“Halaf Period” (6100-5300/5100 BC) in Northern Mesopotamia and the Northern Levant: Material Culture, Subsistence Economy and Cross-Cultural Encounters

Year 2020, Volume: 8, 1 - 63, 30.06.2020

İzzet Çıvgın

https://doi.org/10.13113/CEDRUS.202001

Abstract

The Halaf culture occurs in the Late Neolithic period which lasted between 6100-5300/5100 B.C. and is found in Upper Mesopotamia and the Northern Levant. Indeed, the fine painted pottery of the Halaf culture emerged gradually from a transitional stage in which Hassuna and Samarra decorative modes and stylistic traits dominated. Halaf culture is known for its (1) painted and thin-walled pottery, (2) round buildings, (3) adobe or mud-brick building techniques, (4) clay female figurines (5) stamp seals, (6) chipped stone tools made of obsidian from Central or Eastern Anatolian sources, and, (7) clay sling bullets. In addition to permanent village agriculture, mobile pastoralism and hunting-gathering were the basis of all Halafian communities settled in the short-term, in small and dispersed hamlets or villages. The stamp-seals may mark onset of personal property. Halaf societies were most probably based on an egalitarian but potentially ranked-hierarchical system. The author employs Aristotle’s theory of actuality to explain the Late Neolithic transition from egalitarianism to ranked societies.

Keywords

Northern Mesopotamia, Northern Levant, Subsistence Economy, Halafian, Cultural Contact

Kuzey Mezopotamya ve Kuzey Levant’ta “Halaf Dönemi” (MÖ 6100-5300/5100): Maddi Kültür, Geçim Ekonomisi ve Kültürel Temas

Abstract

Makalenin konusu, MÖ 6100-5300/5100 arasında Yukarı Mezopotamya ve Kuzey Levant’ta etkili olmuş, Halaf olarak bilinen maddi kültür evresidir. Halaf maddi kültürü, bu 6 yüzyıl içinde, sayılan iki bölge dışında eskiden Samarra kültürünün merkezi olan Orta Mezopotamya’ya da girmiştir. Aslına bakılırsa, en eski Hassuna kapları ile boyalı Samarra ve Halaf kapları arasında kopuştan çok süreklilikler vardır. Halaf çanak-çömleği, 1000 yıldır dönüşen çömlek işçiliğinde yakalanan yeni düzeyi temsil etmektedir. Halaf maddi kültürü, 7 unsurun toplamından oluşur. 1- Kaliteli, ince cidarlı, boyalı ve bezekli çanak-çömlekler. 2- “Tholos” adı verilen yuvarlak planlı yapılar. 3- Temelleri taştan, duvarları tauf ya da kerpiçten yapılar. 4- Kil insan (özellikle kadın) figürinleri. 5- Damga mühürler. 6- Orta ve Doğu Anadolu menşeli obsidyen çekirdeklerinden üretilmiş yontmataş aletler. 7- Kil sapan taşları... Bu maddi kültür unsurları etrafında türdeş bir dünyayı paylaşan Halaf toplumunun geçim kaynakları, sürekli-kalıcı yerleşimlerde yapılan tarım, yarı-göçebe çobanlık ve avcı-toplayıcılıktır. Genelde küçük köylerde ve mezralarda yaşayan Halaf toplumu, özel mülkiyete geçmiş, eşitlikçi ilişkilere sahip ama içinde hiyerarşi potansiyeli taşıyan bir toplumdur. Yazar, Halaf’ın eşitlikçilik ile hiyerarşi arasındaki ara konumunu açıklamak için Aristoteles’in potansiyel-aktüel analizinden yararlanmış; Halaf devrinde hala eşitlikçi görünen toplumsal yapının hiyerarşi potansiyelini barındırdığını iddia etmiştir.

Keywords

Geçim Ekonomisi, Kuzey Mezopotamya, Kuzey Levant, Halaf, Kültürel Temas

References

• Abdi 2003 K. Abdi, “The Early Development of Pastoralism in the Central Zagros Mountains”. Journal of World Prehistory 17/4 (2003) 395-448. Abdi 2003 K. Abdi, “The Early Development of Pastoralism in the Central Zagros Mountains”. Journal of World Prehistory 17/4 (2003) 395-448.
• Ahmad 2014 R. Ahmad, On the Move: Understanding the natüre of exchange and the organisation of transport at the site of Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria). Master thesis, University of Leiden. Leiden 2014.
• Akdeniz 2004 E. Akdeniz, “Halaf ve Obeyd Kültürleri Üzerine Bazı Gözlemler ve Pirot Höyüğün Halaf-Obeyd Boyalı Çanak-Çömleği”. Anadolu Araştırmaları XVII/2 (2004) 1-48.
