Chap. 19
Personal ornaments and shell artifacts
Ornements personnels et objets en coquillage
p. 339-378
Résumés
The personal ornaments identified at Klimonas are very diverse. Raw materials, including shells, bone, teeth and stones, were locally acquired on the island. A study of the manufacturing process indicates that shell and stone ornaments were the result of domestic productions performed in the village. The functional data indicate that raw materials (blanks, preforms, finished and used objects) were deposited in various structures throughout the three sectors. Certain shell and stone ornaments had a particular function related to their deposition in specific architectural units. Picrolite production, largely represented in the stone materials used in bead manufacturing, did not evidence any difference between the three sectors, in contrast to shells. The malacological spectrum identified in each sector was dominated by different species, suggesting that decorated items used in the village, including in the Communal building and building B800, varied. These differences may be related to the activities performed in each sector, involving the use of various decorated objects, or to the shifting frequentation of the sectors. The disparities observed between the three sectors also result from the type of ornaments deposited in the village structures. The functional data indicate that many of the hidden objects show evidence of use prior to their deposit, suggesting that a part of the daily symbolic life was permanently sealed in the buildings. Comparisons with the personal ornaments used by the Epipaleolithic communities and the successive villagers who settled on the island during the Cypro-PPNA and Cypro-PPNB show the persistence of many raw materials for bead production but changes in bead styles. Some of these variations find marked and synchronous correspondence with changes in the personal ornaments of the continental pre-pottery societies. Shared dynamics with the mainland indicate that the ornamentation of the Cypriot pre-ceramic societies was subject to different forms of cultural influences linked to an extended sphere of continental interactions. Several mechanisms may have contributed to these distinct interactions. The successive arrival of several waves of continental travelers, specialized craftspeople, or indirect contacts via intermediate coastal populations may have influenced the renewal of personal ornaments over time.
L’ornementation des premières sociétés pré-céramiques de Klimonas apparaît très diversifiée. Toutes les matières premières identifiées sur le site, coquillages, os, dent et matières minérales, peuvent être acquises localement dans l’île. L’étude de la chaîne opératoire indique que les ornements en coquillage et en matière minérale étaient des productions domestiques présentes dans tous les secteurs du village. Les données fonctionnelles indiquent que les matières premières, les ébauches, les préformes, les objets finis et utilisés ont été déposés dans les différentes structures des trois secteurs. Une partie des artefacts en spondyle et des objets de parure en picrolite ont eu une fonction particulière en lien avec leur dépôt dans des unités architecturales spécifiques. La production en picrolite, largement représentée dans les matières minérales utilisées pour la confection des parures, n’identifie pas de différence entre les trois principaux secteurs, contrastant avec la diversité des coquillages. Le spectre malacologique identifié dans chaque secteur est dominé par des espèces différentes, suggérant que les objets décorés utilisés dans le Secteur B, le Bâtiment communautaire et le bâtiment 800 variaient. Ces différences peuvent être liées aux activités pratiquées dans chaque secteur impliquant l’utilisation de différents objets décorés, ou à une fréquentation variée des secteurs, peut-être par une catégorie d’individus utilisant des objets décorés non représentatifs de toute la diversité des objets de parure qui pouvaient être en usage dans le Secteur B du village. Les différences observées entre les 3 secteurs résultent également du type d’objets de parure déposés dans les différentes structures du village. Les données fonctionnelles indiquent que de nombreux objets cachés présentent des traces d’utilisation avant leur dépôt, ce qui suggère qu’une partie de la vie symbolique quotidienne était scellée de façon permanente dans les bâtiments. Le message porté par les ornements personnels enfouis dans les structures est porteur d’une mémoire symbolique et à l’inverse des unités architecturales qui sont visibles par tous ceux qui utilisent les bâtiments, les ornements cachés sont vraisemblablement connus d’un nombre plus restreint de personnes qui participent à leur dépôt. À cet égard, ils font partie d’un système de dépôts symboliques, comprenant aussi de l’outillage lithique et des restes de faune. Les différences observées entre les dépôts à l’intérieur du village et du Bâtiment communautaire peuvent refléter des histoires fonctionnelles différentes de ces secteurs qui ont donné lieu à des dépôts commémoratifs contrastés. Les comparaisons avec les ornements personnels utilisés par les communautés épipaléolithiques de l’île et les villageois successifs qui se sont implantés sur l’île au cours du Cypro-PPNA et du Cypro-PPNB montrent la persistance de nombreuses matières premières pour la confection des objets de parure mais aussi des changements dans les styles d’objets de parure produits. Ces variations peuvent indiquer des changements dans la composition sociale des groupes et dans leurs activités symboliques. Certaines de ces modifications trouvent des correspondances marquées et synchrones avec les variations au sein des ornements personnels des sociétés pré-céramiques continentales. Ces dynamiques partagées avec le continent indiquent que l’ornementation des sociétés pré-céramiques chypriotes était soumise à différentes formes d’influences culturelles liées à une sphère étendue d’interactions continentales. Plusieurs mécanismes ont pu contribuer à ces différentes interactions. L’arrivée successive de plusieurs vagues de voyageurs continentaux, d’artisans spécialisés ou encore des contacts indirects via des populations côtières intermédiaires peuvent avoir influencé le renouvellement des ornements corporels au fil du temps.
Remerciements
This work was supported by the Fyssen Foundation, the French National Research Agency under the IDEX Bordeaux NETAWA Emergence project № ANR-10-IDEX-03-02 “Out of the Core: Exploring social NETworks at the dawn of Agriculture in Western Asia 10 000 years ago”, the University of Bordeaux’s IdEx “Investments for the Future” program / GPR Human Past”, and CNRS momentum project “Symbolling and Neighboring at the Dawn of Agriculture”. We are also deeply grateful to George Konstantinou for his help in fossil shell sampling.
Texte intégral
1. Introduction
1Recent data shows that bead production was highly diversified at the end of the Cypro-PPNA and throughout the Cypro-PPNB. Changes in raw material selection, frequency and manufacturing processes are visible between the different periods of occupation (Serrand et al. 2005, Serrand and Vigne 2011, Rigaud et al. 2017) and indicate that the symbolic and social messages codified and materialized by the associations of ornaments varied within the Pre-Pottery communities of Cyprus. Numerous ethnographic documents show that a wide range of phenomena such as cultural evolutions, diffusions, circulations and exchanges over more or less long distances, population replacements or mixtures, impact bead-type diversity within communities (Verswijver 1982, 1986, Sanders 2002). Personal ornaments play a critical role in strengthening group membership and its cohesion, as well as assisting in establishing borders with neighboring groups; as such, they may constitute a tangible witness of linguistic, ideological, religious and population differences (Barth 1969, Kinietz 1972, Hodder 1977). Within societies, body ornaments are also often used to mark an individual’s membership to one or more social groups (Kuper 1973, Sciama and Eicher 1998). It is likely that similar sociocultural mechanisms affected the emergence and disappearance of Cypro-PPN body ornaments over time and contributed to their variations. Personal ornament analysis may contribute to our understanding of the connections between migrating Cypriot early villagers and the mainland communities (Rigaud et al. 2017, Bar-Yosef Mayer 2018), as well as the mechanisms that led to the persistence, emergence, and loss of cultural traits through time.
2The excavation of Klimonas offers a unique opportunity to infer the social organization of the early villagers and the various mechanisms that drove change in the cultural traits of the Cypro-PPN communities from their personal ornaments.
2. Material
3During the excavation of the Communal building, Sectors F and B, 1299 personal ornaments, blanks and fragments of raw material related to their manufacture were collected. The personal ornaments are mostly made of shells (N = 940) and green stones (N = 349), though one pendant made from a wild boar incisor and one perforated great bustard tarsometatarsus (chap. 26) have also been found at the site. Within the material, 50% of the artifacts came from a context securely attributed to the PPNA occupation, other artifacts came from contexts showing suspicious post-PPNA perturbations. Most of the material was documented within Sector B (N = 626), 404 pieces were documented within the Communal building, and 268 in Sector F. The aim of this analysis is to characterize the main behaviors related to bead manufacture and use that can be clearly related to the PPNA occupation of Klimonas.
