A Study of the Geometric Decoration of the House of Paintings at Dja‘de el-Mughara (Syria, Final PPNA, 9th millennium BC)

The “House of paintings” (Maison aux peintures) of Dja‘de el-Mughara on the Syrian Middle Euphrates is a communal building adorned with polychrome wall paintings (Final PPNA, late 10th–early 9th mill. cal. BC), which are some of the oldest and best preserved paintings in the Near East dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period. We here present an in-depth study of their construction, looking at this decor from a geometric perspective. We highlight the principles of geometric composition of the two well-preserved painted walls and confirm a previously proposed hypothesis that the motifs were inspired by textiles, most likely by woven basketry. The paintings show an unprecedented level of complexity in prehistoric art through the large-scale structuring and tiling of the walls, the use of a unique figure—a small rectangle—acting as a module and as a building unit in the elaboration of the decor, and the alternance of colours highlighting geometric transformations. These elements support the hypothesis of a marked interest in geometry at the end of the PPNA and during the PPNA-EPPNB transition in the Middle Euphrates region of Syria.