Of the Paleolithic pariod in cyprus, or the earliest traces of man, nothing is known. The Earliest settlements so far found belong to the Neolithic (or new Stone) Age. They are umberous on the south and north coast, usually being situated near a spring. Only two hae been found on the plain, near Kythrea.
The huts were round with loose stone foundations and earth floors; the upper parts of wattle and mud. As each hut collapsed or was destroyed, another was built upon its ruins, resulting in some cases in as many as nine layers superimposed one upon another. Within the huts were open hearths, and near them have been found the remains of cooking vessels of carefully made and painted pottery. Stone and flint weapons, steatite ornaments and idols were scattered about the floors, with the remains of animal bones and stat's antlers.
Burials were found in one or two places, sometimes within, sometimes just outside the huts; the skeletons were placed in a contracted position, in narrow pits. Nothing was burried with them.
The civilization of these people appears to be a fairly advanced one; they were a sturdy race, rather short in stuture, who occupied the island before 3000 B.C. Their connections with the Bronze Age people are not yet evident, and their settlements are not found in close proximity. The pottery, exhibited in the Cyprus Museum, is of good quality, and of a type not found in the neighbouring countries. The settlements were first discovered in 193, and much yet remains to be done in tracing the origin of these people and their cultural relations.