• Akkermans 2000 P. M. M. G. Akkermans, “Old and New Perspectives on the Origins of the Halaf Culture”. Eds. O. Rouault & M. Wäfler. La Djéziré et l’Euphrate syriens de la Protohistoire à la fin du Iıe millénaire av. J.-C. (Subartu VII). Turnhout (2000) 43-54.
• Akkermans 1993 P. M. M. G. Akkermans, Villages in the Steppe: Later Neolithic Settlement and Subsistence in the Balikh Valley, Northern Syria. Ann Arbor 1993.
• Akkermans 1995 P. M. M. G. Akkermans, “An image of complexity: the burnt village at Late Neolithic Sabi Abyad, Syria”. American Journal of Archaeology 99 (1995) 5-32.
• Akkermans 2010 P. M. M. G. Akkermans, “Late Neolithic Architectural Renewal: The Emergence of Round Houses in the Northern Levant, c. 6500-6000 BC”. Eds. D. Bolger - L. C. Maguire, The Development of Pre-State Communities in the Ancient Near East. Oxford (2010) 22-28.
• Akkermans 2013a P. M. M. G. Akkermans, “Living Space, Temporality and Community Segmentation: Interpreting Late Neolithic Settlement in Northern Syria”. Eds. O. P. Nieuwenhuyse - R. Bernbeck - P. M. M. G. Akkermans - J. Rogasch, Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia. Turnhout (2013) 63-75.
• Akkermans 2013b P. M. M. G. Akkermans, “Northern Syria in the Late Neolithic, ca. 6800–5300 BC”. Eds. W. Orthmann – P. Matthiae – M. Al-Maqdissi, Archéologie et Histoire de la Syrie I: La Syrie de l’époque néolithique à l’âge du fer. Wiesbaden (2013) 17-31.
• Akkermans 2014 P. M. M. G. Akkermans, “Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad in Perspective”. Eds. P. M. M. G. Akkermans - M. L. Brüning - H. O. Huigens - O. P. Nieuwenhuyse, Excavations at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria: The 1994-1999 Field Seasons. Turnhout (2014) 247-256.
• Akkermans - Duistermaat 1997 P. M. M. G. Akkermans – K. Duistermaat, “Of Storage and Nomads: The Sealings from Late Neolithic, Sabi Abyad, Syria”. Paléorient 22/2 (1997) 17-44.
• Akkermans-Schwartz 2004 P. M. M. G. Akkermans - G. M. Schwartz, The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (c. 16 000 – 300 BC). Cambridge 2004.
• Akkermans et al. 2015 P. M. M. G. Akkermans - J. Van der Plicht - O. P. Nieuwenhuyse - A. Russell - A. Kaneda, “Cultural Transformation and the 8.2 ka Event in Upper Mesopotamia”, Eds. S. Kerner - R. J. Dann - P. Bansgaard, Climate and Ancient Societies. Copenhagen (2015) 97-112.
• Arimura 2020 M. Arimura, The Neolithic Lithic Industry at Tell Ain El-Kerkh. Oxford 2020.
• Astruc et al. 2007 L. Astruc - B. Gratuze - J. Pelegrin - P. Akkermans, “From production to use: a parcel of obsidian bladelets at Sabi Abyad II”. Eds. L. Astruc - D. Binder - F. Briois, La diversité des systèmes techniques des communautés du Néolithique pré-céramique: vers la charactérisation des comportements sociaux. 5e colloque international sur les industries lithiques du Néolithique pré-céramique. Antibes 2007.
• Atakuman 2015 Ç. Atakuman, “Domuztepe’de Bulunan Halaf Dönemi Mühürlerinin Tipolojik Özellikleri ve Sosyal İşlevleri”. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi XXXII/1 (2015) 59-92.
• Bader 1993 N. O. Bader, “Summary of the Earliest Agriculturalists of Northern Mesopotamia”. Eds. N. Yoffee - J. J. Clark, Early Stages in the Evolution of Mesopotamian Civilization: Soviet Excavations in Northern Iraq. Tucson (1993) 63-71.
• Baird 2012 D. Baird, “The Late Epipaleolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic of the Anatolian Plateau, 13000-4000 BC”. Ed. D. T. Potts, A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East - Volume I. Chichester (2012) 431-465.
• Barge et al. 2018 O. Barge, H. A. Kharanaghi - F. Biglari - B. Moradi - M. Mashkour - M. Tengberg - C. Chataigner. “Diffusion of Anatolian and Caucasian obsidian in the Zagros Mountains and the highlands of Iran: Elements of explanation in ‘least cost path’ models”. Quaternary International 467 (2018) 297-322.
