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post-Doc research by Mouheyddine Ossman

post-Doc research, 2015-2016. Universität Bern-Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften. Descr... more post-Doc research, 2015-2016.
Universität Bern-Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften.

Description of the post-Doc project:

The transitional phase from fourth to third Millennium in Eastern Anatolia.

During the second half of the fourth Millennium, the contact between regions in the Greater Mesopotamia and its neighbours was intensified by both the Uruk network as well as the culture which is marked by proto-urban aspects (referring to the first urbanisation). At the peak of its expansion the Uruk phenomenon had culturally unified a vast region which extended from South-western Iran to the Upper Euphrates in Eastern Anatolia. However, during the latest two centuries of the fourth Millennium B.C (ca. 3150-3000 B.C) this situation changed radically in some regions. The transition from the fourth to third Millennium in Grater Mesopotamia and its neighbours had known simultaneously various phenomenons. During this time the Uruk culture vanishes from Iran, Northern Mesopotamia and Upper Euphrates, as does the proto-urban and centralized administration system. The urukean colonies and the urukean-related sites withdraw from the Upper and Middle Euphrates and Khabur regions. Many native sites in all regions are destroyed and/or abandoned. All the while, new villages appear with novel cultural characters and painting reappears again on either side of Zagros. In addition to these changes, the so-called Kura-Araxes culture expansion (called Early Transcaucasia Culture or ETC) took two directions: one into North-western Iran attaining Hamadan and Qazvin regions, the other into the Anatolian highlands and into the Amuq and Levant regions. The nature of this expansion (acculturation, displacement of groups or both) and its direct and indirect repercussions on the local societies in these Northern regions constitutes largely the centre of current debates.

In our Ph.D, the transitional period between fourth and third Millennium in Iran and Mesopotamia has been studied, but the Eastern Anatolia has not been integrated into study. Unfortunately, the data from the transitional phase is still insufficient concerning Iran and Mesopotamia where it is difficult to paint a complete picture of this transitional phase in history.
There seems to be multiple causes for these transformations in the Greater Mesopotamia and its neighbours at the end of the fourth Millennium. Some causes are internal/local, others are external. The ETC phenomenon could possibly explain these transformations produced in North-western and Western Iran. Indeed, in our Ph.D we had a speculative conclusion about these issues despite the dearth of pertinent data for Iran. The ETC expansion could have constituted an external cause and it could have had an important impact upon the indigenous communities of North-western and Northern Central Plateau of Iran. The ETC itinerant groups could have progressively pushed/forced at least part of the indigenous communities to withdraw towards the South. If this was the case, it could have given rise to a demographic crisis and conflicts in the Western and South-western Iran. Some of those indigenous withdrawers could have penetrated Diyala and Hamrin with whom they had already been interacting for at least two centuries. Those local withdrawers had an Uruk-related culture. This interpretation is supported by many phenomenons: the lack of Uruk-related and Proto-Elamit-related sites/materials in the North-western Iran; the gradual abandonment of all indigenous sites in Northern, Northern Central Plateau and Central Zagros; the foundation or reoccupation of sites with an ETC culture in all North-western Iran;
the appearance of nomadism in Kabir Kuh and the occupation of Hamrin; the current remarks made about the occupation of Susa, Chogha Mish and Malyan and the reappearance of the painted ware traditions on either side of Zagros (Djamdet Nasr and Proto-Elamit horizons). From a decorative point of view, the earliest phase of these new painted traditions is marked by painted bands, and these could be based on the Banded style of Late Uruk period in the Northern regions (Qom, Karkas, Kangāvar and probably Qazvin).