3. Method
3.1. Shells taxonomic identification and analysis
4Taxonomic identification involved two steps: the characterization of the shell’s general shape for class determination (e.g. Scaphopoda, Gasteropoda, Bivalvia) followed by an examination of the number of whorls, shape of the aperture, lip, ventral and dorsal sides, and ornamentation to determine genus or species (Poppe and Goto 1993, Harasewych and Moretzsohn 2010). The nomenclature employed here adopted classifications available in the Clemam seashell database (2017), the WoRMS database (2017), the Paleobiology Database (2017), and the Biodiversity Heritage Library for fossil species. Consideration of the configuration and distribution of regional biotopes particular to each shell species and fossil outcrop revealed their probable procurement location(s) (Vanhaeren 2002, Bar-Yosef Mayer et al. 2010, Rigaud 2013).
5Shell surfaces show microscopic modifications testifying to events that occurred either during the life of the mollusk or post mortem. In the case of shells collected and/or modified by prehistoric groups, microscopic analyses provide information relevant to the environment in which they were collected, as well as subsequent taphonomic and anthropogenic modifications (Taborin 1998, d’Errico et al. 2005, Dupont 2006, Vanhaeren et al. 2013). The presence, location, and degree of natural modifications impeding microscopic analysis (calcite deposits, cracks) were recorded for each specimen, along with the degree of preservation of the shell’s original shape and feature. Anthropogenic modifications such as fractures, use-wear, and those produced by suspension (e.g. perforations, residues, incisions) were also systematically recorded.
6Morphometric variables (shell maximum and minimum diameter, maximum and minimum diameter of the perforation and thickness of the shell) were recorded in order to discuss size selection and shaping standardization.
3.2. Bird and mammal teeth identification and analysis
7Based on anatomic criteria, the bird and mammal bones were taxonomically identified by L. Gourichon and J.‑D. Vigne, respectively (chap. 24 and 26). The bone and dental surfaces were examined under microscope to record anthropogenic modifications resulting from the acquisition, transformation, and use of the teeth.
3.3. Stone raw material identification and stone beads analysis
8The color, hue, brightness, transparency, hardness, shape, and size of the grains were considered when identifying the stone bead raw materials. One green stone raw material was also analyzed using a Raman SENTERRA confocal microspectrometer (Brucker Optics, Ettlinger, Germany). The spectra were acquired via a 50x lens, allowing a 2 μm spot size with a 532 nm laser; they were then compared to the RRUFF database (Lafuente et al. 2015).
9Anthropogenic modifications resulting from the collection, modification, and use of the stone were systematically recorded. Evidence of manufacture on raw materials blanks, preforms, discarded, and finished objects were registered, as was surface use-wear and/or volume use-wear (sensu Bonnardin 2009).
10Measurements, including diameter and thickness of the artifacts and the diameter of the perforations, were recorded in order to verify possible volumetric standardization of the selected raw material pebbles and finished objects.
3.4. Microscopic analysis
11A Motic SMZ-168 microscope equipped with a digital Canon EOS 700D camera was used to document taphonomic and anthropogenic modifications on the material. The presence, position, and degree of post-depositional alterations that may have interfered with the identification of anthropogenic modifications during microscopic analysis (calcite concretion, exfoliation, dissolution, breakage) were recorded on each specimen.
3.5. Reference data
3.5.1. Fossil shells
12Several fossil shells have been identified within the material excavated at Klimonas. The fossil shell taxa identified at the site are documented in several Pliocene and Pleistocene fossil outcrops on the island (Moshkovitz 1968). Each fossil outcrop has a specific number, frequency, and taxonomic diversity of shells in various stages of preservation. Only a precise cartography of these variables allows the identification of outcrops exploited by prehistoric crafters and the constraints and choices that drove them to target particular outcrops rather than others. However, in order to explore the sociocultural systems that underlie fossil shell supply and selection requires the acquisition and analyzes of reference data (Rigaud et al. 2014, Rigaud and Gutiérrez-Zugasti 2016).
13In order to collect the fossil shell species represented at Klimonas, Pliocene outcrops located near Aredhiou, Polis, and Pissouri, as well as Pleistocene outcrops next to Larnaca Salt Lake, were sampled (fig. 19-1, appendix 19-1). Sampling was performed by three collectors (P. Mylona, G. Konstantinou, and S. Rigaud), with any fossils visible to the naked eye being systematically collected during 45 minutes at each outcrop. Ten fossil outcrops were sampled, and 965 shells attributed to 116 species were identified within the reference fossil shell -collections.
3.5.2. Picrolite
14Picrolite is a local green stone that largely dominates the raw stone materials used for bead manufacture at the site. Picrolite pebbles can be collected in a secondary position in the Kouris Valley, located 20 km west of the site (chap. 21). Sampling of the natural picrolite pebbles was performed in different portions of the Kouris River up to the primary outcrop in the Troodos Valley (collectors: P.‑A. Beauvais, M. Lebon, S. Puaud, S. Rigaud, and J. Robitaille), in order to observe the shape and size variability of the natural pebbles and the surface roughness downstream to upstream (see below). Comparison with the archaeological material aimed to identify the criteria followed by the PPNA crafters when selecting the raw materials used for bead -manufacture.
4. Origin, modification and use of the shells
4.1. Shell material
15Comparison of the malacological spectra identified in the three sectors shows that Dentalium sp. dominates the collection and is largely overrepresented in Sector F (fig. 19-1). The Communal building is characterized by a high number of Glycymeris sp. followed by Spondylus sp., though the reverse tendency is observed in Sector B.
16The same tendency was detected for material clearly attributed to the PPNA occupation (tab. 19-1). Each sector shares common shell species that are well represented in the malacospectra the other taxa are only represented by a few specimens.
Tab. 19-1 – Number of specimens for each taxon identified within the material discovered from structures securely attributed to the PPNA in each of the 3 sectors (Com.: Communal building).
Sect. | SPS | N | Sect. | SPS | N |
B | A. pespelecani | 2 | Com. | A. pespelecani | 1 |
Arca noae | 2 | Arca noae | 1 | ||
C. chione | 1 | Cerastoderma sp. | 1 | ||
Cardiidae | 3 | Cerithium sp. | 1 | ||
Cerastoderma sp. | 1 | C. rustica | 2 | ||
Conus sp. | 1 | Dentalium sp. | 62 | ||
Dentalium sp. | 136 | Glycymeris sp. | 44 | ||
Glycymeris sp. | 14 | Hexaplex sp. | 2 | ||
Hexaplex sp. | 4 | indet | 4 | ||
indet | 2 | Nassarius sp. | 1 | ||
Muricidae | 1 | Pectinidae | 9 | ||
Neverita sp. | 1 | Spondylus sp. | 37 | ||
Patella sp. | 2 | Turritella sp. | 6 | ||
Pectinidae | 9 | F | Acanthocardia sp. | 1 | |
Spondylus sp. | 67 | Antalis panorma | 3 | ||
Tenagodus sp. | 1 | Glycymeris sp. | 2 | ||
Turritella sp. | 2 | Dentalium sp. | 18 | ||
Dentalium inaequicostatum | 9 | ||||
Hexaplex sp. | 4 | ||||
Spondylus sp. | 6 |
17The analysis focuses primarily on the three main taxa present in the PPNA occupations, while the other shell artifacts that did not exceed 6 or 7 specimens per taxa will be more briefly described.
4.2. Shell sourcing
18Shells represent the most abundant raw material used for bead manufacture at the site, although fossil species, including Glycymeris sp., Dentalium sexangulum, Spondylus crassicosta, Anadara diluvii, Pecten sp., Euthria cornea, Murex rudis, Tenagodus anguinus and Turritella subangulata, are frequent. The shells of marine origin are less diversified and include Conus sp., Patella sp., and some specimens of Dentalium sp. and Aporrhais pespelecani.
19A review of the fossil shells documented on the island shows that the species identified at Klimonas are present at different Pliocene and Pleistocene outcrops (fig. 19-2, tab. 19-2).
Tab. 19-2 – Fossil outcrops where at least one shell species is also present at Klimonas (Dornbos and Wilson 1999, Moshkovitz 1968).