• Becker 2013 J. Becker, “Tell Halaf: New Results on the Late Neolithic Period in Northern Syria”. Eds. O. P. Nieuwenhuyse - R. Bernbeck - P. M. M. G. Akkermans - J. Rogasch, Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia. Turnhout (2013) 455-466
• Becker 2015 J. Becker, “Results about the Ḥalaf and ‘Ubaid Periods in Northern Mesopotamia after the Excavations at Tell Ṭawīla and Tell Ḥalaf as well as the Wādī Ḥamar Survey”. Seminar für Orientalische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte (2015) 1-7. URL: http://www.orientarch.uni-halle.de/digs/tawila/tawila_re sults_eng.pdf
• Becker - Helms 2013 J. Becker - T. Helms, “A Halafian Ritual Deposit from Tell Tawila”. Neo-Lithics I/13 (2013) 24-35.
• Bernbeck - Pollock 2003 R. Bernbeck - S. Pollock, “The Biography of an Early Halaf Village: Fıstıklı Höyük 1999-2000”. Istanbuler Mitteilungen 53 (2003) 9-77.
• Bernbeck - Nieuwenhuyse 2013 R. Bernbeck - O. Nieuwenhuyse, “Established Paradigms, Current Disputes and Emerging Themes: The State of Research on the Late Neolithic in Upper Mesopotamia”. Eds. O. Nieuwenhuyse - R. Bernbeck - P. M. M. G. Akkermans - J. Rogasch, Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia. Turnhout (2013) 17-37.
• Biehl 2015 P. F. Biehl, “Climate and Social Change during the Transition between the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic in Central Anatolia”. Eds. S. Kerner - R. J. Dann - P. Bansgaard, Climate and Ancient Societies. Copenhagen (2015) 113-136.
• Bressy et al. 2005 C. Bressy - G. Poupeau - K. A. Yener, “Cultural interactions during the Ubaid and Halaf periods: Tell Kurdu (Amuq Valley, Turkey) obsidian sourcing”. Journal of Archaeological Science 32 (2005) 1560-1565.
• Butterlin 2012 P. Butterlin, “Abd el-Masih Hanna Baghdo, Lutz Martin, Mirko Novak & Winfried Orthmann, Augrabungen auf dem Tell Halaf in Nordost-Syrien: Teil I. Vorberichte über die erste und zweite syrisch-deutsche Grabungskampagne auf dem Tell Halaf (Recension)”. Syria 89 (2012) 417-419.
• Caldwell 1964 J. Caldwell, “Interaction Spheres in Prehistory”. Eds. J. Caldwell – R. Hall, Hopewellian Studies. Springfield (1964) 133-143.
• Campbell 1992 S. Campbell, “The Halaf Period in Iraq: Old Sites and New”. The Biblical Archaeologist, LV/4 (1992) 182-187.
• Campbell 2000 S. Campbell, “The Burnt House at Arpachiyah: A Reexamination”. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 318 (200) 1-40.
• Carter 2010 E. Carter, “The Glyptic of the Middle-Late Halaf Period at Domuztepe, Turkey (ca. 5755-5450 BC)”. Paléorient XXXVI/1 (2010) 159-177.
• Castro Gessner 2010 A. G. Castro Gessner, “The Practice of Decorating Late Neolithic Pottery in Northern Mesopotamia”. Eds. S. R. Steadman - J. C. Ross. Agency and Identity in the Ancient Near East - New Paths Forward. London (2010) 99-116.
• Castro Gessner 2011 A. G. Castro Gessner, “A Brief Overview of the Halaf Tradition”. Eds. Sharon R. Steadman - Gregory McMahon. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia. New York (2011) 777-795.
• Castro Gessner 2013 G. Castro Gessner, “Sequencing Practices, Revealing Traditions: A Case Study on Painters’ Brushwork”. Eds. O. Nieuwenhuyse - R. Bernbeck - P. M. M. G. Akkermans - J. Rogasch, Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia. Turnhout (2013) 125-134.
• Charvát 2002 P. Charvát, Mesopotamia before History. London 2002.
• Charvát 2013 P. Charvát, The Birth of the State: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China (translated in English by Daniel Morgan). Prag 2013.
• Cholidis - Martin 2002 N. Cholidis - L. Martin, Der Tell Halaf und sein Ausgräber Max Freiherr von Oppenheim: Kopf hoch! Mut hoch! Und Humor hoch! Mainz 2002.
• Coşkunsu 2011 G. Coşkunsu, “Flint and obsidian industry of Mezraa-Teleilat (Urfa, south-east Anatolia), PPN-PN”. Eds. E. S. C. Healey – O. Maeda, The State of the Stone: Terminologies, Continuities and Contexts in Near Eastern Lithics. Berlin (2011) 385-394.
• Cruells 2008 W. Cruells, “The Proto-Halaf: Origins, definition, regional framework and chronology”. Eds. J. M. Córdoba – M. Molist – C. Pérez Aparicio - I. Rubio de Miguel - S. M. Lillo, Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Madrid, April 3-8 2006. Madrid (2008) 671-689.