Contrary to a lack of data and archaeological work in Iran, hydrological, archaeological and survey projects in various provinces in the Eastern Anatolia has continued diligently since the 1970's. The data issued from these projects is richer and fresher than those from Iran and Mesopotamia. Many sites reveal levels dating to the two latest centuries of fourth and/or the two earliest centuries of third Millennium.
Right from the start, one can highlight three archaeological aspects for the transitional phase:
1- The ability to distinguish between two principal geographical zones for the transitional phase: the Northern and Southern foothills of Eastern Taurus;
2- The presence of at least four regional cultural horizons in Eastern Anatolia, one being more or less related to each other. But Taurus constituted clearly a cultural border;
3- The presence of painting traditions in the foothills of Eastern Taurus.
In this postdoctoral research, we focus on the region that extends from Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Malatya and Erzincan provinces situated in the West of Euphrates River to Van, Ağrı, Kars and Ardahan provinces in the East. The studied period covers the last quarter of fourth and the earliest two centuries of third Millennium B.C (ca. 3250 to 2800 B.C). We will focus on Key-Sites where cultural material is riche, the stratigraphy is exploitable, and 14C dating is available. However, other individual sequences and survey results will be integrated to reinforce the data of each region. The Arcane project and its publications constitute the guideline for many aspect of this research.

The study is based on three principal topics:
1- The characters of the transition from a stratigraphical point of view on each Key-Sites (continuity and discontinuity);
2- The dynamism of changes within each regions (distribution of sites in each region, abandonment, foundation/reoccupation and their regional concentration);
3- The modalities of transformation in the cultural package on each site, then in each region.
The results of these topics will be combined with those obtained in our Ph.D concerning North-western Iran and comparisons will be made between the Anatolian and the Iranian cases.

This postdoctoral research attempts to understand the modalities of the radical fall of Proto-Urban communities in the Eastern Anatolia and, eventually, the causes that had led to a complete regionalization with marked cultural borders, especially in the light of the ETC expansion and its role in the Eastern Anatolia. It is noteworthy that our purpose is not the ETC phenomenon itself, but the indigenous communities in Eastern Anatolia, whose parts have been marked or influenced by this phenomenon. In sum, an effort to understand the historical meaning of this crucial transitional phase by the mean of a global regard of the data issued from Eastern Anatolia.

Thesis Chapters by Mouheyddine Ossman

Thèse de Doctorat d'Archéologie par Mouheyddine OSSMAN soutenue le 26 janvier 2013 La culture mat... more Thèse de Doctorat d'Archéologie par Mouheyddine OSSMAN soutenue le 26 janvier 2013 La culture matérielle de la Mésopotamie du Nord et de ses voisins, d'après l'étude de la céramique, de l'Uruk récent au Bronze ancien I/II Volume I : Texte ----------Directeur de thèse : Olivier ROUAULT Jury : Rémy BOUCHARLAT, Directeur de Recherches, C.N.R.S. Catherine BRENIQUET, Professeur des Universités, Clermont-Ferrand 2 Pascal BUTTERLIN, Professeur des Universités, Paris I Michèle CASANOVA, Professeur des Universités, Lyon 2 Maria Grazia MASETTI-ROUAULT, Directrice d'études, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Sorbonne Olivier ROUAULT, Professeur des Universités, émérite, Lyon 2 ii iii À tous les miens, connus et inconnus iv v

Fara : distribution des perles dans les coliers (1) ou celles retrouvées seules (2) (Graphiques r... more Fara : distribution des perles dans les coliers (1) ou celles retrouvées seules (2) (Graphiques reproduits d'après MARTIN 1988 Tab. 9 et 10) "Le lapis-lazuli réapparaît à partir de ce que Martin a considéré comme du DA II qui est absent dans ces tableaux" Dj. N DA I DA III

Talks by Mouheyddine Ossman

Programme de la Rencontre Doctorants-Chercheurs du Laboratoire Archéorient-Lyon-Jeudi 8 avril 2010

Réunion de l’équipe 2 d’Archéorient - lundi 19 décembre 2011

Participations to excavations by Mouheyddine Ossman

Fouilles sous la direction du Centre Européen des Recherches Préhistoriques, Tautavel

Mission française sous la direction du Professeur Jean-Daniel FOREST†, et Dr. Régis Vallet

Mission américaine sous la direction du Professeur Harvey WEISS

Mission syro-française sous la direction de Dr. Sophie BERTHIER et Dr. Ahmad Taraqji

Mission japonaise sous la direction du Professeur Takeru AKAZAWA

Mission allemand sous la direction du Professeur Jan-Waalke MAYER

Mission allemande sous la direction du Professeur Dietrich SÜRENHAGEN

Musée-Collections by Mouheyddine Ossman