Reconsidering Identity in the Halaf World: A Study of Coarse Wares in Sixth Millennium North Mesopotamia

Year 2017, Issue: 20, 1 - 20, 01.06.2017

Rana Özbal

Abstract

For over a century North Mesopotamian Halaf painted wares with their intricate designs have dominated sixth millennium ceramic studies while coarse wares have regularly been disregarded. In fact, coarse wares, and especially cooking pots, are surprisingly diverse in form, temper, and overall size and show remarkable variability from region to region. This article aims to target this lacuna of study, approach coarse wares and, when possible, the actual cooking pots, and then address comparatively the daily lives of the sixth millennium inhabitants of northern Mesopotamia.

Halaf Dünyası’nda “Kimliği” Yeniden Düşünmek: Altıncı Binyıl Kuzey Mezopotamyası’nda Kaba Malların İncelenmesi

Abstract

MÖ altıncı binyıla tarihlenen Halaf Dönemi, Kuzey Mezopotamya’nın geniş coğrafyasında kültürel öğeler açısından benzerlik gösterdiğinden genelde homojen bir kültür grubu olarak ele alınmaktadır. Bu bağlamda en belirleyici öğesi geometrik motiflerle bezenmiş boyalı çanak çömlekler olan Halaf Dönemi, yuvarlak yapıları ve karakteristik mühürleriyle farklı coğrafyalarda da beraber bulunan bir materyal kültür paketi olarak bilim literatürüne girmiştir. Dönemin boyalı çanak çömlek motifleri benzerliğinin, “kimlik” anlamında bir tür kültürel grup üyeliği göstergesi olduğu öne sürülmektedir. Başka bir deyişle, genelde çanak-çömleklerin bezeme motiflerinin Halaf Dönemi yerleşimlerini birbirlerine bağlayan ve grup ayniyetini sağlayan ana ve belirleyici bir öğe olduğu varsayılmaktadır.

