Editing History of Cyprus (section)

==Prehistoric Cyprus==
{{main|Prehistoric Cyprus}}
[[File:Brettidol_Zypern_Slg_Ebnöther.jpg|thumb|Cypriot cult image. 'Red Polished Ware', 2100–2000 BC. [[Museum zu Allerheiligen]]]]

Prior to the arrival of humans in Cyprus, only four terrestrial mammal species were present on the island, including the [[Cypriot pygmy hippopotamus]] and the [[Cyprus dwarf elephant]], which were much smaller than their mainland ancestors as a result of [[insular dwarfism]], with the other species being the genet ''[[Genetta plesictoides]]'' and the still living [[Cypriot mouse]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Athanassiou |first1=Athanassios |last2=van der Geer |first2=Alexandra A.E. |last3=Lyras |first3=George A. |date=August 2019 |title=Pleistocene insular Proboscidea of the Eastern Mediterranean: A review and update |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379119300848 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |volume=218 |pages=306–321 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.06.028 |s2cid=199107354}}</ref> The earliest humans to inhabit Cyprus were hunter gatherers who arrived on the island around 13-12,000 years ago (11-10,000 BC).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tsakalos |first=Evangelos |last2=Efstratiou |first2=Nikos |last3=Bassiakos |first3=Yannis |last4=Kazantzaki |first4=Maria |last5=Filippaki |first5=Eleni |date=2021-08-01 |title=Early Cypriot Prehistory: On the Traces of the Last Hunters and Gatherers on the Island—Preliminary Results of Luminescence Dating |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/716100 |journal=Current Anthropology |language=en |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=412–425 |doi=10.1086/716100 |issn=0011-3204}}</ref> The last records of the endemic mammals other than the mouse date to shortly after human settlement. The hunter gatherers later introduced [[wild boar]] to the island around 12,000 years ago, likely to act as a source of food.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vigne |first=Jean-Denis |last2=Cucchi |first2=Thomas |last3=Rousou |first3=Maria |last4=Bailon |first4=Salvador |last5=Carrère |first5=Isabelle |last6=Devillers |first6=Benoît |last7=Douché |first7=Carolyne |last8=Gourichon |first8=Lionel |last9=Hadjikoumis |first9=Angelos |last10=Mylona |first10=Pantelitsa |last11=Papayianni |first11=Katerina |last12=Parès |first12=Andréa |last13=Tengberg |first13=Margareta |last14=Zazzo |first14=Antoine |last15=Guilaine |first15=Jean |date=March 2023 |title=Historical dynamics of the human-environment interactions in Cyprus during the 12th-10th millennia cal. BP: The last 30 years contributions of the Amathous area (Limassol district) |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2352409X23002249 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |language=en |volume=50 |pages=104049 |doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104049}}</ref> The earliest presence of [[Neolithic]] farming settlements dates to around 8,500 BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bar-Yosef Mayer |first=Daniella E. |last2=Kahanov |first2=Yaacov |last3=Roskin |first3=Joel |last4=Gildor |first4=Hezi |date=2015-09-02 |title=Neolithic Voyages to Cyprus: Wind Patterns, Routes, and Mechanisms |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564894.2015.1060277 |journal=The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology |language=en |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=412–435 |doi=10.1080/15564894.2015.1060277 |issn=1556-4894}}</ref>

Dogs, sheep, goats and possibly [[cattle]] were introduced, as well as numerous wild animals such as [[fox]]es (''Vulpes vulpes'') and [[Persian fallow deer]] (''Dama mesopotamica'') that were previously unknown on the island. The PPNB settlers built round houses with floors made of [[terrazzo]] of burned lime (e.g. [[Kastros]], [[Shillourokambos]]) and cultivated [[einkorn]] and [[emmer]]. Pigs, sheep, goats and cattle were kept but remained, for the most part, behaviourally wild. Evidence of cattle such as that attested at Shillourokambos is rare, and when they apparently died out in the course of the 8th millennium BC they were not re-introduced until the ceramic Neolithic.

In the 6th millennium BC, the aceramic [[Khirokitia]] culture was characterised by [[roundhouse (dwelling)|roundhouses]], stone vessels and an economy based on sheep, goats and pigs. Cattle were unknown, and Persian [[fallow deer]] were hunted. This was followed by the ceramic [[Sotira, Limassol|Sotira]] phase. The [[Eneolithic]] era is characterised by stone [[figurine]]s with spread arms.

[[File:Khirokitia near Larnaca 01-2017 img7.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Khirokitia]] archeological site.]]
Water wells discovered by archaeologists in western Cyprus are believed to be among the oldest in the world, dated at 9,000 to 10,500 years old, putting them in the [[Stone Age]]. They are said to show the sophistication of early settlers, and their heightened appreciation for the environment.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8118318.stm |title=Stone Age wells found in Cyprus |work=BBC News |date=2009-06-25 |access-date=2009-07-31}}</ref>

In 2004, the remains of an 8-month-old cat were discovered buried with its human owner at a Neolithic archeological site in Cyprus.<ref>Wade, Nicholas, "[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/health/29iht-29cat.6404420.html?_r=1 Study Traces Cat's Ancestry to Middle East]", ''[[The New York Times]]'', June 29, 2007</ref> The grave is estimated to be 9,500 years old, predating [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian civilization]] and pushing back the earliest known feline-human association significantly.<ref>{{cite news |first=Marsha |last=Walton |title=Ancient burial looks like human and pet cat |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/04/08/cats.cyprus/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=April 9, 2004 |access-date=2007-11-23 |archive-date=2007-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222092756/http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/04/08/cats.cyprus/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>