Gurga Chiya and Tepe Marani: New Excavations in the Shahrizor Plain, Iraqi Kurdistan (original) (raw)
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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
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.
Human communities made the transition from hunter-foraging to more sedentary agriculture and herding at multiple locations across Southwest Asia through the Early Neolithic period (ca. 10,000-7000 cal. BC). Societies explored strategies involving increasing management and development of plants, animals, materials, technologies, and ideologies specific to each region whilst sharing some common attributes. Current research in the Eastern Fertile Crescent is contributing new insights into the Early Neolithic transition and the critical role that this region played. The Central Zagros Archaeological Project (CZAP) is investigating this transition in Iraqi Kurdistan, including at the earliest Neolithic settlement so far excavated in the region. In this article, we focus on results from ongoing excavations at the Early Neolithic site of Bestansur on the Shahrizor Plain, Sulaimaniyah province, in order to address key themes in the Neolithic transition.
The Early Neolithic of Iraqi Kurdistan: Current research at Bestansur, Shahrizor Plain
Paléorient
Human communities made the transition from hunter-foraging to more sedentary agriculture and herding at multiple locations across Southwest Asia through the Early Neolithic period (ca. 10,000-7000 cal. BC). Societies explored strategies involving increasing management and development of plants, animals, materials, technologies, and ideologies specific to each region whilst sharing some common attributes. Current research in the Eastern Fertile Crescent is contributing new insights into the Early Neolithic transition and the critical role that this region played. The Central Zagros Archaeological Project (CZAP) is investigating this transition in Iraqi Kurdistan, including at the earliest Neolithic settlement so far excavated in the region. In this article, we focus on results from ongoing excavations at the Early Neolithic site of Bestansur on the Shahrizor Plain, Sulaimaniyah province, in order to address key themes in the Neolithic transition. Les communautés humaines ont fait la transition de chasseurs-foragers à une agriculture plus sédentaire et le maintien des stocks à plusieurs endroits à travers l'Asie du Sud-Ouest au cours de la période néolithique précoce (vers 10 000 à 7 000 Av. J.-C.). Les sociétés ont exploré des stratégies impliquant une gestion et développement intensifs des plantes, des animaux, des matériaux, des technologies et des idéologies propres à chaque région tout en partageant certains attributs communs. Les recherches actuelles dans le Croissant fertile oriental apportent de nouvelles perspectives sur la transition néolithique précoce et le rôle crucial que cette région a joué. Le Projet archéologique central de Zagros (CZAP) étudie cette transition au Kurdistan irakien, y compris le plus ancien site néolithique jusqu'à présent fouillé dans la région. Dans cet article, nous nous concentrons sur les résultats des fouilles en cours sur le site néolithique précoce de Bestansur sur la plaine de Shahrizor, province de Sulaimaniyah, afin d'aborder les thèmes clés de la transition néolithique.
The Shahrizor Plain is an intermontane valley located in the eastern part of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan, where its local prehistory has gradually come into view through various ongoing investigations during the last decade. However, archaeologists have struggled to explain the apparent chronological hiatus that exists in the local Late Neolithic settlements around 6000 cal BC. In order to fill this gap, our new field project began at Shakar Tepe in September 2019, and successfully recovered the cultural deposit which yielded distinctive artifact assemblages dated to the late 7 th millennium BC. In addition, some evidence of Chalcolithic occupation was also found.
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.