Early Cattle Exploitation in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) of the Upper Tigris Valley: Gre Fılla in South-Eastern Türkiye

In this paper, the first results investigating animal exploitation, mainly focusing on the question of cattle domestication, at the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Gre Fılla, Diyarbakır, South-Eastern Türkiye, are presented. Gre Fılla, where the earliest cattle domestication in the region was identified, is also notable in showing the process of hunting to herding during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B subphases. Bos exploitation was the second most important component of the animal economies and increased dramatically in the 8th millennium bc. Moreover, the appearance of domestic small-sized individuals and significant changes in the skeletal elements as well as in the alterations, especially demographic profile based on epiphyseal and dental wear stages, are observed. As a result of zooarchaeological analyses, early cattle exploitation started to be seen during the MPPNB levels of Gre Fılla, based on the decrease in size and change in the kill-off pattern. It can be suggested that morphologically domestic cattle are systematically and widely encountered during MPPNB. The LPPNB levels are remarkable for yielding evidence of domestic cattle.