• Cruells - Nieuwenhuyse 2004 W. Cruells - O. Nieuwenhuyse, “The Proto-Halaf Period in Syria: New sites, New data”. Paléorient 30/1 (2004) 47-68.
• Cruells et al. 2013 W. Cruells - 9 co-authors, “Chagar Bazar in Northeastern Syria: Recent Work”. Eds. O. P. Nieuwenhuyse - R. Bernbeck - P. M. M. G. Akkermans - J. Rogasch, Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia. Turnhout (2013) 467-478.
• Çalışkan Kılıç et al. 2017 N. Çalışkan Kılıç - S. Kılıç - H. Çalışkan Akgül, “An Archaeometric Study of Provenance and Firing Technology of Halaf Pottery from Tilkitepe (Eastern Turkey)”. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry XVII/2 (2017) 35-48.
• Çiçekdağı 2015 C. Çiçekdağı, “Aristoteles’in Peri Hermeneias (Yorum Üzerine) Eserinin 9. Bölümü Üzerine Bir Yorum Denemesi: ‘Geleceğe Ait Olumsal Önermeler’. Dört Öge IV/8 (2015) 23-61.
• Davidson 1977 T. E. Davidson, Regional Variation within the Halaf Ceramic Tradition. Edinburgh 1977.
• Duistermaat 2010 K. Duistermaat, “Administration in Neolithic societies? The first use of seals in Syria and some considerations on seal owners, seal use and private property”. Ed. W. Müller, Die Bedeutung der minoischen und mykenischen Siegel. Mainz am Rhein (2010) 167-182.
• Düring 2016 B. S. Düring, “The 8.2 Event and the Neolithic Expansion in Western Anatolia”. Eds. P. F. Biehl – O. P. Nieuwenhuyse, Climate and Cultural Change in Prehistoric Europe and the Near East. Albany (2016) 135-150.
• Fletcher 2008 A. Fletcher, “Ceramic Styles at Domuztepe: Evidence for Social Interaction in the Late Neolithic”. Eds. H. Kühne - R. M. Czichon - F. J. Kreppner, Proceedings of the 4th International Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: 29 March - 3 April 2004, Freie Universität Berlin. Wiesbaden (2008) 111-124.
• Fletcher 2016 A. Fletcher, “Uniformity and Diversity in the Later Neolithic of the Middle East”. Eds. L. Amkreutz - F. Haack - D. Hofmann - I. van Luijk, Something Out of the Ordinary? Interpreting Diversity in the Early Neolithic Linearbandkeramik and Beyond. Newcastle upon Tyne (2016) 427-453.
• Flohr et al. 2016 P. Flohr - D. Fleitmann - R. Matthews - W. Matthews - S. Black, “Evidence of resilience to past climate change in Southwest Asia: Early farming communities and the 9.2 and 8.2 ka events”. Quaternary Science Reviews 136 (2016) 23-39.
• Fortin 1999 M. Fortin, Syria: Land of Civilizations. Montreal 1999.
• Frangipane 2007 M. Frangipane, “Different types of egalitarian societies and the development of inequality in early Mesopotamia”. World Archaeology 39/2 (2007) 151-176.
• Gallet et al. 2015 Y. Gallet - 8 co-authors, “New Late Neolithic (c. 7000-5000 BC) archeointensity data from Syria. Reconstructing 9000 years of archeomagnetic field intensity variations in the Middle East”. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 238 (2015) 89-103.
• Giddens 1979 A. Giddens, Central Problems in Social Theory. London 1979.
• Gómez Bach et al. 2016 A. Gómez Bach - W. Cruells - M. Molist, “Sharing spheres of interaction in the 6th millennium cal. BC.: Halaf communities and beyond”. Paléorient XLII/2 (2016) 117-133.
• Grimbergen 2016 L. Grimbergen, The Social Use of Animals in the Halaf Period: On the meaning of animal remains and animal representation. Master thesis, University of Leiden. Leiden 2016.
• Grossman – Hinman 2013 K. Grossman – M. Hinman, “Rethinking Halaf and Ubaid Animal Economies: Hunting and Herding at Tell Zeidan (Syria)”. Paléorient 39/2 (2013) 201-219.
• Guilaine 2005 J. Guilaine, “La Protohistoire ancienne de la Méditerranée: Îles et continents (suite et fin)”, Civilisation de l’Europe au Néolithique et à l’ ge du Bronze (Guilaine’in 2004-2005 öğretim yılında Collège de France’ta verdiği derslerin özeti). Paris (2005) 523-543.
