Introduction
The prehistoric settlement of Abu Hureyra (35° 52′ N, 38° 24′ E) was located on the edge of the valley of the Euphrates River in northern Syria. It was a very large (11.5 ha) mound composed of two superimposed villages, Abu Hureyra 1 (c. 13,400–11,500 CalB.P.) and Abu Hureyra 2 (c. 10,600–7,500 CalB.P.) with an Intermediate episode of occupation (c. 11,500–10,600 CalB.P.) (Moore et al. 2000: Fig. 14.1). The site was thus continuously inhabited for 6,000 years. Culturally, Abu Hureyra 1 had late Epipalaeolithic affinities while the Intermediate Period and Abu Hureyra 2 fell within the Neolithic of Western Asia.
Key Issues
The site was excavated in 1972 and 1973 as part of an international salvage campaign that preceded the completion of a dam across the Euphrates. The site was flooded in 1974. Seven trenches were dug across the site to establish the sequence of occupation. These demonstrated that the initial settlement of Abu Hureyra 1 was confined to the north-west sector...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Hillman, G., R. Hedges, A. Moore, S. Colledge & P. Pettit. 2001. New evidence of Lateglacial cereal cultivation at Abu Hureyra on the Euphrates. The Holocene 11(4): 383-93.
Legge, A.J. & P.A. Rowley-Conwy. 2000. The exploitation of animals, in A.M.T. Moore, G.C. Hillman & A.J. Legge Village on the Euphrates: 423-71. New York: Oxford University Press.
Molleson, T.I. 2000. The people of Abu Hureyra, in A.M.T. Moore, G.C. Hillman & A.J. Legge Village on the Euphrates: 301-24. New York: Oxford University Press.
Moore, A.M.T., G.C. Hillman & A.J. Legge. 2000. Village on the Euphrates. New York: Oxford University Press.
Moore, A.M.T. & T.I. Molleson. 2000. Disposal of the dead, in A.M.T. Moore, G.C. Hillman & A.J. Legge Village on the Euphrates: 277-99. New York: Oxford University Press.
Robinson, S.A., S. Black, B. W. Sellwood & P.J. Valdes. 2006. A review of palaeoclimates and palaeoenvironments in the Levant and eastern Mediterranean from 25,000 to 5000 years BP: setting the environmental background for the evolution of human civilisation. Quaternary Science Reviews 25(13-14): 1517-41.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Moore, A.M.T. (2014). Abu Hureyra: Agriculture and Domestication. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_278
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_278
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0426-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0465-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law