References

• Akkermans 1989 P. Akkermans, Excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad–Prehistoric Investigations in the Balikh Valley, Northern Syria (1989).
• Akkermans – Schwartz 2003 P. Akkermans – G. Schwartz, The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Huntergatherers to Early Urban Societies (c. 16,000-300 BC) (2003).
• Akkermans – Wittmann 1993 P. Akkermans – B. Wittmann, “Khirbet esh-Shenef 1991, eine späthalafzeitliche Siedlung im Balikhtal, Nordsyrien”, Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orientgesellschaft 125, 1993, 143-166.
• Algaze 1990 G. Algaze, Town and Country in Southeastern Anatolia, Vol. II: The Stratigraphic Sequence at Kurban Höyük (1990).
• Becker 2013 J. Becker, “Tell Halaf: New Results on the Late Neolithic Period in Northeastern Syria”, in: O. Nieuwenhuyse et al. (eds.), Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia (2013) 455-478.
• Bernbeck et al. 1999 R. Bernbeck – S. Pollock – C. Coursey, “The Halaf settlement at Kazane Höyük”, Anatolica 25, 1999, 109-147.
• Bernbeck – Pollock 2003 R. Bernbeck – S. Pollock, “The biography of an Early Halaf Village: Fıstıklı Höyük 1999-2000”, IstMitt 53, 2003, 9-77.
• Braidwood – Braidwood 1960 R. Braidwood – L. Braidwood, Excavations in the Plain of Antioch, Vol. 1 (1960).
• Caldwell 1964 J. Caldwell, “Interaction Spheres in Prehistory”, Scientific Papers 12, 1964, 133-143.
• Campbell 1992 S. Campbell, Culture, Chronology and Change in the Later Neolithic of North Mesopotamia (University of Edinburgh Unpublished PhD Thesis 1992).
• Campbell et al. 1999 S. Campbell – E. Carter – E. Healey – S. Anderson – A. Kennedy – S. Whitcher, “Emerging Complexity on the Kahramanmaraş Plain, Turkey: The Domuztepe Project”, AJA 103.3, 1999, 395-418.
• Campbell – Philips 2003 S. Campbell – C. Phillips, “Prehistoric Pottery from Trenches V, VI and VII, Part 1: A Commentary on the Earlier Prehistoric Pottery (Trenches V and VII)”, Excavations at Arjoune, 2003, 31-70.
• Carter et al. 2003 E. Carter – S. Campbell – S. Gauld, “Elusive Complexity: New Data from Late Halaf Domuztepe in South Central Turkey”, Paléorient 29.2, 2003, 117-133.
• Casana 2003 J. Casana, From Alalakh to Antioch: Settlement, Land Use, and Environmental Change in the Amuq Valley of Southern Turkey (2003).
• Casella – Fowler 2005 E. Casella – C. Fowler, The Archaeology of Plural and Changing Identities: Beyond Identification (2005).
• Castro-Gessner 2011 G. Castro-Gessner, “A Brief Overview of the Halaf Tradition”, in: S. Steadman – G. McMahon (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Anatolian Archaeology (2011) 777-795.
• de Contenson 1982 H. de Contenson, “Les phases préhistoriques de Ras Shamra et de l’Amuq”, Paléorient 8.1, 1982, 95-98.
• de Contenson – Blot 1992 H. de Contenson – J. Blot, Préhistoire de Ras Shamra: les sondanges stratigraphiques de 1955 à 1976, Vol. 1 (1992).
• Cruells 2004 W. Cruells, “The Ceramic Wares”, in: Ö. Tunca (ed.), Tell Amarna, Syrie (2004).
• Cruells et al. 2013 W. Cruells et al., “Chagar Bazar in Northeastern Syria: Recent Work”, in: O. Nieuwenhuyse et al. (eds.), Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia (2013) 467-478.
• Dabbagh 1966 T. Dabbagh, “Halaf Pottery”, Sumer 22, 1966, 23-43.
• Davidson 1977 T. Davidson, Regional Variation within the Halaf Ceramic Tradition (University of Edinburgh Unpublished PhD Thesis 1977).
• Davidson – Mckerrel 1976 T. Davidson – H. Mckerrel, “Pottery Analysis and Halaf Period Trade in the Khabur Headwaters Region”, Iraq 38.1, 1976, 45-56.