• Hamdan - Smets 2013 I. Hamdan - S. Smets, “Climate Change Impact on WANA: Key Researchable Issues and Proposed Measures”. Eds. M. V. K. Sivakumar - R. Lal - R. Selvaraju - I. Hamdan, Climate Change and Food Security in West Asia and North Africa. Dordrecht (2013) 147-160.
• Healey 2007 E. Healey, “Obsidian as an indicator of inter-regional contacts and exchange: three case-studies from the Halaf period”. Anatolian Studies 57 (2007) 171-189.
• Healey – Campbell 2014 E. Healey - S. Campbell, “Producing adornment: Evidence of different levels of expertise in the production of obsidian items of adornment at two late Neolithic communities in northern Mesopotamia”. Journal of Lithic Studies I/2 (2014) 79-99.
• Hijara et al. 1980 I. Hijara, J. P. N. Watson - R. N. L. B. Hubbard, “Arpachiyah 1976”. Iraq 42 (1980) 131-154.
• Hodder 2012 I. Hodder, “Çatalhöyük: A Summary of Recent Work Concerning Architecture”. Ed. B. Söğüt, Stratonikeia’dan Lagina’ya: Ahmet Adil Tırpan Armağanı. İstanbul (2012) 303-314.
• Hole et al. 1969 F. Hole - K. V. Flannery - J. A. Neely, Prehistory and Human Ecology on the Deh Luran Plain: An Early Village Sequence from Khuzistan, Iran. Ann Arbor 1969.
• Holmes et al. 2016 Holmes - 11 co-authors, “Lake isotope records of the 8200-year cooling event in western Ireland: Comparison with model simulations”. Quaternary Science Reviews 131 B (2016) 341-349.
• Iamoni 2016 M. Iamoni, “Larger site, better life? Site dimensions and the path to socio-economic complexity in Upper Mesopotamia across the Halaf and Ubaid periods”. Ed. M. Iamoni, Trajectories of Complexity: Socio-economic Dynamics in Upper Mesopotamia in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Periods. Wiesbaden (2016) 57-83.
• İpek 2018 B. İpek, “Halaf Kültürünün Yukarı Dicle Bölgesindeki Yayılımı”. Eds. İ. Özcoşar - A. Karakaş - M. Öztürk - Z. Polat, İlk Çağlardan Osmanlıya Diyarbakır. İstanbul (2018) 29-51.
• İpek 2019 B. İpek, Figural Motifs on Halaf Pottery: An Iconographical Study of Late Neolithic Society in Northern Mesopotamia. Master thesis, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University. Ankara 2016.
• Kemp 1986 B. J. Kemp, “Large Middle Kingdom Granary Buildings (and the archaeology of administration)”. Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 113 (1986) 120-136.
• Kendall et al. 2008 R. A. Kendall - J. X. Mitrovica - G. A. Milne - T. E. Törnqvist - Y. Li, “The sea-level fingerprint of the 8.2 ka climate event”. Geology 36 (2008) 423-426.
• Kodaş - Erdoğan 2018 E. Kodaş - N. Erdoğan, “Boncuklu Tarla 2017 Yılı Kazıları”. Ed. A. Özme, 40. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, 1. Cilt, 07-11 Mayıs 2017, Çanakkale. Ankara 2019.
• Kuzmin 2017 Y. V. Kuzmin, “Obsidian as a commodity to investigate human migrations in the Upper Paleolithic, Neolithic, and Paleometal of Northeast Asia”. Quaternary International 442 (2017) 5-11.
• Le Mière - Picon 1987 M. Le Mière - M. Picon, “Productions locales et circulation des céramiques au VIe millénaire, au Proche-Orient”. Paléorient 13/2 (1987) 133-147.
• Lee - Kim 2015 G. K. Lee - J. C. Kim, “Obsidians from the Sinbuk archaeological site in Korea - Evidences for strait crossing and long-distance exchange of raw material in Paleolithic Age”. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 2 (2015) 458-466.
• Lev-Yadun et al. 2000 S. Lev-Yadun - A. Gopher - S. Abbo, “The Cradle of Agriculture”. Science 288 (2000) 1602-1603.
• Liverani 2014 M. Liverani, The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy, Translated by S. Tabatabai. Oxon 2014.
• Maisels 1993a C. K. Maisels, The Emergence of Civilization: From Hunting and Gathering to Agriculture, Cities and the State in the Near East (revised paperback edition). London 1993a.
• Maisels 1993b C. K. Maisels, The Near East: Archaeology in the ‘Cradle of Civilization’. London 1993b.
• Maisels 2001 C. K. Maisels, Early Civilizations of the Old World. London 2001.
• Mann 1986 M. Mann, The Sources of Social Power. Cambridge 1986.
• Matthews 2002 R. Matthews, “Halafian”. Eds. P. N. Peregrine – M. Ember, Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 8: South and Southwest Asia. New York (2002) 160-195.
