“Uncovering 11,000-Year-Old Traditions: Why Ancient Hunters Hauled Wild Boars Across Mountains for a Communal Feast”

In the heart of western Iran, nestled within the Zagros Mountains, lies an 11,000-year-old secret that has finally been uncovered. A team of international researchers, including scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), have made a groundbreaking discovery that sheds light on the early Neolithic period’s cultural practices.

The finding reveals that communities living during this time invested significant effort to bring wild boars hunted in dispersed parts of the landscape as gifts for a communal celebration. This ancient tradition is not just a fascinating glimpse into the past but also shows how certain foods, particularly those with geographical significance, have been integral to cultures worldwide since prehistory.

The researchers analyzed the tooth enamel of five wild boars found neatly packed and sealed inside a pit within a round building at the Asiab site. By examining microscopic growth patterns and chemical signatures, they determined that at least some of these animals came from locations roughly 70 kilometers (~43 miles) away from where the gathering took place.

This is significant because it shows that ancient hunters went through considerable effort to kill and transport boars over challenging mountainous terrain during a journey that likely would have taken several days. The fact that boars were not the most hunted animal during this period adds to the intrigue.

Dr Petra Vaiglova from ANU explained, “Just like trees and their annual growth rings, teeth deposit visible layers of enamel and dentine during growth that we can count under the microscope. This is the first time these growth layers have been used to guide geochemical analysis of animal teeth to answer questions about human-animal interactions.”

The researchers believe this practice of offering gifts with geographical symbolism can be traced back to prehistory, making it a truly ancient tradition. They also think that communities living in the Zagros Mountains during this time had a “very diverse hunting strategy” and were hunting lots of different animal species.

Dr Vaiglova said, “Boars are especially aggressive and so displaying them as hunting trophies or presenting them at a feast carries with it a certain element of significance. Bringing these animals from distant locations would have undoubtedly helped celebrate the importance of the social event that took place at Asiab.”

The research is published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment and involved scientists from Australia, Germany, Denmark, and Iran.

This discovery provides us with a glimpse into how old the tradition of bringing geographically meaningful gifts to social events really is. These people were clearly the ultimate dinner party guests. The fact that they invested substantial amounts of effort to transport the boars over such challenging terrain shows just how important this event was in their culture.

As Dr Vaiglova said, “These findings highlight the complexities and nuances of early human societies and underscore the importance of considering multiple lines of evidence when reconstructing the past.” This discovery will undoubtedly have a significant impact on our understanding of prehistoric cultures and their practices.