen thousand square meters (approximately three to four acres), Jarmo was located at an elevation of eight hundred meters above sea level, nestled in a rich belt of oak and pistachio woodlands.
Archaeological Excavations and Theoretical Contributions
The site of Jarmo was excavated extensively by American archaeologist Robert Braidwood between 1948 and 1955. These excavations provided critical support for Braidwood’s influential hypothesis, which posited that plant domestication and early agricultural practices in the Near East originated in the hilly regions flanking northern Iraq's Zagros Mountains. The discoveries at Jarmo significantly shaped subsequent understandings of agricultural origins and Neolithic cultural developments.
This period highlights the transformative impact of agricultural innovations, marking Jarmo as a cornerstone site in the narrative of early human settlement and the progression toward increasingly complex societies.