• McCorriston 1992 J. McCorriston, “The Halaf Environment and Human Activities in the Khabur Drainage, Syria”. Journal of Field Archaeology 19/3 (1992) 315-333.
• McMahon 2005 A. McMahon, “From Sedentism to States, 10000 – 3000 BCE”, Eds. D. C. Snell, A Companion to the Ancient Near East. Oxford (2005) 20-33.
• Milevski et al. 2016 I. Milevski - N. Getzov - E. Galili - A. Yaroshevich - L. K. Horwitz, “Iconographic motifs from the 6th-5th millennia BC in the Levant and Mesopotamia: Clueds for cultural connections and existence of an interaction sphere”. Paléorient XLII/2 (2016) 135-149.
• Miyake 1998 Y. Miyake, “New light on middle Halaf period: Halaf chronology revised”. Eds. A. Tsuneki et al., Excavations at Tell Umm Qseir in Middle Khabur Valley, North Syria. Report of the 1996 Season 1. Tsukuba (1998) 177-88.
• Moore 2012 J. D. Moore, The Prehistory of Home. Berkeley 2012.
• Morandi Bonacossi – Iamoni 2015 D. Morandi Bonacossi – M. Iamoni, “Landscape and Settlement in the Eastern Upper Iraqi Tigris and Navkur Plains: The Land of Niveveh Archaeological Project, Seasons 2012-2013”. Iraq 77 (2015) 9-39.
• Munchaev 1993 R. M. Munchaev, “Some Problems in the Archaeology of Mesopotamia in Light of Recent Research by the Soviet Expedition to Iraq”. Eds. N. Yoffee - J. J. Clark, Early Stages in the Evolution of Mesopotamian Civilization: Soviet Excavations in Northern Iraq. Tucson (1993) 249-255.
• Mühl - Nieuwenhuyse 2016 S. Mühl - O. P. Nieuwenhuyse, “Halaf and Ubaid period settlement: a view from the Central Zagros Piedmont”. Ed. M. Iamoni, Trajectories of Complexity: Socio-economic Dynamics in Upper Mesopotamia in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Periods. Wiesbaden (2016) 27-56.
• Nesbitt 2002 M. Nesbitt, “When and where did domesticated cereals first occur in southwest Asia?”. Eds. R. T. J. Cappers – S. Bottema, The Dawn of Farming in the Near East. Berlin (2002) 113-132.
• Niemi 2016 T. Niemi, Near Eastern Tokens: A Contextual Analysis of Near Eastern Tokens from the 7th to the 4th Millennium BC. Master thesis, Bergen University. Bergen / Norway 2016.
• Nieuwenhuyse 2007 O. P. Nieuwenhuyse, Plain and Painted Pottery: The Rise of Neolithic Ceramic Styles on the Syrian and Northern Mesopotamian Plains. Turnhout 2007.
• Nieuwenhuyse 2008 O. Nieuwenhuyse, “Feasting in the Steppe - Late Neolithic Ceramic Change and the Rise of the Halaf”. Eds. J. M. Córdoba - M. Molist - M. C. Pérez - I. Rubio - S. Martínez, Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Vol. III. Madrid (2008) 691-708.
• Nieuwenhuyse 2009 O. Nieuwenhuyse, “The ‘painted pottery revolution’: emulation, ceramic innovation and the Early Halaf in northern Syria”. Eds. L. Astruc - A. Gaulon - L. Salanova, Méthodes d’approche des premières productions céramiques: Étude de Cas dans les Balkans et au Levant. Rahden (2009) 81-91.
• Nieuwenhuyse 2017 O. P. Nieuwenhuyse, “Globalizing the Halaf”. Ed. T. Hodos, The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Globalization. Oxon (2017) 839-855.
• Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2001 O. Nieuwenhuyse - L. Jacobs - B. Van As - T. Broekmans - A. M. Adriaens, “Making Samarra Fine Ware - Technological Observations on Ceramics from Tell Baghouz (Syria)” Paléorient 27/1 (2001) 147-165.
• Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2016a O. P. Nieuwenhuyse, T. Odaka - A. Kaneda - S. Mühl - K. Rasheed - M. Altaweel, “Revisiting Tell Begum: A prehistoric site in the Shahrizor Plain, Iraqi Kurdistan”. Iraq 78 (2016a) 103-135.
• Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2016b O. P. Nieuwenhuyse, T. Odaka – S. Mühl, “Halaf Settlement in the Iraqi Kurdistan: the Shahrizor Survey Project”. Eds. K. Kopanias – J. MacGinnis. The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Adjacent Regions. Oxford (2016b) 257-266.
• Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2016c O. Nieuwenhuyse - P. Akkermans - J. van der Plicht - A. Russell - A. Kaneda, “The 8.2 Event in Upper Mesopotamia”. Eds. Peter F. Biehl - O. P. Nieuwenhuyse, Climate and Cultural Change in Prehistoric Europe and the Near East. Albany (2016) 67-93.
