A woman buried around 12,000 years ago near the upper Tigris River in southwestern Turkey might have been a shaman with a spiritual connection to wild animals, according to a new study. This unusual burial site at Çemka Höyük—meaning “mound by the water” dates back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period, a transitional era between 10,000 and 8,800 BC, just before the advent of agriculture. During this time, people were still hunter-gatherers, similar to their Mesolithic ancestors, and had not yet developed pottery. However, it appears that settlements had already started to form, at least seasonally, in places like Jericho in the Palestinian Territories and Göbekli Tepe, an archaeological site in Turkey about 150 miles west of Çemka Höyük. This, amongst other finds, have been published in the latest edition of L’Anthropologie. Excavations are ongoing at the Çemka Höyük neolithic settlement, Turkey. (Anatolian Archaeology) Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyHistoryAncient TraditionsRead Later