Early Mesopotamian urbanism: a new view from the north

Oates, Joan; McMahon, Augusta; Karsgaard, Philip; Quntar, Salam Al; Ur, Jason

doi:10.1017/s0003598x00095600

Cited by 137 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Also relevant in this context are dates for river channels in the vicinity if Sippar, at the head of the lower Mesopotamian alluvium, which anchor mid-Holocene freshwater discharges into the southern deltaic system (Heyvaert and Baeteman 2008). Wright and Rupley (2001) summarize published dates for sites in northern Mesopotamia (see also Oates et al 2007). …”

Section: Other Published Dates In Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mid-Holocene Dates for Organic-Rich Sediment, Palustrine Shell, and Charcoal from Southern Iraq

et al. 2012

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ABSTRACT. We present the results of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of 11 samples collected from 4 locations in southern Iraq. As a result of the hiatus in fieldwork in that region since 1990, and the antiquity of the majority of archaeological excavations conducted there, the record of 14 C dates for southern Mesopotamia is patchy for all periods. This is especially true for the mid-Holocene, when the world's oldest and longest-sustained urban system first emerged there. The dates here reported not only make a significant contribution to available dates for this important region and period; they fill specific gaps in crucial geographic coverage, and shed light on the extent of marshland boundaries and the antiquity of settlement at key urban centers.

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Section: Other Published Dates In Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mid-Holocene Dates for Organic-Rich Sediment, Palustrine Shell, and Charcoal from Southern Iraq

et al. 2012

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“…(Oates, Oates, & McDonald, 2001). The tell had attained an area of 130 ha in the 4th millennium B.C., at which time it was surrounded by a series of subsidiary mounds of Late Chalcolithic date (Oates et al, 2007; Ur, Karsgaard, & Oates, 2007). The site continued to play a significant role in the Khabur Basin until approximately the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C., after which only intermittent occupation occurred to the NE of the tell during the Roman, Sasanian, and early Islamic periods (Oates, Oates, & McDonald, 1997; Oates, 2005; Matthews, 2003; Ur, Karsgaard, & Oates, 2007).…”

Section: Regional Scale Investigations: Distribution Of Hollow Ways Imentioning

confidence: 99%

The geoarchaeology of route systems in northern Syria

Wilkinson

French

et al. 2010

Geoarchaeology

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Linear valleys, termed hollow ways, form a distinctive feature of the North Syrian Bronze Age landscape, but few have been described in detail or excavated. This paper examines the geoarchaeology of hollow way route systems in northern Syria at three scales of analysis: (1) from satellite imagery, at which scale it is possible to examine patterns of hollow ways over very large areas; (2) in the field, where cleaned sections supply ground control and dating evidence for specific features or hollow ways; and (3) using soil micromorphology to investigate the formation processes evident in the hollow way fills. We also use ethnographic analogy to extend the interpretation of the pattern of hollow ways. Finally, we examine the role of these features in the drainage network as well as their contribution to the development of alluvial fills of the Khabur tributaries. The three sections examined demonstrated that the Brak hollow ways were incised into the landscape, probably in the third millennium B.C. or slightly earlier.The fills show evidence of episodic flow and low-energy soil wash with weak soil development over the last 4000 years.

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“…Perhaps most important are the data from Khirbet al-Fakhar, an extraordinarily large multimounded area located to the south of Hamoukar and dating to the end of the 5th millennium B.C., a time when village life continued to be the dominant feature of settlements in southern Mesopotamia. Ur links this to data from Tell Brak (Oates et al 2007), which also points to a short-term, somewhat disorganized concentration of settlement at this early stage, and argues that it suggests an early impetus towards complexity but one that may have lacked the institutional structures necessary for longterm development towards true urbanism.…”

Section: Urbanism and Cultural Landscapes In Northeasternmentioning

confidence: 67%

Book Reviews

2014

Journal of Field Archaeology

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Early Mesopotamian urbanism: a new view from the north

Cited by 137 publications

References 18 publications

Mid-Holocene Dates for Organic-Rich Sediment, Palustrine Shell, and Charcoal from Southern Iraq

Mid-Holocene Dates for Organic-Rich Sediment, Palustrine Shell, and Charcoal from Southern Iraq

The geoarchaeology of route systems in northern Syria

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