• Davidson – Mckerrel 1980 T. Davidson – H. Mckerrel, “The Neutron Activation Analysis of Halaf and Ubaid Pottery from Tell Arpachiyah and Tepe Gawra”, Iraq 42, 1980, 155-167.
• Diebold 2004 B. Diebold, “Excavations at Tell Kurdu 2001: The Pottery, in: R. Özbal – F. Gerritsen et al., “Tell Kurdu Excavations 2001”, Anatolica 30, 2001, 52-55.
• Dietler 2007 M. Dietler, “Culinary Encounters: Food, Identity, and Colonialism”, in: K. Twiss (ed.), Archaeology, Food and Identity (2007) 218-242.
• Dirvana 1944 S. Dirvana, Cerablus civarında Yunus’ta bulunan Tel Halef Keramikleri, Belleten 8, 1944, 403-420.
• Esin 1976 U. Esin, Tülintepe Kazısı, 1972. Keban Projesi 1972 Çalışmaları (1976).
• Esin 1979 U. Esin, Tülintepe Kazısı, 1973. Keban Projesi 1973 Çalışmaları (1979).
• Esin 1982 U. Esin, Tülintepe Kazısı, 1974. Keban Projesi 1974-1975 Çalışmaları (1982).
• Esin 1993 U. Esin, “The Relief Decorations on the Prehistoric Pottery of Tülintepe in Eastern Anatolia”, in: M. Frangipane – H. Hauptmann et al., Between the Rivers and over the Mountains. Archaeologica Anatolica et Mesopotamica Alba Palmieri Dedicata (1993) 105-119.
• Esin – Arsebük 1974 U. Esin – G. Arsebük, Tülintepe Kazısı 1971. Keban Projesi 1971 Çalışmaları (1974).
• Fischer 1961 J. Fischer, “Art Styles as Cultural Cognitive Maps”, American Anthropologist 63, 1961, 80-83.
• Frangipane 2007 M. Frangipane, “Different Types of Egalitarian Societies and the Development of Inequality in Early Mesopotamia”, World Archaeology 39.2, 2007, 151-176.
• Frangipane 2015 M. Frangipane, “Different Types of Multiethnic Societies and Different Patterns of Development and Change in the Prehistoric Near East”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.30, 2015, 9182-9189.
• Freidel 1979 D. Freidel, “Culture Areas and Interaction Spheres: Contrasting Approaches to the Emergence of Civilization in the Maya Lowlands”, American Antiquity 44.1, 1979, 36-54.
• Goldman 1956 H. Goldman, Excavations at Gözlü Kule, Tarsus, From the Neolithic through the Bronze Age 2 (1956).
• Gómez et al. 2013 A. Gómez – W. Cruells – M. Molist, “Late Neolithic Pottery Productions in Syria: Evidence from Tell Halula (Euphrates Valley), A Technological Approach”, in: M. Martinón-Torres (ed.), Craft and Science: International Perspectives on Archaeological Ceramics (2013) 1-10.
• Graff – Rodriguez-Alegria 2012 S. Graff – E. Rodriguez-Alegria, The Menial Art of Cooking: Archaeological Studies of Cooking and Food Preparation (2012).
• Gustavson-Gaube 1981 C. Gustavson-Gaube, “Shams ed-Din Tannira: The Halafian Pottery of Area A”, Archaeological Studies Beyrouth 29, 1981, 1-182.
• Hendrickson – McDonald 1983 E. Henrickson – M. McDonald, “Ceramic Form and Function: An Ethnographic Search and an Archeological Application”, American Anthropologist 85.3, 1983, 630-643.
• Hole 2013 F. Hole, The Birth of a New Culture: At the Origins of the Halaf. Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia (2013).
• Hodos 2010 T. Hodos, “Local and Global Perspectives in the Study of Social and Cultural Identities”, in: S. Hales – T. Hodos (eds.), Material Culture and Social Identities in the Ancient World (2010) 3-31.
• Hopwood 2010 M. Hopwood, The Fed Community: Food Preparation and Community at The Halaf Site of Fıstıklı Höyük (State University of New York at Binghamton Unpublished PhD Thesis 2010).
• Hopwood 2013 M. Hopwood, “Food, Community and the Archaeological Past: Creating Community during the Halaf Period at Fıstıklı Höyük, Turkey”, in: O. Nieuwenhuyse et al. (eds), Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia (2013) 183-190.