• Nishiaki 1990 Y. Nishiaki, “Corner-Thinned Blades: A New Obsidian Tool Type from a Pottery Neolithic Mound in the Khabur Basin, Syria”. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 280 (1990) 5-14.
• Nishiaki 1993 Y. Nishiaki, “Anatolian Obsidian and the Neolithic Obsidian Industries of North Syria: A Preliminary Review”. Eds. H. I. H. Prince Takahito Mikasa, Essays on Anatolian Archaeology. Wiesbaden (1993) 140-160.
• Nishiaki 2011 Y. Nishiaki, “Preliminary notes on the Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic lithics from Tell Seker al-Aheimar, the upper Khabur: the 2000-2001 seasons”. Eds. E. Healey - S. Campbell - O. Maeda, The State of the Stone: Terminologies, Continuities and Contexts in Near Eastern Lithics. Berlin (2011) 457-464.
• Odaka 2013 T. Odaka, “Neolithic pottery in the northern Levant and its relations to the east”. Eds. Y. Nishiaki - K. Kashima - M. Verhoeven, Neolithic Archaeology in the Khabur Valley, Upper Mesopotamia and Beyond. Berlin (2013) 205-217.
• Oram - De Haan 1995 P. A. Oram - C. De Haan, Technologies for Rainfed Agriculture in Mediterranean Climates. Washington, D.C. 1995.
• Özbal 2010 R. Özbal, “A Comparative Look at Halaf and Ubaid Social Complexity and the Tell Kurdu Case”. Tüba-Ar 13 (2010) 39-59.
• Özbal 2011 R. Özbal, “The Chalcolithic of Southeast Anatolia”. Eds. S. R. Steadman - G. McMahon, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia (10000 – 323 BCE). New York (2011) 174-204.
• Özbal et al. 2011 H. Özbal - A. Türkekul Bıyık - L. Thissen - T. Doğan - F. Gerritsen - R. Özbal, “Sütçülerin Öncüleri: Barcın Höyük Keramiklerinde Süt Kalıntıları”. 26. Arkeometri Sonuçları Toplantısı. Ankara (2011) 307-317.
• Özbaşaran 2011 M. Özbaşaran, “The Neolithic on the Plateau”, Eds. S. R. Steadman - G. McMahon, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia (10000 - 323 BCE). New York (2011) 99-124.
• Palumbi 2011 G. Palumbi, “The Chalcolithic of Eastern Anatolia”, Eds. S. R. Steadman – G. McMahon. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia (10000 – 323 BCE). New York (2011) 205-226.
• Parlıtı 2011 U. Parlıtı, Mezopotamya’da Halaf Seramikleri ve Önasya’da Yayılım Alanlarının İncelenmesi. Yayımlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Çukurova Üniversitesi. Adana 2011.
• Peters et al. 2005 J. Peters - A. Von den Driesch - D. Helmer, “The upper Euphrates-Tigris basin: cradle of agro-pastoralism?”. Eds. J.-D. Vigne et al., The First Steps of Animal Domestication: New archaeozoological approaches. Oxford (2005) 96-124.
• Petrova 2012 N. Yu. Petrova, “A technological study of Hassuna culture ceramics (Yarim Tepe I settlement)”. Documenta Praehistorica 39 (2012) 75-82.
• Price - Arbuckle 2013 M. D. Price - B. S. Arbuckle, “Early Pig Management in the Zagros Flanks: Reanalysis of the Fauna from Neolithic Jarmo, Northern Iraq”. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 25/4 (2013) 441-453.
• Potts 1999 D. T. Potts, The Archaeology of Elam: Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Cambridge 1999.
• Salisbury – Bácsmegi 2013 R. B. Salisbury - G. Bácsmegi, “Resilience in the Neolithic: How People May Have Mitigated Environmental Change in Prehistory”. Anthropologie LI/2 (2013) 143-155.
• Sarıaltun 2011 S. Sarıaltun, “A Halaf settlement at Kerküşti Höyük”. Eds. O. P. Nieuwenhuyse - R. Bernbeck - P. M. M. G. Akkermans - J. Rogasch, Interpreting the Late Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia. Turnhout (2011) 503-512.
• Sarıaltun - Erim-Özdoğan 2011 S. Sarıaltun - A. Erim-Özdoğan, “Studies on the Halaf Pottery of the Kerküşti Höyük”. Anatolia Antiqua 19 (2011) 39-52.
• Schechter et al. 2013 H. C. Schechter - O. Marder - R. Barkai - N. Getzov - A. Gopher, “The obsidian assemblage from Neolithic Hagoshrim, Israel: pressure technology and cultural influence”. Eds. F. Borrell - J. J. Ibáñez - M. Molist. Stone Tools in Transition: From Hunter-Gatherers to Farming Societies in the Near East. Bellaterra (2013) 509-527.