Specie | Attribution | Location |
Anadara diluvii | Middle-Upper Pliocene | Mammari |
Cardita antiquata | Middle-Upper Pliocene | Mammari, 3 3/4 M.P. Nicosia |
Pecten jacobeus | Middle-Upper Pliocene | S. of Elenja |
Pecten jacobeus | Lower Pliocene | Deftera-Pera |
Pecten jacobeus | Pleistocene | Polis |
Pecten subbipartitus | Middle-Upper Pliocene | Mammari |
Spondylus crassicosta | Lower Pliocene | Aredhiou |
Spondylus gaederopus | Middle Pleistocene | Larnaca Salt Lake, Dhavlos, Moni |
Cancellaria cancellata | Middle Pleistocene | Larnaca Salt Lake |
Cymatium cf. corrugatum | Middle-Upper Pliocene | vicinity of Nicosia (Nicosia Fm), Larnaca Salt Lake |
Euthria cornea | Middle-Upper Pliocene | vicinity of Nicosia, (Nicosia Fm.) |
Euthria cornea | Middle Pleistocene | Larnaca Salt Lake |
Hexaplex trunculus | Middle Pleistocene | Salt Lake of Larnaca, Dekhalia, Lapithos, Dhavlos |
Murex rudis | Lower Pleistocene | Polis |
Murex rudis | Middle Pleistocene | Larnaca Salt Lake |
Tenagodus anguinus | Middle Pleistocene | Dhavlos, (Kyrenia Fm.), Lapithos, (Kyrenia Fm) |
Turritella subangulata | Middle-Upper Pliocene | Mammari |
20Each sampled outcrop has a different taxonomic diversity and frequency of shell species (appendix 19-1). A large part of the taxonomic diversity characterized at Klimonas is identified in Pliocene outcrops, and the associated Pecten sp., large Dentalium, Aporrahis pespelecani, and Turritella subangulata have been systematically recognized within Pliocene grayish sandy marl deposits. One of these outcrops, located 3 km south of Klimonas is described on the geological map of Cyprus (outcrop J in appendix 19-1). The intense coastal urbanization of this part of the shore prevents any access to the outcrop; however, the presence of similar fossil shells is likely and suggests that most of them were locally available for the Klimonas crafters. Fossil Glycymeris sp. and fossil Cardiidae were found in the Pleistocene outcrop located at Moni Beach (outcrop K in appendix 19-1) 10 km east of Klimonas (Serrand and Vigne 2011, Rigaud et al. 2017). The fossil outcrops where similar Hexaplex sp. and Spondylus crassicosta can be found have not been identified yet, in spite of numerous surveys. Spondylus crassicosta are mentioned at Aredhiou (Moshkovitz 1968), but their general features do not correspond to the specimens identified within archaeological sites, which are larger and rounded by the waves (J.‑D. Vigne pers. comm.). It is likely that Spondylus crassicosta were collected from the Plio-Pleistocene fossil beaches that have been underwater since the beginning of the 8th millennium cal BC (Vigne et al. 2012, Serrand and Vigne 2021).
4.3. Shell functional analysis
4.3.1. Tusk shell origin and selection
21Pliocene Dentalium shells are long, large, and have a thick shell with a hexagonal section; when not eroded by post-depositional processes, their surface is covered with multiple parallel ribs. They belong to the species Dentalium sexangulum. The thinner and shorter tusk shells that replaced them at the turn of the Pleistocene have a smooth surface with tiny ribs which tend to disappear near the distal extremity. They belong to the species Antalis vulgaris. In order to differentiate between them, we collected 210 large Dentalium shells from three Pliocene fossils outcrops (Pissouri, Polis, and Aredhiou) and 11 specimens from the sole Pleistocene outcrop of Salt Lake (tab. 19-3). The length and proximal and distal diameters were registered for each archaeological specimen from Klimonas and each Pliocene and Pleistocene tusk shell (fig. 19-3).
Tab. 19-3 – Number of Dentalium sp. collected from Klimonas primary deposits and sampled fossil outcrops (*Pleistocene deposit ; **Pliocene deposits).
Site | N |
Sector B | 136 |
Sector F | 27 |
St 10 | 62 |
Pissouri** | 19 |
Polis** | 7 |
Aredhiou** | 184 |
Salt Lake* | 11 |
22The taxinomic identification of tusk shells may be limited by surface alterations of taphonomic origin that affect the shell’s natural ornamentation when recovered from fossil outcrops, thanatocenoses and archaeological deposits (Kurzawska et al. 2013). Both species have been identified within the material from Klimonas (fig. 19-1, tab. 19-1); however, a large number of specimens are indeterminate due to surface alterations.
23The state of preservation of tusk shell extremities was observed in order to distinguish intact natural extremities from those fractured by natural or anthropogenic agents. The description of the breakages was based on reference data collected from fossil and experimentally modified Dentalium sp. (Vanhaeren et d’Errico 2001).
24Step fractures were not observed in the material from Klimonas and rounded ends are absent from the reference collections (tab. 19-4). Intact proximal extremities are rare in the archaeological material, but the intact distal extremities are relatively abundant compared to fossil reference samples. Straight and irregular fractures are well represented in the archaeological and fossil material.
25Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the shell measurements shows that the convex hulls, representing the metric variability of the tusk shells from each of the three sectors of the site, overlap (fig. 19-4). The shorter tusk shells present in Sectors B and F are absent from the Communal building (fig. 19-4 and 19-5). Little overlapping is observed between the measurements recorded in the Pleistocene and the Pliocene reference collections (fig. 19-5). The archaeological tusk shell length does not differ significantly from the variability of the Pleistocene specimens (tab. 19-5). The proximal and distal diameters of the archaeological Dentalium shells are significantly larger than the diameters registered in the Pleistocene reference material, and the proximal diameter of the archaeological Dentalium shells falls within the variability of the Pissouri Pliocene reference specimens (tab. 19-5, fig. 19-5).
Tab. 19-5 – Mann-Whitney U test showing statistically significant differences (in grey) between the measurements (length, proximal and distal diameter) registered on the Dentalium from Klimonas (primary fillings and structures from St 10, Sector F and Sector B) and Pleistocene (Salt Lake) and Pliocene dentalium (Aredhiou, Pissouri, Polis). In grey, sequential Bonferroni significance.
Length | St 10 | Sector F | Sector B | Aredhiou | Pissouri | Salt Lake |
St 10 | 0,04214 | 0,7042 | 1,20E-07 | 0,01027 | 0,4804 | |
Sect F | 0,04214 | 0,02014 | 1,49E-09 | 0,0005525 | 0,1206 | |
SecB | 0,7042 | 0,02014 | 2,72E-28 | 0,0006354 | 0,5385 | |
Aredhiou | 1,20E-07 | 1,49E-09 | 2,72E-28 | 0,07032 | 2,03E-06 | |
Pissouri | 0,01027 | 0,0005525 | 0,0006354 | 0,07032 | 0,007624 | |
Salt Lake | 0,4804 | 0,1206 | 0,5385 | 2,03E-06 | 0,007624 | |
Prox width | St 10 | Sector F | Sector B | Aredhiou | Pissouri | Salt Lake |
St 10 | 0,9588 | 0,8763 | 9,34E-07 | 0,09938 | 7,68E-05 | |
Sect F | 0,9588 | 0,808 | 3,85E-07 | 0,09936 | 7,67E-05 | |
SecB | 0,8763 | 0,808 | 4,54E-20 | 0,0395 | 1,44E-06 | |
Aredhiou | 9,34E-07 | 3,85E-07 | 4,54E-20 | 0,005215 | 6,03E-08 | |
Pissouri | 0,09938 | 0,09936 | 0,0395 | 0,005215 | 8,93E-05 | |
Salt Lake | 7,68E-05 | 7,67E-05 | 1,44E-06 | 6,03E-08 | 8,93E-05 | |
Dist width | St 10 | Sector F | Sector B | Aredhiou | Pissouri | Salt Lake |
St 10 | 0,08811 | 0,1634 | 3,48E-10 | 9,12E-06 | 5,73E-05 | |
Sect F | 0,08811 | 0,6082 | 5,81E-11 | 1,46E-06 | 0,0007057 | |
SecB | 0,1634 | 0,6082 | 3,28E-32 | 5,23E-08 | 3,39E-05 | |
Aredhiou | 3,48E-10 | 5,81E-11 | 3,28E-32 | 0,001527 | 3,00E-08 | |
Pissouri | 9,12E-06 | 1,46E-06 | 5,23E-08 | 0,001527 | 7,60E-06 | |
Salt Lake | 5,73E-05 | 0,0007057 | 3,39E-05 | 3,00E-08 | 7,60E-06 |
26Morphometric analysis shows that the archaeological Dentalium shells have a metric variability that partially overlaps both Pliocene and Pleistocene metric variability. This results from the presence of the two species identified in the collection. This metric variability is associated with the absence of anthropogenic modification evidence at the ends of the archaeological Dentalium shells. The scarcity of intact proximal extremities in the archaeological material and the relative abundance of intact distal extremities in comparison with fossil reference samples, suggests that the central and distal sections of tusk shells naturally shortened by post-depositional processes were preferentially selected. This choice implies that the strategy developed for bead manufacturing was heavily invested in the selection and sorting of the material, in order to target naturally large portions of Dentalium shells, rather than in technical interventions to modify the size of the shells by sawing or bending after collection.
