An Aceramic metropolis
On a hill slope in the Maroni River valley, about 6 km from the southern coast of Cyprus, lies the settlement of Khirokitia. Occupied from the 7th to the 5th millennium BCE, it represents the Aceramic Neolithic period—a time before the use of pottery. The village covers about 3 hectares and represents one of the earliest successful settlements by farmers who arrived from the Near East. The population is estimated to have been between 300 and 600 people, living in a dense cluster of circular buildings.
The structures, called tholoi, are circular, with external diameters ranging from 2.3 to 9.2 meters. Their lower foundations are made of limestone cobbles, and the upper portions were built with mudbrick and pisé, or rammed earth. Contrary to early theories of domed roofs, evidence suggests the huts had flat roofs made of branches and reeds, sealed with a thick layer of clay. Internally, the spaces were divided by low walls and platforms for sleeping, storage, or work, and often contained hearths. A formidable stone wall, 2.5 meters thick and up to 3 meters high, protected the village, with complex gates controlling access.
Life and death before pottery
The people of Khirokitia were an organized farming society. They cultivated cereal crops like wheat and barley, and gathered local fruits such as figs, pistachio nuts, and plums. They also herded sheep, goats, and pigs, and hunted fallow deer. As an aceramic culture, they fashioned tools and vessels from stone, bone, and flint. Hard diabase was used for stone vessels, typical of this culture, while a smooth green stone called picrolite was used for jewelry.
Burial practices were intimately tied to daily life. The dead were interred in pits dug directly into the floors of the houses. Each grave was individual, and the deceased was placed in a contracted position, often on their right side. After burial, the pit was filled with earth and a new mud floor was laid over it. Sometimes, grave goods like stone vessels or necklaces accompanied the burial, and a heavy stone was occasionally placed on the body. Around 6000 BCE, the settlement was abruptly abandoned for reasons that remain unknown. The island appears to have been largely uninhabited for the next 1,500 years.