Cutting tools found in mound

İZMİR

Archaeological excavations carried out in the Yeşilova Mound, where the first settlers of the city lived in the Bornova district of İzmir, have unearthed 8,200-year-old stone cutting tools.

“We have already determined that this was the production site. They made many tools from hard stones. They used stones such as nephrite. They brought these materials from far away,” said Zafer Derin. the head of the excavation.

Excavations in the Yeşilova and Yassıtepe mounds continue with the support of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality, the Bornova Municipality and Ege University.

In the 8,500-year-old city, where nine villages have been unearthed before, it was also found out that the first inhabitants of İzmir, similar to today’s inhabitants, consumed seafood, especially mussels, according to the finds.

In this year’s excavations, the first finds of this year’s excavations were stone cutting tools used in meat cutting, wood chipping and furniture processing from 8,200 years ago.

Stating that their aim is to understand the society of İzmir 8,000 years ago and to reveal its relationship with other societies through their lifestyles, Derin said: “These excavations are important. Although many different cultures lived in İzmir, we see that they have adapted the same culture of the city. We reveal many unknowns of the first İzmir and the first Aegean society in these excavations.”

Speaking about the first finds of the year, he said: “We determined that this was the production site. They made many tools out of hard stones. They used stones like nephrite. They brought these materials from far away. For example, they brought them from the island of Syros. These are small ax or cutting tools. Their size starts from 2 to 3 centimeters and goes up to 20 centimeters.”