Cyprus Excavations: Neolithic Ais Yiorkis:

Dr. Alan Simmons continued his excavations in Cyprus during of summer of 2006. He and a team of students, including several from UNLV, have been excavating at Neolithic Ais Yiorkis on the western end of this Mediterranean island since 2002. Ais Yiorkis is an early Neolithic site dated at ca. 7500 calibrated BC, and is important to expanding our knowledge of both the transmission of Neolithic culture from the mainland to Cyprus and to an understanding of adaptive strategies within Cyprus.  The site is intriguing in that it is an upland site, as opposed to most other Neolithic localities, which are located closer to the coast. Ais Yiorkis also contains cattle, which previously had not been documented on the island before the later Bronze Age. Also present are some of the best preserved paleobotanical specimens of domesticated plants, as well as deep pits, plaster and stone “platform” structures, exotic artifacts, and an abundance of  both ground and chipped stone, some of which are suggestive of feasting activities.

Graduate students Leilani Espinda, Megan Melson, Kasey O’Horo are presently working on their M.A. theses using data from Ais Yiorkis.  The majority of funding for the project comes from the National Science Foundation. The top photo is of the countryside around Ais Yiorkis in the highlands of Cyprus. The bottom photo is a stone and plaster "platform" structure that was uncovered during the excavation.