Peyronel, L., Vacca, A. 2015. NORTHERN UBAID AND LATE CHALCOLITHIC 1-3 PERIODS IN THE ERBIL PLAIN. NEW INSIGHTS FROM RECENT RESEARCHES AT HELAWA, IRAQI KURDISTAN, ORIGINI XXXVII: 89-127 (original) (raw)
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2020
The present contribution discusses a small sample of Late Chalcolithic sites that have been identified during the survey carried out by the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project (LoNAP) in the area of the River Tigris. Via a preliminary analysis of the settlements, of their positions as well as of their ceramic material cultures, an interpretation is proposed of the settlement strategies and the socio-economic relationships that might have characterised the existence of these sites. At the same time these considerations are used in a broader way to explore the regional dynamics that shaped the Chalcolithic societies of Upper Mesopotamia across the late fifth–fourth millennium BC.
Iraq, 2020
The Shahrizor Prehistory Project has targeted prehistoric levels of the Late Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic 4 (LC4; Late Middle Uruk) periods at Gurga Chiya (Shahrizor, Kurdistan region of northern Iraq), along with the Halaf period at the adjacent site of Tepe Marani. Excavations at the latter have produced newdietary and environmental data for the sixth millenniumB.C. in the region,while at Gurga Chiya part of a burned Late Ubaid tripartite house was excavated. This has yielded a promising archaeobotanical assemblage and established a benchmark ceramic assemblage for the Shahrizor Plain, which is closely comparable to material known from Tell Madhhur in the Hamrin valley. The related series of radiocarbon dates gives significant new insights into the divergent timing of the Late Ubaid and early LC in northern and southern Mesopotamia. In the following occupation horizon, a ceramic assemblage closely aligned to the southern Middle Uruk indicates convergence of material culture with central and southern Iraq as early as the LC4 period. Combined with data for the appearance of Early Uruk elements at sites in the adjacent Qara Dagh region, this hints at long-term co-development of material culture during the fourth millennium B.C. in southeastern Iraqi Kurdistan and central and southern Iraq, potentially questioning the model of expansion or colonialism from the south.
GURGA CHIYA AND TEPE MARANI: NEW EXCAVATIONS IN THE SHAHRIZOR PLAIN, IRAQI KURDISTAN 1
Gurga Chiya and Tepe Marani are small, adjacent mounds located close to the town of Halabja in the southern part of the Shahrizor Plain, one of the most fertile regions of Iraqi Kurdistan. Survey and excavation at these previously unexplored sites is beginning to produce evidence for human settlement spanning the sixth to the fourth millennia, c. 5600–3300 cal. B.C. In Mesopotamian chronology this corresponds to the Late Neolithic through to Chalcolithic periods; the Halaf, Ubaid, and Uruk phases of conventional culture history. In Iraqi Kurdistan, documentation of these periods—which witnessed many important transformations in prehistoric village life—is currently very thin. Here we offer a preliminary report on the emerging results from the Shahrizor Plain, with a particular focus on the description of material culture (ceramic and lithic assemblages), in order to establish a benchmark for further research. We also provide a detailed report on botanical remains and accompanying radiocarbon dates, which allow us to place this new evidence in a wider comparative framework. A further, brief account is given of Late Bronze Age material culture from the upper layers at Gurga Chiya. We conclude with observations on the significance of the Shahrizor Plain for wider research into the later prehistory of the Middle East, and the importance of preserving and investigating its archaeological record. Introduction With a Mediterranean climate and 700–900 millimetres of annual precipitation, the Shahrizor Plain—which lies in Sulaimaniyah Province, close to the town of Halabja—is one of the most fertile areas of Iraqi Kurdistan. This preliminary report documents new archaeological fieldwork in this relatively unexplored part of the Middle East. The focus of these new investigations is on the later prehistory of the Shahrizor, between the sixth and fourth millennia B.C. In broader regional terms this corresponds to the long period between the establishment of Neolithic farming settlements and the emergence of the earliest cities, although the nature of these processes in Iraqi Kurdistan remains very poorly documented. In neighbouring parts of the Middle East, the periods in question have traditionally been divided into a series of broad cultural phases (Halaf, Ubaid, Uruk), reflecting associated changes in material culture and settlement patterns. In recent decades the utility of these broadly defined phases for any wider reconstruction of social evolution has been repeatedly brought into question. Partly this is the result of sustained research in areas such as the Syrian Euphrates and southern Turkey, bringing to light the complexity of local developments in village, and later urban, life and leading to a wider
Kurdestan is the cradle of the first steps towards civilization. This ancient region of the Middle East was occupied by our early ancestors in the Paleolithic times, some 40,000 years ago. After a long period of hunting and gathering, the inhabitants of ancient Kurdestan established some of the earliest villages in the ancient Near East. Although Kurdestan provided one of the earliest evidence of village life with domesticated animals and plants, we are only now beginning to investigate the development of urbanism at sites such as ancient Erbil and the mound of Surezha. The joint Kurdish and American project at Surezha is designed to understand the beginnings of towns and the first cities in the 5th and 4th millennium BC in Kurdestan and Mesopotamia during the Ubaid, Late Chalcolithic and Uruk periods.
