| |
The
earliest evidence of human habitation in Cyprus comes from the
Neolithic Period. The settlement at Khirokitia (near the
southern coast) which is now dated to well before 6,000 B.C., is
one of the most remarkable Neolithic communities ever excavated
in Europe. It was a town of about 2,000 inhabitants, living in
well-built round houses of two stories.
The
Khirokitians made little use of pottery, using stone, and
presumably wood, for utensils and stone for tools. The presence
of flakes of obsidian, which is not native to the non-volcanic
island of Cyprus, is the only sign of contact with other
cultures.
Khirokitia, and a few smaller associated settlements appear to
have died out after a few centuries, leaving the island
uninhabited for some 2,000 years. The beginning of the next
period of habitation, known as the Sotira culture, is dated
between 4,500 and 4,000 B.C.; small villages of this culture
found not only (in the south, near Curium) but also in the Kyrenia
range. Small ornaments of picrolite (a variety of soapstone) and
a progressively more attractive pottery distinguish the Sotira
culture; toward the end of this period copper came into use.
|
