Archaeologists from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki have discovered a Neolithic site deep in the Troodos mountains of Cyprus that dates back from 10,000 to 6,000 BC with a large amount of artifacts that include pictographs, jewelry, stone tools and animal feed.

The Neolithic location can be found on a site known as Rhoudias, which is located close to the Xeros River. As Cyprus Mail report, the area of the new hunter-gatherer site was found extremely close to Ayios Ioannis/Brescia-Rhoudias, which is yet another area filled with a treasure trove of Neolithic artifacts.

While archaeologists have deemed the new site to be one that was almost certainly a settlement that was agricultural in nature, researchers have noted that the location’s purpose “is still under investigation.”

Archaeologists have also maintained that the new site, which has been given the name Ayios Ioannis/Brescia-Ano Rhoudias, proves conclusively that the mountainous regions found on the island of Cyprus are just as important focal points for Neolithic activity as locations found along the coast.

“This new evidence confirms that the mountainous hinterland of Cyprus is equally important to the research interests as the lowlands and mainly coastal areas as far as the early prehistory of the island is concerned.”

Researchers also explained that the new hunter-gatherer site “opens a new chapter in the archaeology of the island that aspires to include in the discussion theoretically marginal areas and their role in shaping the Cypriot cultural tradition over time.”

Featured image credit: Petros Karadjias AP Images

Part of the future research that archaeologists will be focusing on with this Neolithic site on Cyprus will be determining the different environmental factors at play that would have helped to shape a large part of the lives of these hunger-gatherers who would have both lived here and visited frequently.

This is a particularly important area to focus on with these prehistoric residents of Cyprus as this location was not one that was considered to be seasonal and used specifically for activities such as hunting. Many of those living on the island would have considered this area a permanent home, and as such would have been early farmers, according to the most recent study of the area.

“It should be noted that stone tools and vases found in the wider area had preceded the archaeological research, confirming the estimation of the archaeologists that in the early prehistoric years, Troodos was not an area of exclusively seasonal and marginal activities, such as hunting, but also had a permanent presence of farmers and breeders from groups that among other things were characterized by intense mobility, and the movement of raw materials.”

With further research continuing on this new site of Ayios Ioannis/Brescia-Ano Rhoudias, archaeologists should be able to get a much clearer picture of early Neolithic life on the island of Cyprus.