Pigs in the Neolithic of the Eastern Fertile Crescent: New evidence from Pre‐Pottery Neolithic Bestansur and Shimshara, Iraqi Kurdistan (7800–7100 BC)

Pigs are one of the earliest domesticated livestock species, first at least 10,000 years ago. The domestication wild boar, including associated morphological changes, is a long process over several millennia. Across Southwest Asia, management, domestication, and adaption different species was highly localized process, influenced by both cultural environmental factors. This paper explores size, age, diet suids Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites Bestansur Shimshara in order to further our understanding origins suid management Eastern Fertile Crescent. Our data suggest that relationship between boar humans more complex than strict hunter–prey relationship. study demonstrates Zagros not uniform exploitation animals.