Jarmo (Qalat Jarmo)

Jarmo ,also called “Qalat Jarmo” is an archeological site located Iraqi Kurdistan  on the foothills of the Zagros mountains east of Kirkuk city. For a long time it was known as the oldest known agricultural community in the world, dating back to 7000 BC.  The site is important for revealing traces of one of the world’s first village-farming coummunities. Evidence for the domestication of goats and dogs was found, as were domesticated versions of wheat, barley, and lentils. Painted pottery shards and figurines of animals and humans appear in the higher levels of the site. A collection of 20-25 houses made of tauf, or beaten mud, were present. The houses were rectilinear with complex division of space, such as hearths with chimneys and ovens, residential spaces, and courtyards. The population is estimated to have been at most around 100 to 150 people.

The site of Jarmo is approximately three to four acres (12,000 to 16,000 m²) in size and lies at an altitude of 800 meters above sea level in a belt of oak and pistachio  woodlands.

Sources:

1.   Encylopedia Britanica.

2.   R.J. Braidwood, Jarmo: A village of early farmers in Iraq.

3.   Wikimapia.org / Archeological sites ,Jarmo