Paléorient, 2019
New results from recent excavation at Gird Lashkir (Erbil, Kurdistan region, Iraq) are presented in this paper. Data from the most archaic occupation phases so far discovered at the site will be discussed, with special emphasis on the Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age. This article presents data related to architecture and subsistence (bioarchaeological analyses, organic residue analyses, etc.) as well as craft activities (ceramic production, metallurgy, etc.). The general characterisation of the settlement in these periods will be compared to similar horizons in Northern Mesopotamia, particularly in the Erbil Plain. Résumé. Dans cet article, de nouveaux résultats provenant de récents travaux archéologiques à Gird Lashkir (Erbil, région du Kurdistan, Irak) seront présentés. Les données des phases d'occupation les plus anciennes jusqu'ici découvertes sur le site seront discutées, mettant ainsi en avant les données du Chalcolithique tardif et du début de l'âge du Bronze. Cet article présente les données relatives aux structures d'habitat décrivant plusieurs activités de subsistance (analyses bioarchéologiques, analyses de résidus organiques, etc.) ainsi que des activités productives (production de céramique, métallurgie, etc.). La caractérisation générale du peuplement dans ces périodes sera liée à l'état des connaissances pour des horizons similaires dans le Nord de la Mésopotamie et, plus précisément, dans la plaine d'Erbil.
Paléorient 45.2, 2019
This paper presents a preliminary assessment of the prehistoric and protohistoric periods investigated by the Udine University in collaboration with the Sapienza University of Rome and the Duhok Directorate of Antiquities in the region of Northern Kurdistan (Iraq). The investigated area features different geographical units, such as mountains, piedmont areas, intermontane basins and valleys, and the alluvial plains of the Tigris River and its tributaries, each of which has different types of vegetation, soils and natural resources. Despite this very rich and variegated landscape, the region has been thus far little explored: except for an initial phase of groundbreaking research in the mid-twentieth century, archaeological projects have been limited to spatially circumscribed surveys and rescue excavations. Attention has been given to the historical periods, while the most ancient phases of human occupation of the area have been little investigated. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap with a preliminary summary of seven years of archaeological survey (2012-2018) that allows us to outline the principal chrono-cultural aspects and settlement strategies that characterised this region from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Ninevite 5 period.
Paléorient 45/2, 2019
This paper presents a preliminary assessment of the prehistoric and protohistoric periods investigated by the Udine University in collaboration with the Sapienza University of Rome and the Duhok Directorate of Antiquities in the region of Northern Kurdistan (Iraq). The investigated area features different geographical units, such as mountains, piedmont areas, intermontane basins and valleys, and the alluvial plains of the Tigris River and its tributaries, each of which has different types of vegetation, soils and natural resources. Despite this very rich and variegated landscape, the region has been thus far little explored: except for an initial phase of groundbreaking research in the mid-twentieth century, archaeological projects have been limited to spatially circumscribed surveys and rescue excavations. Attention has been given to the historical periods, while the most ancient phases of human occupation of the area have been little investigated. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap with a preliminary summary of seven years of archaeological survey (2012-2018) that allows us to outline the principal chrono-cultural aspects and settlement strategies that characterised this region from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Ninevite 5 period.
EXCAVATIONS AT KURD QABURSTAN, A SECOND MILLENNIUMb.c. URBAN SITE ON THE ERBIL PLAIN
Iraq, 2017
Excavations at the 109 hectare site of Kurd Qaburstan on the Erbil plain in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq were conducted by the Johns Hopkins University in 2013 and 2014. The Middle Bronze Age (Old Babylonian period) is the main period of occupation evident on the site, and the project therefore aims to study the character of a north Mesopotamian urban centre of the early second millenniumb.c. On the high mound, excavations revealed three phases of Mittani (Late Bronze) period occupation, including evidence of elite residential architecture. On the low mound and the south slope of the high mound, Middle Bronze evidence included domestic remains with numerous ceramic vessels left in situ. Also dating to the Middle Bronze period is evidence of a city wall on the site edges. Later occupations include a cemetery, perhaps of Achaemenid date, on the south slope of the high mound and a Middle Islamic settlement on the southern lower town. Faunal and archaeobotanical analysis provide informa...