JARMO

also called Qalat Jarmo, prehistoric archaeological site located east of Kirkuk, in northeastern Iraq. The site is important for revealing traces of one of the world's first village-farming communities. The approximately dozen layers of architectural building and renovation yield evidence of domesticated wheats and barley and of the dog and goat, suggesting the achievement of a settled agricultural way of life. Other artifacts found at Jarmo, such as flint sickle blades, milling stones, andin the uppermost layers onlypottery, hint at the technological innovations made in response to the new way of food production. The original occupation of the site is estimated to have occurred at about 7000 BC.