4.3.2. Tusk shell modification and use
27Anthropogenic modifications observed on the Dentalium shells consist of the presence of use-wear and red pigment (fig. 19-6). Use-wear are located at the extremity of the scaphopods and evidenced by the shiny, smoothed, and rounded edge of the shell’s natural hole (fig. 19-6 j, w, y). Intense use-wear has resulted in the shape of the hole’s edge being modified, attesting to the scaphopod being in contact with a string (fig. 19-6, p, q, v, x). Some Dentalium shells were maintained in their original association by calcite concretions (N = 4). They were assembled with the proximal extremity of one of the Dentalium shells inserted within the distal extremity of the adjacent tusk shells (fig. 19-6, r, fig. 19-7). One set of two Dentalium shells maintained in their original association was found in a clear PPNA context in Sector F (primary fill sediment SU 800.28); the other three sets were discovered in Sectors B and F and in the Communal building but from contexts potentially disturbed by Pottery Neolithic occupations. This disposition is also evidenced by use-wear on the extremity of one Dentalium shell which is smoothed; the natural ribs are flattened and almost erased due to the friction of the outer surface being in contact with the inner surface of the adjacent scaphopod during suspension (fig. 19-6 t). This pattern of use-wear was observed on a Dentalium shell discovered in the Communal building (PPNA, primary fill sediment SU 10.6). Two large tusk shells are covered with oblique and longitudinal parallel striations indicating that their surface had been entirely scraped with a sharp stone tool (fig. 19-7). This scraping may have been intended to remove the natural ribs present on the surface of the large fossil Dentalium shell in order to obtain large white cylinders with a regular surface. The two Dentalium shells were found in Sector F, with one coming from a secure PPNA context (primary fill sediment SU 800.28). The presence of ochre was documented on 12 specimens from the three sectors (fig. 19-6, k, m).
28Functional data indicate that the tusk shells were suspended on a string, adjacent to each other. Some natural ribs present at the surface of the large fossil Dentalium shells had been removed by scraping to regularize the surface. The longer tusk shells were most frequent in the Communal building. The intentional versus accidental presence of ochre on the surface of some of the specimens is ambiguous.
4.3.3. Spondylus sp.: origin and selection
29Two Spondylus species are present in the archaeological collection. Specimens with a thin valve, red coloration still preserved on some shells, and natural ornamentation partly visible at the external surface of the valve were attributed to Spondylus gaederopus (N = 7), a species naturally present in the Mediterranean Sea during the Pleistocene and Holocene. Other specimens, much more abundant at the site, are thick, fully fossilized (i.e. re-crystallized), and completely rounded by erosion (“pebbles of shells”); similar specimens found in the early phases of Shillourokambos were attributed to the Mio-Pliocene fossil species Spondylus crassicosta by A. Lauriat-Rage (in Serrand and Vigne 2011). The fossil outcrop in which the fossil Spondylus sp. were available is still unknown, in spite of active surveys in the Limassol District for the last twenty years.
30A total of 110 valves and objects made from Spondylus crassicosta are securely attributed to the PPNA occupation (tab. 19-1). Data available for the PPN on the island indicate that these giant fossil Spondylus were not used after the end of the PPN, probably due to the progressive inaccessibility of the raw material source on the island (Serrand et al. 2005, Serrand and Vigne 2011, 2021, Rigaud et al. 2017). The absence of evidence for PPNB occupation at Klimonas suggests that all the Spondylus material, including the specimens discovered in unsecured contexts, disturbed by Pottery Neolithic occupations, can be attributed to the PPNA.
4.3.4. Spondylus sp.: modification and use
31Fourty-nine valves (fig. 19-8 and 19-9) or fragments of valves (fig. 19-10) from Spondylus crassicosta were found intact. Thirty-seven valves show modifications on one or two edges of the shell. The surface of the edges is flattened, rough, irregular, and covered in multiple small angular pits resulting from crushing the surface on a hard raw material (fig. 19-11). On the convex side of several pieces, superficial flake scars are present next to the crushed area of the edges (fig. 19-12 and 19-13). These modifications correspond to the reshaping of the edges of the Spondylus shells by pecking. The intact valves with evidence of pecking on the two edges show a regular and elongated shape, compared to the unmodified valves and broken valves (fig. 19-14). Several pecked specimens also show sets of parallel striations on the convex side. The striations are of variable length (0.05–0.5 cm) and are oriented oblique and transversely to the main axis of the shell (fig. 19-12). The pecking and the flake scars crosscut the striations, showing that the brief grinding of the surface occurred before the pecking (fig. 19-12). Several specimens were totally reshaped in the form of regular cylinders. Their surface is covered in sets of parallel striations of different width and deepness, attesting to grinding on an abrasive surface with heterogeneous grains (fig. 19-15 and 19-16).
32Three Spondylus cylinders show evidence of boring by circular motion with a lithic point at one or two of their extremities (fig. 19-16 and 19-17). Spondylus tubular beads resulting from this process are present in the material (fig. 19-17). Several broken tubular beads have circular parallel striations on the wall of the perforation resulting from the rotation of a lithic point. The length and regular shape of the perforation and the presence of long lithic micro points in the material (cf. chap. 14 and 15) suggest that the perforations were made using a bow or a pump drill. Tubular beads show various lengths but a relatively homogenous diameter (10 to 12 mm). This standardization may be the result of aesthetic choice, but is most probably a technological constraint inherent to the minimum width required for long drilling with a lithic point (fig. 19-17). The tubular beads are covered with thin multidirectional striations resulting in a polished finish (fig. 19-18).
33Technological data indicate that the full manufacturing sequence of Spondylus bead production is present at the site, including intact shell valves, valves regularized by pecking, and cylinders shaped by grinding and perforated by rotation. Spondylus were not exclusively exploited for the production of tubular beads. Various pendants and discoid beads were also produced (fig. 19-17). One Spondylus valve was regularized by grinding in order to produce an elongated artifact. One of the two extremities was carved by rotatory motions with a lithic point (fig. 19-17 n° 3). The natural curve of the Spondylus valve does not fit with an attempt to perforate the object from one extremity to the other. No use-wear was observed at the surface, or into the hole, preventing identification of the artifacts function.
34Many finished beads and pendants that are not intensely affected by taphonomical agents show evidence of their use (fig. 19-18 to fig. 19-20). Intense use-wear is visible through modification of the shape of the hole of several beads due to suspension of the artifact on a string (fig. 19-18 a, b, fig. 19-19 d, g, fig. 19-20 a, b, e, f). Extreme use-wear results in a reduction of the volume of the perforation’s edge up to breakage of the perforation (fig. 19-19 a, i, j). Contact of the string with the wall of the perforation has partially or, in some cases, totally erased the circular striations resulting from perforation by rotation (fig. 19-19 g, h). The surface of the beads is shiny and covered in multiple short and thin striations randomly oriented and caused by the beads coming into contact with a soft raw material during their suspension (fig. 19-18 d, fig. 19-19 b, c, e, fig. 19-20 h). The random and thin striations cover sets of parallel striations, oblique or perpendicular to the main axis of the beads, resulting of the polishing of the surface during manufacture (fig. 19-18, c, fig. 19-19, f, c, e, f, fig. 19-20, h).
