Archaeologists Find Ancient Iranian Feasts Show Early BYOB Traditions — ‘Bring Your Own Boar’

Archaeologists studying a site in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran have uncovered new evidence suggesting that around 11,000 years ago, early human societies held large communal feasts where participants may have brought their own contributions — specifically wild boars.

The findings come from a site called Asiab, known as one of the earliest examples of human settlements during the Neolithic transition, when hunter-gatherers were just beginning to explore sedentary living and food production.

At the heart of this discovery are 19 wild boar skulls found arranged in a circular pit at Asiab, reports LiveScience.

The boars’ heads were intentionally stacked and sealed within the structure, which indicates a ritualistic or ceremonial purpose behind the deposit.

Cut marks on the bones suggest that these animals were butchered and consumed on-site.

However, what really intrigued the research team was the origin of the boars.

By conducting isotope analysis on the tooth enamel of five of the skulls, the researchers discovered something unexpected.

“Some of the animals had traveled over 50 kilometers before they died,” said study lead author Max Price, an anthropologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

This suggests that the animals were not all hunted locally but were brought in from other regions, possibly as offerings or as personal contributions to the communal event.

“People were bringing these animals to the site from the surrounding landscape, which implies a kind of provisioning behavior — they were supplying the feast themselves,” Price explained.

This behavior mirrors modern-day practices of potlucks or BYOB gatherings, where individuals contribute to a shared meal.

In this context, the participants may have hunted wild boar in their home territories and then traveled to Asiab to take part in the group event.

The broader implication of this finding is significant. It challenges the notion that early Neolithic societies were simple or unsophisticated in their social organization.

Instead, it paints a picture of complex social behaviors, including shared rituals, food preparation, and possibly even the beginnings of structured hospitality and intercommunity gatherings.

“This isn’t just some opportunistic gathering of people eating together,” Price noted. “It was structured. It involved planning and movement of resources.”

These conclusions are drawn not just from the boars’ remains, but also from the design of the pit and the associated stone architecture, which indicate deliberate organization and care in arranging the feasting area.

Interestingly, no pig remains have been found at the site apart from these skulls, reinforcing the idea that the event was special rather than a routine part of daily subsistence.

The deliberate stacking and sealing of the skulls suggest reverence, symbolism, or a desire to memorialize the gathering.

These findings, published in the journal PLOS ONE, contribute to a growing body of evidence showing that food and feasting played central roles in the development of early human societies.

“Feasting seems to have been one of the drivers of social complexity,” said Price, underscoring how meals could bring communities together and reinforce social bonds.

The Asiab site now stands as a rare and vivid example of how even the earliest human communities invested significant time and energy in shared ritual meals, which may have laid the groundwork for later cultural traditions centered on food and hospitality.