Reassessing the origin of lentil cultivation in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Southwest Asia: new evidence from carbon isotope analysis at Gusir Hoyuk

Lentils represent the most common pulse crop found in Southwest Asian Neolithic archaeobotanical assemblages. Using carbon isotope determinations and palaeoclimatic modelling this paper investigates variability and change through time in lentil growth habitats at Gusir Hoyuk, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic habitation site in the Upper Tigris basin of southeast Anatolia dated to the 12th and 11th millennia cal bp. The elevated lentil carbon isotope values from samples dated to similar to 10,500-10,300 cal bp possibly points to greater water availability and the potential onset of lentil cultivation at Gusir Hoyuk during the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B. The paper revisits previous hypotheses about the process and timing of initial lentil domestication in the region through a re-evaluation of materials available from other Neolithic sites in SW Asia. Its findings highlight the important role of wild lentil populations growing in higher-rainfall localities, which may have responded more readily to increasing water availability in the context of early cultivation. It also explores the potential offered by isotopic approaches for detecting early cultivation, highlighting the need for future studies on pulse and cereal crop progenitors in SW Asia and beyond.

Automated summary

Using carbon isotope determinations and palaeoclimatic modelling, this paper investigates the variability and change in lentil growth habitats at Gusir Hoyuk, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic habitation site. The findings suggest that greater water availability may have led to the cultivation of lentils during the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period. The study also highlights the importance of wild lentil populations in higher-rainfall areas and explores the potential of isotopic approaches for detecting early cultivation.