4.3.5. Glycymeris sp.: origin, selection, modification and use
35Sixty Glycymeris sp. valves are securely attributed to the PPNA occupation. In Sector B, of the 20 intact specimens 9 feature a perforated umbo; in the Communal building 3 out of 10 specimens evidence a perforated umbo (fig. 19-21). The valves were mostly altered by taphonomic alterations, including carbonate concretions on the shell’s surface. The shells are highly eroded, with natural ornamentation almost erased, and smoothed and rounded valve edges. Similar states of preservation can be observed on the Pleistocene Glycymeris sp. from the reference collection. The fossil origin of the Glycymeris sp. implies that they were not collected for consumption.
36The location and smoothed edges of the perforations correspond to natural modifications resulting from surf action (reference data Rogalla et al. 2007, Cabral and Martins 2016) on shells deposited within thanatocenoses during the Pleistocene. Use-wear analysis reveals no evidence for the use of these natural perforations in suspension. Without any evidence of anthropogenic modification, the function of the naturally perforated and intact Glycymeris sp. remains unknown. Their presence in every sector of the site indicates an habitual function. The absence of use-wear, as opposed to the Dentalium sp. and Spondylus sp. artifacts’ fossil origin for the majority, suggests that the Glycymeris sp. were less manipulated than the other shells. Their presence in every type of structure, but mostly within the fill sediment (cf. below), shows that these shells were not deposited in specific locations but were probably present and visible during common daily activities. A possible use that may produce few use-wear and does not require any modification would be their display as “appliquées”, embedded or glued on a surface. Evidence that the shells were not manipulated implies they were used as “appliquées” on non-mobile material. Their use as wall decorations may explain this pattern, and their relative abundance within the Communal building might therefore indicate a more richly decorated structure. Such wall decoration has been previously identified in other archaeological contexts (Dupont 2012).
4.2.6. Other shells
37Other shells present in the material had often been affected by taphonomic alterations. Shells of marine origin evidence bioerosion and sponge boring, indicating they were collected within thanatocenoses (fig. 19-22, g, h). Most of the Hexaplex sp. show a dorsal perforation on the last spire whorl, but their state of preservation prevents identification of the technique used to perforate the shell or any use-wear. Most of the gastropods belonging to other species had also been dorsally perforated on the last spire whorl, mostly by percussion or sawing. The apex of the Conidae is often absent, due to natural alteration, but the presence of use-wear at the edge the natural opening indicates it was used to insert a string for suspension. This technique likely involves the breaking of the columella to insert the string from the opened apex to the aperture of the shell. Besides the Spondylus sp. and Glycymeris sp. other bivalve species were highly fragmented and less frequent at the site. A single specimen of Callista chione shows large sets of striations within the inner part of the valve (Sector B, SU 6039, fill sediment of buildings B26/27). The striations are unidirectional, of various width and depth, and irregularly spaced, suggesting they result from contact with an abrasive compound using regular and unidirectional motions (fig. 19-23). The shell was most likely part of a toolkit, maybe a scraper.
4.3. Spatial distribution of the shell material
38Characterization of the beads and pendants, blanks and raw material distribution, and abundance per sectors and structures of the village aimed to document if a particular accumulation can be meaningful when documenting the function of the artifacts and the specific crafting and symbolic activities that may have been conducted in the village.
39In Sector F, among the 205 shells, 43 have been securely attributed to the PPNA. The frequency of the three main taxa securely attributed to the PPNA follows the general tendency observed for the totality of the material collected in this sector. Six S. crassicosta were discovered inside the peripheral mud wall (St 838). Other Dentalium sp. and shell species did not exceed two specimens per structure.
40Within the Communal building, 171 shells were discovered in building phase 1a (N = 27), in the earth bench and primary fills 1b (N = 76), in the second phase (N = 51), and in the third phase (N = 17). The frequency of the three main taxa securely attributed to the PPNA follows the general tendency observed for the totality of the material collected in this sector (fig. 19-1). Turritella sp., also well documented within Sector F, were more frequent within the occupation attributed to the second phase of the Communal building St 10 (tab. 19-1). The shell beads recovered from the different structures and primary deposits do not show any particular pattern regarding their state of manufacture and use. The raw material and finished and used beads were randomly distributed within the different accumulations. (appendix 19-2). One particular accumulation was identified within foundation trench 168.5; it includes three Turritella sp., with a perforation on the last turn made by sawing (Vigne et al. 2011a), three Dentalium sp., and one Glycymeris sp.
41Very few shells were discovered in the buildings of Sector B (fig. 19-24). The highest number of shells was observed for the buildings located in a central position within the excavated area (B8, B9, B10, B26).
42The two main taxa frequency calculated with the material were clearly attributed to one of the buildings, including material from the fill sediment discovered within a primary position, shows that Spondylus sp. and Dentalium sp. rarely reach equal proportions within the buildings and seem mutually exclusive (fig. 19-25, A). A similar pattern was observed when considering the material attributed to a precise structure in a primary and secondary fill sediment. Spondylus sp. were frequently discovered in foundation trenches and postholes, in contrast to Dentalium sp. which were more abundant in other architectural features (fig. 19-25 B).
43As with the Communal building, the beads recovered from different structures and primary deposits do not show any particular pattern regarding their state of manufacture and use. Raw material and finished and used beads are randomly distributed within the different accumulations. One particular accumulation of Spondylus crassicosta, however, shows a greater homogeneity. Thirty-two specimens were discovered in a primary position in Sector B, including 11 valves which were found aligned in the foundation trench of building B17 (fig. 19-26). This is the most important accumulation recorded during the excavation. None of the valves have been modified and no size standardization was observed. In addition, a large flat limestone pebble was discovered in the accumulation. The color, shape, and volume of the pebble is very similar to the larger Spondylus valve accumulated in the trench and was initially identified as such (fig. 19-26, n° 10). The food remains from a young wild boar were also found in this small section of the foundation trench (chap. 31).
4.4. Discussion
44Taxinomic, taphonomic and shell reference collections indicate that most of the shells were collected from fossil outcroups on the island, including two outcrops located on the shore 1 km (Pliocene outcrop) and 8 km (Pleistocene outcrop) from Klimonas. The other shells show evidence of bioerosion, suggesting they were collected on the shore within thanatocenoses. The local origin of the shell material implies they might have been acquired during daily circulation in the area surrounding the site.
45The shell bead diversity identified at Klimonas is higher in comparison to what is known in the Cypro-PPNA occupation at Ayia Varvara (Reese comm. pers., Bar-Yosef Mayer 2018), although common bead types are shared between the two sites. The extent of the Klimonas village and the presence of the Communal building likely offer a broad view of the diversity of the personal ornamentation wore by the Cypro-PPNA people, within a wide community (including various genders and generations) during their daily and probably ritual activities. The three main taxa identified at Klimonas, Dentalium sp., Glycymeris sp. and Spondylus sp., as well as the Turitella sp. that are well documented in the Communal building are also present at Ayia Varvara (Reese comm. pers., Bar-Yosef Mayer 2018). The latter is identified as a task-specific site dedicated to the production and export of high-quality chipped stone and raw pigment materials (McCartney 2017). The presence of the main bead types in the village of Klimonas, within the Communal building and at the task-specific site, associated with other variable shell beads, indicates that most of the personal ornaments found at these sites were likely wore daily rather than to adorn items and clothes specifically used for special economic, technical, or ritual activities.
46The functional data indicates that a significant part of the beads and pendants were made at Klimonas, especially the Spondylus artifacts for which the full manufacturing sequence can be identified from the material. The random distribution of raw material, blanks, preforms and finished artifacts did not identify a specific workshop or crafting area, suggesting that bead manufacturing may have been a domestic production, rather than specifically performed by specialized crafters. The Spondylus industry identified at Klimonas predates what was known for the early and middle Cypro-PPNB at Shillourokamnos (Serrand et al. 2005, Rigaud et al. 2017) and the continent. Spondylus beads are a well-attested phenomenon of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods of Western Anatolia, the Aegean, and the Balkans, though not earlier than 7000 years BP (Ifantidis 2011, Baysal and Burçin 2014, Perlès 2018). The Spondylus industry identified within the Cypro-PPNA is thus a local innovation, maybe stimulated by the unusual local presence of a special source of primary material in the form of the huge S. crassicosta pebbles, that was maintained throughout the early Cypro-PPNB and then gradually abandoned due to the progressive unavailability of the fossil outcrops (Serrand and Vigne 2011). However, the late continental occurrences of similar productions based on a different and less favourable primary substance (smaller modern S. gaederopus) questions the possible dispersal of this Cypriot innovation and its adaptation to other regions favored by regular maritime voyages, as attested by the many imports of continental resources, and probably people, during and after the PPN (Briois et al. 1997, Vigne and Cucchi 2005, Vigne et al. 2014, 2019b). Independent local innovations within the various continental regions cannot be excluded either.
