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Other Archaeological Sites
The Neolithic of the Levant
Samarran Culture (5500 BC- 4800 BC)
Farming gradually spread south towards the "neck" of
Mesopotamia
this may have been some combination of people actually moving into the area
and a possible low density population of foragers who were already there and began to adopt agriculture
this area has less rainfall, so irrigation is necessary to consistently produce much food
The Samarra style and culture was contemporary with the later part of
Hassuna
style
but further out onto the alluvium
it is both a cultural and a chronological category
maybe a different social or ethnic group .....
Samarra style is also contemporary with
Halaf
style, found to the north
in some places, both styles are found...
may be different ethnic groups, or just different fashions
together, these are the first widespread, relatively uniform pottery styles
this might indicate more long-distance travel, contact, and exchange
or some other reason for widespread, shared ideas about aesthetics and possibly other things .....
Samarra style pottery
made with "tournette" (also called a "slow wheel")
possibly by specialists?
subsistence
cultivated wheat (emmer and bread wheat) and barley
kept sheep, goats, pigs, cattle
some fishing and shellfish gathering from Tigris river
hunting and wild plant foods important, but agriculture had a bigger role
farming was based at least partially on irrigation
Evidence of irrigation:
the region in general is too dry for reliable farming without it
they cultivated at least one crop that would not have produced at all in this region without irrigation: flax (linseed)
for fiber used in linen cloth
sites are found in the areas where natural flooding could be most easily channeled and drained
sites are lined up along contour lines, implying canals
irrigation suggests intensification
more investment in the land
more permanence
maybe land ownership
greater vulnerability to attack and need for defense
maybe greater need for coordinated work, conflict resolution, etc.
but this can all still happen in pretty small-scale societies, without strong leadership or very complex social organization
largest sites around 6 ha (site of Samarra)
about three times the size of the main quad
estimated about 1000 people
mud-brick rectangular houses
multiple rooms
external buttresses, apparently to support corners and roof beams (later become decorative)
around open courtyards
granaries, ovens, kilns
the Samarra economy apparently had some complex features
stamp seals, like Halaf
possible maker's marks on pottery suggest craft specialization, exchange
limited amounts of copper suggest long-distance exchange
Tell Sawwan
(a Samarra style site)
population probably several hundred (comparable to
Jericho
)
in the earliest level (about 5500 BC)
houses were relatively uniform in size and elaboration
suggesting little variation in social status
large buildings (up to 17 rooms) are interpreted as temples
suggesting some kind of organization or leadership
the site was surrounded by a ditch
many baked clay balls -- sling missiles .....
suggests fear of raids .....
at least 128 burials under several of the large buildings (Wenke says they were under house floors)
including 55 infants, 16 adolescents, and 13 adults
this high proportion of sub-adults in burials is typical for pre-industrial populations, which normally have high infant mortality
most buried with at least one object
alabaster female figurines
alabaster bowls
jewelry including copper and turquoise beads
ceramic pots
only minor variation in goods
slightly more with adolescents and adults than with infants
this agrees with the uniformity of houses to suggest relatively minor differences in wealth between individuals and families
but one adult male with several items, buried under the floor of a room with no other burials
maybe a slightly wealthier, more important person
but all together, the burials are richer than burials from other contemporary sites
suggests that some settlements or kin groups within settlements already had access to more wealth than others
by about 5400 BC
a wall had been built just inside the ditch
with an "L"-shaped entrance path to make intruders vulnerable to fire from on top of the walls
suggests fear of attack
Another example of a fairly large, walled Samarra site:
Choga Mami
up to 6 ha (15 acres)
up to 1000 people
like the later levels at Tell es-Sawwan, Choga Mami was walled and had an L-shaped (that is, defensible) entrance
plus a tower guarding one entrance to the site
Defense was clearly a serious concern for Samarran people, at least at some sites and times
and the Samarra people at various different sites were sufficiently organized to build sizable defenses
presumably indicating some sort of leadership, at least on a temporary basis
These societies, and especially the Samarrans, were the source of the first people who settled in the Mesopotamian alluvium
they comprise the roots of the first civilization in the world
The History of the Ancient Near East Electronic Compendium