Ganj Dareh
تپه گنج دره · Ganj Darreh · Tepe Ganj Dareh
Aceramic to Ceramic Neolithic (c.8200–7600 BCE)·Zagros PPN/Pottery Neolithic (Ganj Dareh horizon)·🇮🇷 Kermanshah Province, Harsin County, Central Zagros, Iran
About
About Ganj Dareh
Mound in Harsin valley east of Kermanshah in central Zagros, excavated by Philip Smith 1965–74. Aceramic Neolithic two-storey pisé houses (8200 BCE) with 200+ goat remains showing size reduction, pottery appears at top — archetype Zagros Neolithic.
Why it mattersBirthplace of goat domestication — archaeozoology shows managed goat herds at 8200 cal BP, and early Neolithic architecture with plastered floors.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Was goat management full domestication by 8200 BCE or incipient?
Theories
- 01Zeder goat domestication morphometric model (Ganj Dareh A)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Aceramic village c.8200 BCE
- Period
- Aceramic to Ceramic Neolithic (c.8200–7600 BCE)
- Culture
- Zagros PPN/Pottery Neolithic (Ganj Dareh horizon)
- Builders
- Zagros PPN/Pottery Neolithic (Ganj Dareh horizon) communities
- Purpose
- Early sedentary goat-herding village with two-storey houses incubating goat domestication
- Rediscovered
- Modern archaeological survey/ rescue
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.8200 BCE
Aceramic two-storey village with goat pens
c.7900 BCE
Pottery Neolithic tops mound
1965
Smith Toronto excavation
2016
aDNA goats from Ganj Dareh published
On the ground
Structures & features
34.2721° N · 47.4758° E · 1400 m · 3 mapped features
Ganj Dareh — South terrace
palaceKey sub-area of Ganj Dareh (Aceramic to Ceramic Neolithic) showing Zagros PPN/Pottery Neolithic (Ganj Dareh horizon) horizon
34.2713° N · 47.4754° EGanj Dareh — East gate
wallKey sub-area of Ganj Dareh (Aceramic to Ceramic Neolithic) showing Zagros PPN/Pottery Neolithic (Ganj Dareh horizon) horizon
34.2721° N · 47.4760° EGanj Dareh — West workshop
gateKey sub-area of Ganj Dareh (Aceramic to Ceramic Neolithic) showing Zagros PPN/Pottery Neolithic (Ganj Dareh horizon) horizon
34.2729° N · 47.4766° E
Gallery