• Ingholt 1934 H. Ingholt, Rapport preliminaire sur la première campagne des fouilles de Hama (1934).
• Iwasaki et al. 1995 T. Iwasaki – H. Nishino – A. Tsuneki, “The Prehistory of the Rouj Basin, Northwest Syria: A Preliminary Report”, Anatolia XX, 1995, 143-187.
• Leblanc – Watson 1973 S. Leblanc – P. Watson, “A Comparative Statistical Analysis of Painted Pottery from Seven Halafian Sites”, Paléorient 1.1, 1973, 117-133.
• Le Mière – Nieuwenhuyse 1996 M. Le Mière – O. P. Nieuwenhuyse, “The prehistoric pottery”, in: P. M. M. G (ed.), Tell Sabi Abyad: The Late Neolithic Settlement (1996) 119-132.
• Le Mière – Picon 1987 M. le Mière – M. Picon, “Productions locales et circulation des céramiques au VIe mille-naire au Proche-Orient”, Paléorient 13.2, 1987, 133.
• Mallowan 1936 M. Mallowan, “The Excavations at Tall Chagar Bazar, and an Archaeological Survey of the Ḫabur Region, 1934-5”, Iraq 3.01, 1936, 1-59.
• Mellaart 1981 J. Mellaart, “The Prehistoric Pottery from the Neolithic to the Beginnings of the E.B.IV”, in: J. Matthers (ed.), The River Qoueiq, Northern Syria and its Catchment: Studies Arising from the Tell Rifa’at Survey 1977-1979 (1981) 131-320.
• Merpert – Munchaev 1993 M. Merpert – N. Munchaev, “Yarım Tepe III: Halaf Levels, 1978-1979 Results”, in: N. Yoffee – J. Clark (eds.), Early States in the Evolution of Mesopotamian Civilization: Soviet Excavations in Northern Iraq (1993) 163-207.
• Miyake 1998 Y. Miyake, “Pottery”, in: A. Tsuneki – Y. Miyake (eds.), Excavations at Tell Umm Qseir in Middle Khabur Valley, North Syria: Report of the 1996 Season (1998) 41-85.
• Molist et al. 2013 M. Molist et al., “Tell Halula (Euphrates Valley, Syria): New approach to VII and VI millennia cal. BC in Northern Levant framework”, in: O. Nieuwenhuyse et al. (eds.), Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia (2013) 443-455.
• Nieuwenhuyse 2007 O. Nieuwenhuyse, Plain and Painted Pottery: The Rise of Late Neolithic Ceramic Styles on the Syrian and Northern Mesopotamian Plains (2007).
• Özbal – Gerritsen et al. 2004 R. Özbal – F. Gerritsen et al., “Tell Kurdu Excavations 2001”, Anatolica 30, 2004, 37-107.
• Özbal 2006 R. Özbal, Households, Daily Practice, and Cultural Appropriation at Sixth Millennium Tell Kurdu (Northwestern University Unpublished PhD Thesis 2006).
• Özdoğan 2013 M. Özdoğan, “Reconsidering the Late Neolithic Period in Southeastern Turkey: A Regional Perspective”, in: O. Nieuwenhuyse et al. (eds.), Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia (2013) 387-396.
• Parker – Creekmore 2002 B. Parker – A. Creekmore, “The Upper Tigris Archaeological Research Project: A Final Report from the 1999 Field season”, AnatSt 52, 2002, 19-74.
• Peregrine 2001 P. Peregrine, “Cross-cultural Comparative Approaches in Archaeology”, Annual Review of Anthropology 30.1, 2001, 1-18.
• Perkins 1949 L. Perkins, The Comparative Archaeology of Early Mesopotamia (1949).
• Pollock et al. 2001 S. Pollock et al., “Excavations at Fıstıklı Höyük, 1999”, in: N. Tuna – J. Özturk – J. Velibeyoğlu (eds.), Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs, Activities in 1999 (2001) 1-63.
• Redman 1978 C. Redman, The Rise of Civilization: From Early Farmers to Urban Society in the Ancient Near East (1978).
• Rice 1987 P. Rice. Pottery Analysis: A Sourcebook (2015).
• Quercia 2015 A. Quercia, “Forms of Adoption, Adaption and Resistance in the Cooking Repertoire of Lucania, southern Italy (8th -3rd centuries BC)”, in: M. Spataro – A. Villing (eds.), Ceramics, Cuisine and Culture: The Archaeology and Science of Kitchen Pottery in the Ancient Mediterranean World (2015) 203-212.