47The material from Klimonas, and of the Cypro-PPNA in general, share common stylistic traits with continental contemporaneous communities (Bar-Yosef Mayer 2018). The beads made of Pleistocene Mediterranean shells, including Dentalium sp., Pecten sp., Charonia sp., Columbella rustica, and Glycymeris sp., also present at Klimonas, are widely spread within the Near Eastern PPNA, including Anatolia, and the Southern and Northern Levant. However, the use of Turritellidae in bead production, as observed at Klimonas, is not documented before the PPNB on the continent. The use at Klimonas of the local Pliocene resources, including the large Spondylus, the large Dentalium and the Turritella sp., led to the modification of the sets of shell beads originally used on the continent and resulted in the crafting of innovative personal ornamentations never before documented within PPNA communities.
48The large amount of scaphopods identified at Klimonas is also observed at Ayia Varvara and in the Southern Levant PPNA (Reese comm. pers.). Their relative abundance decreases during the Cypro-PPNB and the Southern Levant PPNB (Bar-Yosef Mayer 2018), as well as in Cyprus (Serrand and Vigne 2011, 2021). A different pattern is observed for Anatolia and the Northern Levant, where the Dentalium sp. are not overrepresented during the PPNA but more frequent at the end of the PPNB in Turkey (Alarashi 2014, Bar-Yosef Mayer 2018). The use of a large number of scaphopods for personal ornamentation is also documented in the continental Natufian and Epipaleolithic where they are found in their hundreds (Weinstein-Evron et al. 2007, Baysal 2013, Kurzawska et al. 2013, Ridout-Sharpe 2015), as opposed to previous periods. Such relative abundance is not observed at Akrotiri-Aetokremnos (Reese 2006), but the relative short-term occupation of this site may influence the shell bead abundance here. The preference for scaphopods observed in the continental Southern Levant PPNA may signify a durable aesthetic choice rooted in the Natufian and Epipaleolithic, while their abundance in the Cypro-PPNA may reflect a Southern Levant influence.
49The presence of used and unused shell beads, blanks and raw material within structures indicate that some of the personal ornaments were extracted from their use within the community to be hidden in specific places. Contrary to artifacts found in trash deposits, for which it can be suggested that their function within the community (e.g. prophylactic, amulet) was over, the placing of shell bead material in hidden places within the buildings suggests specific behavior related to the occupation of the village. These personal ornaments and associated symbolic messages, together with some remarkable lithic and faunal objects or assemblages (chap. 14 and 31), were therefore purposefully sealed in order to perpetuate specific symbolic functions within these structures. The contrasting distribution of the Spondylus (mostly present within foundation trenches and postholes) and the Dentalium (mostly present within walls, pits, floors and filling sediment) suggests different symbolic functions. A recent study proposes that with the economy of production comes the rise of property rights (Bowles and Choi 2013). The mixed economy of the first Near Eastern farmers, for example, shows variable residential patterns that were associated with elements of both private and common property and the negotiation of domestic storage and interhouse sharing (Bogaard et al. 2009, Bowles and Choi 2013). Evidences of domestic storage clearly attributed to the PPNA remains however scant. The different deposits and irregular patterns of the various shell species observed at Klimonas may correspond to various symbolic functions: the Spondylus artifacts, closely associated with deep house structures, may represent spatial unit markers, maybe family unit markers, as opposed to the dentalium that could have constituted a common social/symbolic marker extended to the group unit. Shell caches, storage and deposits are well known in the continental PPN (Alarashi 2014, Meier et al. 2017, Alarashi et al. 2018, Schechter et al. 2021), and the rich collection of Klimonas offers a new insight to discuss their different social and symbolic meanings.
5. Teeth and bone pendants
50One pendant made of an adult right first lower wild boar incisor was found in Sector B within a secondary fill sediment next to buildings B13-14-29. The mesio-distal perforation is located on the apex of the root (fig. 19-27), and the state of preservation is not good. The surface of the teeth has been impacted by several taphonomic agents including rootlet dissolution and the presence of calcite concretions on 70% of the surface, impeding functional analysis.
51One perforated great bustard tarsometatarsus has also been recorded at the site (see chap. 26).
52These two pendants fall out of the bead type variability documented so far for the Cypro-PPNA (Vigne et al. 2011a, 2012, McCartney 2017). The raw material belongs to the only large ungulate present on the island at that time, and to one of the most represented bird species at the site. The two species were consumed here (see chap. 24 and 26), in contrast with other categories of personal ornaments made of raw materials (stones, fossil shells or shells collected within thanatocoenoses).
53The isolated nature of the pendant limits any interpretation.
6. Origin, modification and use of the stone beads
6.1. Stone material
54Green stone artifacts have been recorded in Sectors B and F and in the Communal building (N = 359). The raw green stone pebbles present at the site are mostly flat, oval to round and represents 22% of the green stone artifacts discovered in each of the three sectors. Green stones are largely represented by picrolite (64% of the green stones), a rock from the serpentine family, although other minerals or rocks were also used for personal ornamentation, such as asbestos, malachite and other serpentine-like raw materials (fig. 19-28).
6.2. Stone raw material sourcing and selection
55Picrolite pebbles are present on the Kouris riverside, located 20 km from the site (Peltenburg 1991, Xenophontos 1991; see chapter 21). Sampling downstream of the Kouris River showed the presence of small pebbles with similar volumes and surface alterations to the unmodified pebbles present at Klimonas. Larger pebbles, more angular and less altered and rounded, were observed upstream but were not identified at the site (fig. 19-29). The size and shape variability identified at Klimonas, including flat, oval to circular pebbles, confirms that the pebble selection was relatively opportunistic and allowed for minimal transformation of the volumes during bead manufacturing. The larger pebbles were used for the manufacture of the larger pendants and conversely. No evidence of pebble debitage in order to produce small fragments of pebbles for the shaping of smaller beads was identified at the site.
56Besides some other green stones, also of local origin (chap. 21), few artifacts were made of local limestone or chalk. An unidentified black raw material may have also been locally acquired in the island in secondary position within river beds, rich in various stone materials originating from the Troodos mountains.
6.3. Stone beads functional analysis
57Preforms (green stone pebbles modified by scraping and grinding, and pebbles with unfinished perforation) are present within the material and do not show systematic accidental breakages that may explain their discard (fig. 19-28 a, b). Preforms represent 19% of the material. Technological data show that personal ornament production was relatively opportunistic with very small modification of the raw pebbles original volume. Large picrolite pebbles were used for the manufacture of the larger pendants and no evidence of pebble flaking to produce small blanks was identified at the site. Finished green stone ornaments are mostly small (7 to 40 mm long), with variable shapes (discoidal, oval to rectangular) and variable profiles (plan, triangular or semi-circular). No standardization was observed (fig. 19-30). The naturally small pebbles were used for the production of the circular beads that represent the main category of green stone beads (64% of the finished products), while other artifacts are highly diversified and represented by 2 to 5 specimens, including elongated pendants, large drop-shaped beads, triangular to rectangular beads, etc. Manufacturing processes combined sawing, scraping, grinding and polishing. Systems of suspension include perforation made by rotation or grooves running around the circumference of the artifact (fig. 19-31). Perforations made by rotation are mostly biconical, with regular continuous circular striations on the wall showing they were made with a pump or bow drill (fig. 19-32).
58Heavy use-wear responsible for the modification of the shape of the perforation present on the ornaments was observed on many artifacts (fig. 19-32). Few pieces show a used and broken perforation; their use may have been extended, in some cases, by the manufacturing of a second perforation for suspension.
