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Origins of Agriculture in Western Central Asia: an Environmental Origins of Agriculture in Western Central Asia Professor V. M. Masson introducing school children from Ashgabat to the excavations at the Neolithic site of Jeitun, Turkmenistan, April 1990. David R. Harris Origins of Agriculture in Western Central Asia An Environmental-Archaeological Study with contributions from: Eleni Asouti, Amy Bogaard, Michael Charles, James Conolly, Jennifer Coolidge, Keith Dobney, Chris Gosden, Jen Heathcote, Deborah Jaques, Mary Larkum, Susan Limbrey, John Meadows, Nathan Schlanger, and Keith Wilkinson University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Philadelphia © 2010 University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Philadelphia, PA 19104-6324 Published for the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology by the University of Pennsylvania Press. All rights reserved. Published 2010. Production of this book was supported by a publication grant from the Academic Committee of the Iran Heritage Foundation (London) and an award from the Stein-Arnold Expedition Fund of the British Academy. The drawing on p. 304 of the head of a wild bezoar goat is from Harris 1962, Fig. 3a. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING -IN-PUBLICATION DATA Harris, David R. Origins of agriculture in western central Asia : an environmental-archaeological study / David R. Harris. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-934536-16-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-934536-16-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Agriculture—Turkmenistan—Origin. 2. Agriculture—Asia, Central—Origin. 3. Agriculture, Prehistoric—Turkmenistan. 4. Agriculture, Prehistoric—Asia, Central. 5. Excavations (Archaeology)— Turkmenistan. 6. Excavations (Archaeology)—Asia, Central. 7. Turkmenistan—Antiquities. 8. Asia, Central—Antiquities. I. Title. GN855.T85H37 2010 306.3’4909585--dc22 2010009780 This book was printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper. Contents Illustrations vii Tables x Contributors xi Preface and Acknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 PART I: Physical Environment and Ecology 3 1. The Present Environment 5 2. Environmental Changes in the Pleistocene and Holocene 19 3. The Local Environment of Jeitun, with Susan Limbrey 27 4. The Local Environment of the Bolshoi Balkhan Sites, with Jen Heathcote 35 PART II: Prehistoric Archaeology 41 5. History of Archaeological Research, with Jennifer Coolidge 43 6. The Mesolithic and Neolithic Periods: Sites, Sequences, and Subsistence, with Jennifer Coolidge 53 PART III: Neolithic Crop Plants and Domestic Animals 71 7. Areas of Origin of the Crops and Domestic Animals 73 PART IV: Archaeological-Environmental Investigations in Turkmenistan 1989–98 93 8. Jeitun, the Sumbar and Chandyr Valleys, and the Bolshoi Balkhan Region: Excavation and Survey, with Chris Gosden 95 9. Jeitun: Dating and Analysis of Excavated Materials 119 9.1 Dating the Site: Radiocarbon Chronology, with Chris Gosden and John Meadows 119 9.2 Yard Deposits and Building Materials at Jeitun, Susan Limbrey 125 9.3 Buried Soils at Jeitun, Susan Limbrey 131 9.4 Investigation of a Palaeosol Sequence at Jeitun: Excavation of a Ditch-like Feature and Measurement of Magnetic Susceptibility, Keith Wilkinson 137 9.5 Phytolith Analysis of Samples from On- and Off-Site Deposits at Jeitun, Mary Larkum 142 9.6 Charred Plant Macro-Remains from Jeitun: Implications for Early Cultivation and Herding Practices in Western Central Asia, Michael Charles and Amy Bogaard 150 9.7 Remains of Wood Charcoal from Jeitun: Identification and Analysis, Eleni Asouti 166 CONTENTS 9.8 Pollen and Charcoal-particle Analysis: Sampling Off-Site Deposits at Jeitun, David Harris 171 9.9 The Vertebrate Assemblage from Excavations at Jeitun, 1993 and 1994, Keith Dobney and Deborah Jaques 174 9.10 The 1994 Knapped-Stone Assemblage from Jeitun, James Conolly 180 9.11 The Pottery from Jeitun, Jennifer Coolidge 186 9.12 Summary Discussion of the Excavation Evidence from Jeitun, with Chris Gosden 190 10. The Bolshoi Balkhan Sites: Analysis of Excavated Materials 197 10.1 Charred Seeds from the Dam Dam Cheshme Rockshelters, Michael Charles 197 10.2 Wood Charcoal from the Dam Dam Cheshme Rockshelters, Eleni Asouti 199 10.3 Animal Remains from the Dam Dam Cheshme Rockshelters, Keith Dobney and Deborah Jaques 201 10.4 Stone Tools from the Dam Dam Cheshme Rockshelters, James Conolly and Nathan Schlanger 203 10.5 Pottery from the Dam Dam Cheshme Rockshelters and Other Sites in the Bolshoi Balkhan Region, Jennifer Coolidge 206 PART V: Synthesis and Conclusions 209 11. Neolithic Settlement and Subsistence 211 12. The Beginnings of Agriculture in Western Central Asia 225 Appendices 237 Appendix 3.1, Susan Limbrey 237 Appendices 8.1–-8.5, Chris Gosden 239 Appendices 9.1–9.2, Susan Limbrey 244 Appendices 9.3–9.5, Mary Larkum 250 Appendix 