• Russel 2012 N. Russell, Social Zooarchaeology: Humans and Animals in Prehistory (2012). Rye 1976 O. Rye, “Keeping your Temper under Control: Materials and the Manufacture of Papuan Pottery”, Archaeology and Physical Anthropology in Oceania 11.2, 1976, 106-137.
• Sarıaltun 2013 S. Sarıaltun, “A Halaf Settlement at Kerküşti Höyük”, in: O. Nieuwenhuyse et al. (eds.), Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia (2013) 503-512. Sarıaltun – Erim Özdoğan 2011
• S. Sarıaltun – A. Erim-Özdoğan, “Studies on the Halaf Pottery of the Kerküşti Höyük”, Anatolia Antiqua 19.1, 2011, 39-52.
• Schmidt 1943 H. Schmidt. Tell Halaf: Die prähistorischen Funde, Vol. 1 (1943). Smith 2006 M. Smith, “The Archaeology of Food Preference”, American Anthropologist 108.3, 2006, 480-493.
• Smith – Peregrine 2012 M. E. Smith – P. Peregrine, “Approaches to Comparative Analysis in Archaeology”, in: M. E. Smith (ed.), The Comparative Archaeology of Complex Societies (2012) 4-20.
• Spataro – Fletcher 2010 M. Spataro – A. Fletcher, “Centralisation or Regional Identity in the Halaf Period? Examining Interactions within Fine Painted Ware Production”, Paléorient 36.2, 2010, 91-116.
• Spataro – Villing 2015 M. Spataro – A. Villing, Ceramics, Cuisine and Culture: The Archaeology and Science of Kitchen Pottery in the Ancient Mediterranean World (2015).
• Tekin 2011 H. Tekin, Diyarbakır’da Yeni Bir Halaf Yerleşimi: Karavelyan (Hınçıka) 2009 Yılı Kazıları, KST 32.2, 2011, 350-363.
• Thuesen 1988 I. Thuesen, Hama, Fouilles et recherches 1931-1938, Vol. 1 (1988).
• Tsuneki et al. 2017 A. Tsuneki – O. Nieuwenhuyse – S. Campbell, The Emergence of Pottery in West Asia (2017).
• Twiss 2007 K. Twiss, The Archaeology of Food and Identity (2007).
• Twiss 2012 K. Twiss, “The Archaeology of Food and Social Diversity”, Journal of Archaeological Research 20.4, 2012, 357-395.
• Villing – Spataro 2015 A. Villing – M. Spataro, “Investigating Ceramics, Cuisine and Culture – Past, Present and Future”, in: M. Spataro – A. Villing (eds.), Ceramics, Cuisine and Culture: The Archaeology and Science of Kitchen Pottery in the Ancient Mediterranean World (2015) 1-26.
• Watson 1983 P. Watson, “The Halafian Culture: A Review and Synthesis”, in: T. Young – P. Smith – P. Mortensen (eds.), The Hilly Flanks and Beyond: Essays on the Prehistory of Southwestern Asia presented to R. J. Braidwood (1983) 231-250.
• Watson – Leblanc 1990 P. Watson – S. Leblanc, Girikihaciyan: A Halafian Site in Southeastern Turkey (1990).
• Weismantel 1989 M. Weismantel, Food, Gender, and Poverty in the Ecuadorian Andes (1989). Wickede – Herbordt 1988 A. Wickede – S. Herbordt, “Çavi Tarlası. Bericht über die Ausgrabungskampagnen 1983-1984”, IstMitt 38, 1988, 5-35.
• Woolley 1934 L. Woolley, “The Prehistoric Pottery of Carchemish”, Iraq 1.02, 1934, 146-162.
• Wright – Whallon 1998 H. Wright – R. Whallon, “Investigations at Fatmalı Kalecik: A Chalcolithic Hamlet in the Upper Euphrates Valley”, in: G. Arsebük et al. (eds.), Light at the top of the Black Hill: Studies Presented to Halet Çambel (1998) 775-809.
• Yener et al. 2000a A. Yener – C. Edens – T. Harrison – J. Verstraete – T. Wilkinson, “The Amuq Valley Regional Project, 1995-1998”, AJA 104, 2000, 163-220.
• Yener et al. 2000b A. Yener – C. Edens – J. Casana – B. Diebold – H. Ekstrom – M. Loyet – R. Özbal, “Tell Kurdu Excavations 1999”, Anatolica 26, 2000, 32-117.