Humans Settled in Cyprus during Late Stone Age, Archaeologists Say

Humans called Cyprus their home about 1000 years earlier than current estimates, a new study has found.

The study team included researchers at University of Toronto, Cornell University and the University of Cyprus. They have found artifacts, including the oldest complete human figurine, at an archaeological site in Cyprus.

The site- Ayia Varvara-Asprokremnos (AVA) - which they studied, has been carbon-dated to between 8800-8600 BC, the Late Stone Age (Neolithic period). This was the time when humans in the Middle East were transitioning from hunter-gatherer lifestyle and taking up agriculture.

The team also found tools, one of them with ochre deposits, showing that the earliest human settlers on the island were capable of making stone instruments.

"This tells us that Cyprus was very much a part of the Neolithic revolution that saw significant growth in agriculture and the domestication of animals," said Sally Stewart, a research fellow at U of T's Archaeology Centre and Department of Anthropology, according to a news release. "With farming came a surplus of wealth, in both food and time. People now had the time to specialize in other roles such as manufacturing, and they had the time to spend making figurative art."

Previously, it was believed that the tiny Mediterranean island was occupied much later than the mainland. However, one theory explaining human settlement in the region argues that the island is less than 100 kilometers away from the mainland, which early humans could cross easily.

"People would have seen the mountains and they were likely attracted by the abundance of chert rock beds," said Stewart in a news release. "They were already using chert to make stone tools and would have wanted to exploit the resource."