59A few artifacts show distinctive typological features. A unique opened ring is present in the collection. It was shaped by scraping and abrasion. Striations resulting from the abrasion of the opened section demonstrate that the opening of the ring was made during manufacturing and did not result in breakage of the ring (appendix 19-3). Use-wear characterized by the rounded and smoothed edge of the opening of the ring indicates it was in use before its loss or discard at the site (fig. 19-33). This artifact may correspond to a garment pin (fibula). Fragmentary garment pins are documented in later periods at Khirokitia and Kalavassos-Tenta (Peltenburg 1991), but the absence of any technological and use-wear data makes the anthropogenic origin of the ring opening dubious. The absence of similar items from other PPNA or even PPNB sites in the region, the probable presence of a garment pin from a later period, and the position of the opened ring found in the final fill sediment perturbed by Pottery Neolithic excavations in Sector B (KL14, US 6010 TB3), suggest this item may belong to an occupation more recent than the PPNA village, maybe Sotira.
60In Sector B, a large anthropomorphic pendant was found below the eastern stone threshold of building B10 (St 6667). Three short grooves, perpendicular to the main axis of the pendant and made with a cutting tool, represent the eyes and mouth at one extremity of the pendant (fig. 19-34). Two other short grooves act as the central nose. The perforation, made by bifacial rotation, crosscuts the extremity of the head of the figurine and allows the pendant to be suspended with the face looking at the observer. A large cut made by separately sawing the other extremity of the pendant divided it into two equal lobes. The pendant is shiny, and the anthropogenic modifications, including the striations within the perforation, are flattened and smoothed by use-wear.
61A large zoomorphic pendant was found in a big deep pit between buildings B13 and B14 (St 6761). The pendant depicts a standing bird (fig. 19-35, B). The subject’s morphology and proportions, i.e., short head; long neck,; robust, short rounded bill and large wings, are reminiscent of a bustard, a bird species well represented in the faunal material identified at Klimonas (chap. 26). This picrolite pebble was shaped by grinding; the head of the bustard was perforated by bifacial rotation and a long and deep groove, made by longitudinal sawing, delimit the large lateral wing on each side of the pendant. Use-wear facets on the pendant have erased the grinding striations and correspond to shiny and smooth areas on its edges.
62Another pebble, found on the building B09 floor (SU 6095), shaped by grinding, but not perforated, shows a general morphology reminiscent of the first figurines (fig. 19-35 A).
63The isolated nature of the anthropomorphic and zoomorphic pendants in the regional corpus tends to exclude their function as group membership markers. Current studies of anthropomorphic imagery seek to identify particular patterns of spatial and temporal variability. Regional diachronic switches from ambiguous forms to explicit representations of anatomical features are seen as changes in the social cohesion of groups with different expression of individuality (Kuijt and Chesson 2007). Many studies deal with the sex attribution of the anthropomorphic representations and lead to various interpretations far beyond the dual matriarchy/patriarchy myth (Feustel 1971, Conard et Kieselbach 2006, Moser 2006, Conard 2009, Scher 2012, White et al. 2012, Bolger and Wright 2013). However, although the anatomical features represented on the anthropomorphic pendant from Klimonas clearly aim to depict the face of the human-like artifact other features do not allow an obvious sex attribution of this human representation. Anthropomorphic figurines (mostly made of baked clay and limestone) with no obvious sexed feature are known from the continental Levantine PPNA. The elongated pendant with a bilobed lower part found at Klimonas shows stylistic similarity with the PPNA baked clay figurine discovered at the Netiv Hagdud village (Jordan Valley, Israel; Bar-Yosef et al. 1991, Bar-Yosef and Gopher 1997). Here, the complete elongated bilobed specimen is interpreted as a seated individual with outstretched legs. The eyes are incised at the top of the clay artifact and small breasts identify the figurine as a woman. More generally, during the Levantine PPNA, the figurines show a general, though not exclusive, focus on the lower body (Netiv Hagdud, Hav, Dhra’, WF16), different to the PPNB human representations which usually focus on naturalistic representations of the head and face with detailed depictions of the eyes, nose, ears and mouth (Kuijt 2017). This symbolic shift from a visual focus on the human lower torso to a more fixated attention on the face and head is seen as evidence of a changing way of representing individual identity through time (Kuijt and Chesson 2007, Kuijt 2017). The isolated nature of the anthropomorphic pendant from Klimonas is difficult to link to a specific behavior related to social or individual identity; however, the presence of use-wear on the pendant shows that it had a durable symbolic function within the community before being hidden at the entrance of the building. The specific location of the pendant, not in a trash deposit, excludes it was discarded after its function within the community was considered over. The pendant most likely had a symbolic function, maybe as an amulet, for the people using the building.
64Zoomorphic representations are also variable in the Levantine PPNA contexts and include quadrupeds, bulls, long-horned animals and a variety of birds (Kozlowski 2002, Kuijt 2017). Bird figurines are mentioned at Dja’ade, Gilgal (Yizraeli Noy et al. 1989) a limestone owl is documented at Mureybet (Pichon 1985) and two large stelae representing birds, possibly raptors, adorn one building in the village at Jerf el-Ahmar (Stordeur et al. 2000). The bustard pendant discovered at Klimonas shows use-wear, indicating it was manipulated and has a symbolic function before its deposit. The pendant was discovered in a pit with other categories of artifacts with no indication of any cultic function. This suggests that the pendant was incorporated into different social activities or actions performed at the site during its use and was discarded with more care than other productions. Moreover, the possible anthropomorphic preform, was not deposited in a hidden place but discovered on the floor of the building. The unfinished state of the artifact may explain that it was not part of any purposeful deposit. Animals in the symbolic productions recorded at Klimonas contrast with what is known on the continent during the PPNA. Wild boar deposits, including their long incisors, are seen as an alternative to the aurochs horns documented on the continent (chap. 31). The bustard, represented by a pendant made of a perforated diaphysis and the zoomorphic picrolite pendant, is also a locally symbolic production probably linked to the adaptation of the Klimonas inhabitants to this specific insular natural world.
6.4. Spatial distribution of the stone beads, pendants and blanks
65The status of the picrolite pendants may also be explored using the raw material and transformation perspectives instead of their representational function. Characterization of the beads and pendants, blank and raw material distribution and abundance per sector and structures of the village aimed to document if particular accumulation can be meaningful to document the function of the artifacts and characterize the specific crafting and symbolic activities that may have been conducted in the village. The majority of pendants and beads were not found within structures and floor deposits but within the fill sediment, suggesting they were randomly discarded after use or even during manufacture.
66In Sector F, 15 of the 56 personal stone ornaments and blanks have been securely attributed to the PPNA. The material was mainly discovered (N = 9) within the peripheral earth wall (St 838), while other remains were discovered within a posthole (St 830) and within the primary fill sediment (St 800.39). The material discovered within the different structures was a mix of raw pebbles, blanks, and finished artifacts.
67In the Communal building, of the 105 green stone artifacts, 44 can be securely attributed to the PPNA (tab. 19-1, appendix 19-4); they were mostly recorded within building 1b (N = 27) and building 2 (N = 14). The green stone artifacts recovered from the different structures and primary deposits do not show any particular pattern regarding their state of manufacture and use. The raw material and finished and used beads were randomly distributed within the different accumulations (appendix 19-4).
68In Sector B, within the material clearly attributed to one of the PPNA structures (N = 131), blanks and unfinished ornaments represent 63% of the material; beads and pendants represent 37% of the material. Most of the material was found within buildings B08 and B09 (fig. 19-36). The relative proportion of blanks and personal ornaments per buildings shows that blanks are generally more abundant than finished objects (fig. 19-37). The same pattern is observed for the relative proportion of blanks and personal ornaments per category of structure (fig. 19-37).
69No specific spatial distribution of the raw pebbles, blanks, and finished artifacts was observed between the different sectors and structures. Absence of standardization in the manufacturing process, the relatively opportunistic selection of the blanks from secondary deposit, and the absence of spatial organization of the production in the village suggest that green stone ornament production was not specialized.
6.5. Discussion
70Raw material identification indicates that the beads and pendants were made from mineral resources present on the island. The most abundant raw material, picrolite, a green stone close to the asbestos category, was available downstream of the Kouris River located 20 km west of the site. Other green stones might have been acquired from secondary deposits or alternatively in primary position in the nearby Limassol Forest Mountains, the southern limit of which is located 3 km north of Klimonas. Therefore, many raw stone materials may have been found relatively close to the site (chap. 21).
