PEOPLE FROM THE NEAR EAST & LEVANT AREAS
Artefacts, including early tools and animal bones, recovered near Limassol on the southern coast, suggest that prehistoric hunter-gatherers existed on Cyprus during the Stone Age Palaeolithic period. These people, who were known as Eteo-Cypriots, are thought ti have been active across the island as early as the 11th century BC. Evidence suggests that these early Cypriots, who did not yet produce pottery, coexisted with various dwarf animal species that no longer exist. These include Dwarf Elephants (Elephas Cypriotes) and Pygmy Hippos (Hippopotamus minor). Living on the island for thousands of years before any major outside groups arrived, these early indigenous groups are thought to have formed permanent settlements and large farming communities by around 10,000 BC.
THE SETTLEMENT AT SHILLOUROKAMBOS
The first permanent settlement in Cyprus is thought to have been established around the 10th century BC at SHILLOUROKAMBOS. Early settlers there built circular dwellings with floors made of terrazzo of burned lime. It is thought that these people were the first to domesticate various animals. Evidence suggests that these include the dog, sheep, goats, pigs and possibly cattle. Further evidence suggests that most of their cattle died out during the 8th century BC and were not reintroduced until the later ceramic Neolithic period. In addition to this, they are thought to have introduced numerous wild animals to the island after ancient trade routes were established. These include wild foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and Persian fallow deer (Dama Mesopotamia) that were previously unknown on the island.
THE ARRIVAL OF THE GREEKS
Greek Mycenaean traders had established trade routes to the island by 1200 BC. Greeks, mainly from the Peloponnese, then began to settle the island over the next 200 years, firmly establishing their presence by the Late Bronze Age. These early Greeks introduced the Arcado-Cypriot dialect, distinct Greek art forms, and Greek religious traditions, which created a deep and lasting Hellenic culture that became completely dominant across the island by the start of the first millennium BC. Despite later rule by various empires and larger civilisations, the predominant ethnicity and cultural identity of Cyprus has remained firmly Greek until today.
