Ali Kosh

Ali Kosh is a small Tell of the Early Neolithic period located in Ilam province in west Iran, in the Zagros Mountains.

[4] The settlement began as a group of small, rectangular houses with several rooms made of rammed earth.

The occupants develop an economy based on the herding of sheep, goats, hunting and gathering wild plants.

The economy shows a more intense agricultural base supported by fishing and shell-fishing as a complement to the diet.

Polished stone containers, hand mills, mortars, and baskets (sometimes lined with pitch) are in use.

Ceramics appeared at the site during this period around 7000 B.C; decorated vases, and human and animal figurines are produced.

Ali Kosh was the earliest agricultural community in western Iran, where emmer was already cultivated in the eighth millennium BC.

[7] Similar site on the Deh Luran plain is Chogha Sefid, and also Tepe Abdul Hosein in Luristan.

[12] Another unusual cultural practice observed by researchers in these skulls was the ritual front tooth avulsion (removal of one or more teeth).

Area of the fertile crescent , circa 7500 BC, with main sites. Ali Kosh is one of the important sites of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period. The area of Mesopotamia proper was not yet settled by humans.
Ali Koch in the context of other Neolithic sites