71The functional data indicates that the full manufacturing sequence for green stone bead ornaments indicates that their production was performed in the village. The random distribution of raw material, blanks, preforms, and finished artifacts do not, however, evidence a specific workshop or crafting area, suggesting that bead manufacturing may have been a domestic production, not specifically performed by specialized crafters.
72The personal stone ornaments discovered in a Cypro-PPNA occupation other than Klimonas, at Aya Varvara, are poorly described and the diversity of the shape and manufacture techniques unknown. Pricolite ornaments are mentioned at Aya Varvara but no descriptions have been provided as yet (Manning et al. 2010). The extent of the Klimonas village and the presence of the Communal building probably offers a broad view of the diversity of the stone beads and pendants worn by the Cypro-PPNA people during their daily and, possibly, ritual activities. The specialized nature of the occupation identified at Ayia Varvara and the presence of green stone ornaments at the site, as well as in the various sectors of Klimonas, indicate that, as for shell beads, green stone beads and pendants were worn during a broad array of economic, technical and ritual activities.
73Picrolite ornament production has been identified at the Epipaleolithic occupation of Akrotiri-Aetokremnos, where finished objects and blanks are mentioned (Simmons 2013), but the material is not described in depth. Green stone bead and pendants are also mentioned within PPNB occupations at Ais Giorkis (Simmons 2012) and Shillourokambos (Guilaine et al. 2011, Rigaud et al. 2017). The data available for the two sites show a high diversity of production but one category of artifact is not present in the Cypro-PPNA material: picrolite artifacts decorated with an incised grid pattern are absent, suggesting a PPNB stylistic particularity.
74The local exploitation of green stones for personal ornament production seems to be a continuous symbolic behavior from the Epipaleolithic and throughout and after the Cypro-PPN, but the shape and style of the beads and pendants appears to be variable through time, with specific productions according to the periods of occupation (i.e. incised artifacts during the PPNB, open rings present in the Khirokitian; Le Brun 1989, Peltenburg, 1991, Guilaine et al. 2011). The zoomorphic and anthropomorphic pendants identified at Klimonas are not documented in previous or later periods on the island and are thus, until further investigation, an exclusively Cypro-PPNA symbolic expression. Animal representations become more diversified during the PPNB, as observed at Shillourokambos (Guilaine et Rigaud 2021). Only one bilobed artifact, broken, has been identified at Shillourokambos (n°2 fig. 26 in ibid.) broken picrolite pebble with a large longitudinal incision at the intact extremity) which may echo PPNA production.
75Green stone beads and pendants are also attested on the continent, from the Natufian and throughout the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in the Southern and Northern Levant (Bar-Yosef Mayer and Porat 2008, Bar-Yosef Mayer 2013 ; Alarashi 2014, 2016), and Anatolia (Yelozer 2018). The huge variability of shapes and techniques used for PPNA green stone production and the absence of a systematic description prevent detailed comparison with the material from the island. A common behavior shared by the inlanders and the Cypriot first villagers may be the selection of the green color to echo luxuriant vegetation and fertility, highly associated with the transition to agriculture (Bar-Yosef Mayer and Porat 2008).
76The presence of green stone beads, used or not, blanks, and raw material within structures at Klimonas indicate that, as for shell artifacts, some of the personal ornaments were extracted from their use within the community to be hidden in specific places. Together with selected knapped lithic artifacts (chap. 14), wild boar tusks or scapula, and various bone tools (chap. 31), some personal ornamentation and associated symbolic messages were clearly sealed within the buildings, possibly reflecting the need to perpetuate specific symbolic functions within living places. The role of picrolite ornaments during the life of the communities seems to be a common pattern observed during the PPNA at Klimonas, the PPNB at Shillourokambos (Guilaine et al. 2011, Rigaud et al. 2017) and also the Sotira period during, when the green stone beads and pendants were absent from the cemeteries but largely represented in the houses of the settlement areas (Peltenburg 1991).
77The zoomorphic and anthropomorphic pendants are clearly particular pieces that do not find correspondence in any other accumulation on the island. The anthropomorphic pendant, most likely a female figurine, deposited at the entrance of the building, may have had a particular symbolic function sealed within a specific habitation unit. Another category of anthropomorphic figurines, pestle like, are also documented at the site (chap. 20). As with Spondylus artifacts, closely associated with house deep structures, these may represent spatial unit markers, maybe family unit markers; in particular green stone artifacts may have had similar functions in the village.
7. General discussion and conclusion
78The ornamentation of the early pre-pottery societies from Klimonas appears highly diverse. All the raw materials identified at the site, shells and stone, can be locally acquired on the island. The study of the manufacturing sequence indicates that both shell and stone ornaments were domestic productions that were probably widely performed in every sector of the village. Functional data indicate that raw material, blanks, preforms, finished, and used objects were deposited in the various structures of the three sectors. Spondylus artifacts and specific picrolite pendants may have had a particular function related to their deposit in certain architectural units. A study of green stone production did not identify any difference between the three sectors, in contrast to shells. The malacospectra identified in each sector was dominated by different species, suggesting that decorated items and clothing used in the village, the Communal building and Sector F varied. These differences may be related to the various activities performed in each sector involving the use of contrastingly decorated items or variation in the people attending sectors F and the Communal building, maybe a smaller part of the community, who wore personal attires not fully representative of the diversity that may have been in used in Sector B. The differences observed between the three sectors also result from the personal ornaments deposited in the various structures of the village. Hidden objects within buildings were considered to carry power for the benefit of the household (Russell et al. 2009).
79The functional data indicate that many hidden items show evidence of use before deposit, suggesting that part of the daily symbolic life was permanently sealed within these buildings. The emblematic message carried by the personal ornaments and buried within the structures therefore carried some symbolic memory and, in contrast to the architecture that was visible to all who used the buildings, these hidden ornaments were presumably known to a smaller number of people, some who probably participated in their deposit (Russell et al. 2009.). In this respect, they are part of a system of symbolic lithic or animal bones deposits that are presented and discussed in chap. 9, 14, 16 and 31. The differences observed between the deposits within the village and the Communal building may reflect the disparate functional histories of the sectors, resulting in contrasted commemorative deposits.
80Comparisons with the personal ornaments used by the Epipaleolithic communities on the island and successive Cypro-PPNA and PPNB villagers show the persistence of many raw materials for bead manufacturing but also some changes in the shaping and frequency of some bead categories. These variations may indicate changes in the social composition of the groups and in their symbolic activities. Some of these changes find marked and synchronous correspondence with variations within the personal ornaments of continental pre-pottery societies (Rigaud et al. 2017, Bar-Yosef Mayer 2018). These shared dynamics indicate that the ornamentation of the early pre-ceramic societies of Cyprus was subject to different forms of cultural influences linked to an extended sphere of continental interactions. Several mechanisms may have contributed to these different interactions: the successive arrival of several waves of continental voyagers, specialized craftspeople, or even indirect contacts via intermediate coastal populations may have influenced the renewal of bodily ornaments over time.
Annexe
KLIMONAS-Ch19-A01, https://0-doi-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/10.34847/nkl.d0c6n0rz
Fossil shell sampling for reference data • Echantillonnage des coquilles fossiles pour constituer le référentiel
Solange RIGAUD (CNRS)
KLIMONAS-Ch19-A02, https://0-doi-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/10.34847/nkl.d0c4422i
Shells found in the Communal building of Klimonas • Coquillages trouvés dans le Bâtiment communautaire de Klimonas
Solange RIGAUD (CNRS)
KLIMONAS-Ch19-A03, https://0-doi-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/10.34847/nkl.f7672ac4
Manufacturing marks on an open green stone ring • Traces de façonnage sur un segment d’anneau en roche verte
Solange RIGAUD (CNRS)
KLIMONAS-Ch19-A04, https://0-doi-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/10.34847/nkl.6dab1mx7
Green stone artifacts securely attributed to one of the PPNA occupation phase of the Communal building • Artéfacts en roche verte assurément attribués à l’une des phases d’occupation du Bâtiment communautaire de PPNA
Solange RIGAUD (CNRS)
Auteur
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