Ali Kosh

archaeological site, Iran

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June 18, 2026

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Ali Kosh is an archaeological site in Iran that provides evidence of the Neolithic Revolution, a period of significant shifts in human history. Located in lowland Khūzestān, it's one of several western Iranian sites, alongside Ganj Dareh and Jarmo, that show early experimentation with sedentary life and domestication. These developments, dating back to the 8th and 7th millennia BCE, include early stages of plant and animal domestication and changes in settlement patterns and subsistence methods. The site's findings contribute to understanding the development of settled village agricultural life in the Middle East.1

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origins of agriculture
Southwest Asia
…than 1,000 years later, the Ali Kosh site (also in Iran) was settled. This site is located in a lower elevation zone than Ganj Dareh, outside the natural range of goats. Goat remains at Ali Kosh show clear signs of domestication—the females have no horns. Sheep and goats were herded…
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…than 1,000 years later, the Ali Kosh site (also in Iran) was settled. This site is located in a lower elevation zone than Ganj Dareh, outside the natural range of goats. Goat remains at Ali Kosh show clear signs of domestication—the females have no horns. Sheep and goats were herded…
Read More

ancient Iran
The Neolithic Period (New Stone Age)
…Ganj Dareh (Ganj Darreh), and Ali Kosh. Similar developments in the Zagros Mountains, on the Iraqi side of the modern border, are also traceable at sites such as Karīm Shahīr and Zawi Chemi–Shanidar. This phase of early experimentation with sedentary life and domestication was soon followed by a period of…
Read More
…Ganj Dareh (Ganj Darreh), and Ali Kosh. Similar developments in the Zagros Mountains, on the Iraqi side of the modern border, are also traceable at sites such as Karīm Shahīr and Zawi Chemi–Shanidar. This phase of early experimentation with sedentary life and domestication was soon followed by a period of…
Read More