• Schmandt-Besserat 2006 D. Schmandt-Besserat, “The Interface between writing and art: the seals of Tepe Gawra”. Syria 83 (2006) 183-194.
• Shennan 1989 S. J. Shennan, “Introduction: Archaeological Approaches to Cultural Identity”. Ed. S. Shennan, Archaeological Approaches to Cultural Identity. London (1989) 1-32.
• Simmons 2010 A. H. Simmons, The Neolithic Revolution in the Near East: Transforming the Human Landscape (with a foreword by Ofer Bar-Yosef). Tucson 2010.
• Stein 2010 G. J. Stein, “Local Identities and Interaction Spheres: Modeling Regional Variation in the Ubaid Horizon”. Eds. R. A. Carter – G. Philip, Beyond the Ubaid: Transformation and Integration in the Late Prehistoric Societies of the Middle East. Chicago (2010) 23-44.
• Stein - Özbal 2007 G. J. Stein - R. Özbal, “A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of ‘Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia”. Eds. E. C. Stone, Settlement and Society: Essays Dedicated to Robert McCormick Adams. Los Angeles (2007) 329-342.
• Stern 2018 C. R. Stern, “Obsidian sources and distribution in Patagonia, southernmost South America”. Quaternary International 468 (2018) 190-205.
• Spataro - Fletcher 2010 M. Spataro - A. Fletcher, “Centralization or Regional Identity in the Halaf Period? Examining Interactions within Fine Painted Ware Production”. Paléorient XXXVI/2 (2010) 91-116.
• Tatlıcan - Çeğin 2007 Ü. Tatlıcan - G. Çeğin G., “Bourdieu ve Giddens: Habitus veya Yapının İkiliği”. Eds. G. Çeğin - E. Göker - A. Arlı - Ü. Tatlıcan, Ocak ve Zanaat: Pierre Bourdieu Derlemesi. İstanbul (2007) 303-366.
• Tekin 2015 H. Tekin, “Yukarı Mezopotamya Geç Neolitiğinde (Hassuna, Samarra, Halaf) Terminoloji ve Kronoloji Sorunları”. Anadolu Prehistorya Araştırmaları Dergisi 1 (2015) 89-112.
• Tekin 2017 H. Tekin, Tarihöncesinde Mezopotamya: Yeni Yaklaşımlar, Yeni Yorumlar ve Yeni Kronoloji. Ankara 2017.
• Tsuneki 2017 A. Tsuneki, “Introduction: The Aim of Study of Ancient West Asian Civilization”. Eds. A. Tsuneki – S. Yamada – K. Hisada, Ancient West Asian Civilization: Geoenvironment and Society in the Pre-Islamic Middle East. Singapore (2017) 1-11.
• Van Zeist - Bakker-Heeres 1984 W. Van Zeist - J. A. H. Bakker-Heeres, “Archaeobotanical Studies in the Levant - 2: Neolithic and Halaf levels at Ras Shamra”. Palaeohistoria 26 (1984) 151-170.
• Yalçın 2017 Ü. Yalçın, “The Beginnings of Metal Use in West Asia”. Eds. A. Tsuneki - S. Yamada - K. Hisada, Ancient West Asian Civilization: Geoenvironment and Society in the Pre-Islamic Misddle East. Singapore 2017.
• Vila 2006 E. Vila, “Données archéo-zoologique de la période Halaf à l’ ge du Fer”. Eds. B. Lion - C. Michel, De la domestication au tabou: Le cas des suidés au Proche-Orient ancien. Paris (2006) 137-153.
• Watson - LeBlanc 1990 P. J. Watson - S. A. LeBlanc, Girikihaciyan: A Halafian Site in Southeastern Turkey. Los Angeles 1990.
• Weiss 1991 H. Weiss, “Archaeology in Syria”. American Journal of Archaeology XCV/4 (1991) 683-740.
• Weiss et al. 2006 E. Weiss - M. E. Kislev - A. Hartmann, “Autonomous Cultivation before Domestication”. Science 312 (2006) 1608-1610.
• Wilkinson et al. 2014 T. J. Wilkinson - G. Philip - J. Bradbury - R. Dunford - D. Donoghue - N. Galiatsatos - D. Lawrence - A. Ricci - S. L. Smith, “Contextualizing Early Urbanization: Settlement Cores, Early States and Agro-pastoral Strategies in the Fertile Crescent During the Fourth and Third Millennia BC”. Journal of World Prehistory 27/1 (2014) 43-109.
• Zeder 1994 M. A. Zeder, “After the Revolution: Post-Neolithic Subsistence in Northern Mesopotamia”. American Anthropologist 96/1 (1994) 97-126.