Ganj Dareh is an Early Neolithic archaeological site in the Kermanshah district of southwestern Iran. The site was occupied about 8400-7000 BC. Ganj Dareh (which translates to "Treasure Valley") is a small mound, representing an early highland village with evidence for domestication of the goat, and some of the earliest ceramics in the Near East as well. Artifacts from the site include clay figurines of humans and animals; Ganj Dareh is considered among the earliest permanent settlements in the Near East.
Of primary interest to archaeologists is the somewhat controversial evidence of early goat domestication. While neither body shape nor genetics seems to indicate that the goats kept at Ganj Dareh were physically different than wild goats, there is irrefutable evidence that goats were managed at the village (including the harvesting of young males and prolonged survivorship of females), directly dated to 9,900 cal BP (years ago).
Ganj Dareh was excavated by Philip E.L. Smith during the 1960s and 1970s.
- Read more about Goat Domestication
Sources
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology and the guide to Animal Domestication.
Alizadeh A 2003. Excavations at Chogha Bonut, Khuzestsan, Iran. Oriental Institute Publications 120. University of Chicago, Chicago.
Smith PEL 1990. Architectural Innovation and Experimentation at Ganj Dareh, Iran. World Archaeology 21(3):323-335.
Zeder MA 2001 A Metrical Analysis of a Collection of Modern Goats (Capra hircus aegargus and C. h. hircus) from Iran and Iraq: Implications for the Study of Caprine Domestication. Journal of Archaeological Science 28(1):61-79.
