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

ABSTRACT 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.