9.6, Michael Charles and Amy Bogaard 256 Appendices 9.7–9.10, Keith Dobney and Deborah Jaques 260 Appendix 9.11, James Conolly 266 Bibliography 269 Author Note 297 Index 299 vi Illustrations Professor V. M. Masson introducing school children to the excavations at Jeitun, 1990 Frontispiece FIGURES 1.1 The Central Asian arid zone 4 1.2 Turkmenistan and adjacent areas 4 1.3 The Kopetdag mountains and piedmont Color figure I 1.4 Takyrs on the Kopetdag piedmont 6 1.5 A takyr in the Central Karakum 6 1.6 Pentagonal cracks on a takyr surface 6 1.7 Turkmenistan: mean annual precipitation 8 1.8 Riparian tugai forest Color figure I 1.9 Groves of pistachio trees, Badghyz Reserve Color figure I 1.10 Pistachio tree with wild barley, Badghyz Reserve Color figure I 1.11 Steppe grassland on the Kopetdag piedmont Color figure I 1.12 White saksaul, Central Karakum Color figure II 1.13 Black saksauls, Trans-Unguz Karakum Color figure II 1.14 Ancient black saksaul, Repetek Reserve Color figure II 1.15 Distribution of wild Asiatic mouflon, urial, and argali sheep 12 1.16 Distribution of wild bezoar, ibex, and markhor goats 13 3.1 Location of Jeitun and the Kara Su 28 3.2 Kara Su gorge near Jeitun Color figure II 3.3 Solonetz soil in the Kara Su gorge Color figure II 3.4 Overgrazed semi-shrub vegetation at Jeitun Color figure II 3.5 Tamarisk and reeds beside the Kara Su Color figure III 3.6 Reed-tamarisk swamp near Jeitun Color figure III 4.1 Bolshoi and Maly Balkhan massifs and the Uzboi lowland 36 4.2 Escarpment and piedmont of the Bolshoi Balkhan massif Color figure III 4.3 View from the DDC 1 rockshelter Color figure III 4.4 Southern Bolshoi Balkhan, piedmont, and lower Uzboi 37 4.5 Bedded sands and gravels below the DDC rockshelters 38 4.6 Downstream view of the Uzboi channel Color figure III 4.7 Scattered juniper trees above the DDC 4 rockshelter 39 4.8 Grove of fig trees at the head of the DDC 4 canyon Color figure III 6.1 Distribution of Neolithic and Mesolithic sites 56 ILLUSTRATIONS 6.2 Distribution of Keltiminar and other Neolithic sites 65 8.1 Jeitun: plan of Masson’s second level 96 8.2 Jeitun: locations of 1989–94 excavations 97 8.3 Jeitun: plan of the central area excavation 98 8.4 Jeitun: part of the central area excavated 1989–90 99 8.5 Jeitun: section in trench 1991a 101 8.6 Jeitun: northern face of section in trench 1991a Color figure IV 8.7 Jeitun: plan of 1993 House A excavation 103 8.8 Jeitun: excavated House A oven Color figure IV 8.9 Jeitun: dog-like figurine and truncated cone from House A Color figure IV 8.10 Jeitun: plan of 1994 House B excavation 105 8.11 Jeitun: House B from the west Color figure IV 8.12 Jeitun: incomplete tortoise carapace from House B Color figure IV 8.13 Southwestern Turkmenistan 108 8.14 Sumbar and Chandyr valleys: location of archaeological sites 109 8.15 Approach to the Jebel rockshelter Color figure V 8.16 DDC 1 from the Bolshoi Balkhan piedmont Color figure V 8.17 Entrance of DDC 1 Color figure V 8.18 Interior of DDC 1 Color figure V 8.19 Entrance of DDC 2 Color figure V 8.20 Plan of DDC 2 114 8.21 Section of Area 1 in DDC 2 115 8.22 Entrance of DDC 3 during excavation Color figure V 9.1 Jeitun: calibration of radiocarbon results 120 9.2 Jeitun: Bayesian model of on-site radiocarbon dates 121 9.3 Jeitun: duration of occupation 122 9.4a,b Micromorphology: silica skeletons Color figure VI 9.5 Micromorphology: residual plant structure in yellow organic matter Color figure VI 9.6 Micromorphology: spherulitic fabric Color figure VI 9.7 Jeitun: excavation of buried-soil section 131 9.8 Jeitun: ditch-like feature in buried-soil section Color figure VI 9.9 Micromorphology: framboids in limpid yellow coatings Color figure VI 9.10 Jeitun: excavated ditch-like feature 137 9.11 Jeitun: buried-soil section and magnetic susceptibility 138 9.12 Jeitun: section through buried-soil sequence 139 9.13 SEM micrographs of Jeitun phytoliths and spherulites 143 viii ILLUSTRATIONS 9.14 Jeitun: glume wheat spikelet forks 152 9.15 Jeitun: glume wheat grain 152 9.16 Jeitun: barley material 153 9.17 Triangular plot of Jeitun barley and wheat samples 154 9.18a,b Scatter plots of samples from Jeitun and Amorgos 156 9.19a,b Correspondence analysis of samples and taxa 159 9.20 Correspondence analysis of taxa by seasonality 161 9.21 Correspondence analysis of samples by seasonality, crop material, and taxa 161 9.22 Correspondence analysis of samples by context type 161 9.23 SEM micrographs of Jeitun charcoal specimens 169 9.24 Jeitun: evidence of bone bead production Color figure VII 9.25 Jeitun: representative stone artifacts 180 9.26 Stone tools from Jeitun, 1994 Color figure VIII 9.27 Jeitun blade widths 182 9.28 Jeitun flake lengths 182 9.29 SEM micrograph of edge wear on a Jeitun blade 184 9.30 Jeitun pottery: vessel forms and types of ware 187 10.1 SEM micrographs of DDC charcoal specimens 200 10.2 Stone tools from DDC 2, 1997 203 Color figures are located after p.
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