Aspects of Complexity at Arslantepe
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Aspects of Complexity at Arslantepe Paolo Guarino Institute of Archaeology University College London March 2014 Thesis submitted to University College London for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1 Disclaimer I, Paolo Guarino, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. All translations of quoted material from foreign language sources are my own. 2 Abstract This doctoral research examines the multi-period site of Arslantepe (Malatya – South- eastern Turkey). It identifies archaeological evidence for social complexity within the site’s Late Chalcolithic (period VII in Arslantepe chronology) community and seeks to define the character and nature of this complexity. Craft specialisation and differential consumption is assessed through an analysis of the production and distribution of artefacts with a comparative analysis of the functional characteristics of monumental architecture and other buildings. A specific focus is placed on an analysis of the Arslantepe VII ceramic assemblage to investigate what this can tell us about the organisation of its production. The overarching aim is to assess the degree of economic centralisation and redistribution activities within Arslantepe’s developing socio-political organization. The evidence from Arslantepe is then reconsidered within the larger picture of 4th millennium Greater Mesopotamia, and wider debates on the formation of social complexity. A comparison of Arslantepe VII with contemporaneous sites in the region facilitates a revaluation of the interpretative models used to explain the emergence and development of complex forms of socio-political organization during the 4th millennium BC in Greater Mesopotamia. 3 Table of Contents List of Illustrations 8 List of Tables 12 Acknowledgements 13 1. Aspects of complexity at Arslantepe 14 1.1 Research statement 14 1.2 Research aims and objectives 15 1.3 Arslantepe VII as a case study for the emergence of complexity 16 1.4 Research context: emergence of social complexity in 4th millennium BC Mesopotamia 19 1.5 Original contribution: a fresh look at social dynamics 21 1.6 Thesis outline 23 2. Arslantepe: a background 26 2.1 Introduction 26 2.2 Arslantepe and Greater Mesopotamia: an overview 26 2.3 Anatolian geology 28 2.4 Malatya Plain, environment and resources 28 2.4.1 Water Supplies 30 2.4.2 The animal exploitation and the environment 31 2.5 Arslantepe VII: the site and the history of the research 33 2.5.1 The archaeological sequence 34 2.5.2 The chronology of Period VII 36 2.5.3 History of archaeological intervention at Arslantepe 38 2.6 Periods VIII, VII and VI A: basis for a diachronic comparison 41 2.6.1 Period VIII 42 2.6.2 Period VIA 43 2.6.3 Period VII – a case study for the analysis of social complexity 45 3. Theoretical Framework: approaches and themes for the interpretation of early complex societies 48 3.1 Introduction 48 3.2 The difficulties of defining early complex societies: a debate stretching from evolutionism to agency 48 3.2.1 Arslantepe VII in between types 56 3.3 Social and Political complexity in 4th millennium BC Mesopotamia 58 3.3.1 Late Chalcolithic Mesopotamia: Uruk expansion or local origins – the academic debate 59 3.3.2 The “southern perspective”: theories in support of Uruk’s predominance 62 3.3.3 The “northern perspective”: arguing for local origins of complexity 65 4 3.3.4 Unresolved questions concerning the relationships between North and South of Mesopotamia 67 3.3.5 General traits observed in Chalcolithic pottery in Mesopotamia 69 3.4 Reading social practices and dynamics inside “complexity”: further approaches for investigating social dynamics 73 3.4.1 Earle’s chiefs and the organisational dynamics of complex political entities 73 3.4.2 Materialisation of ideologies and feasts 74 3.4.3 Ways of consumption: differential distribution of the remains from human activities 78 3.5 Craft specialisation, standardisation and organisation of production 79 4. Methodology 83 4.1 Introduction 83 4.1.1 Fieldwork 83 4.2 Aim 1: The dynamics of social and political organisation 83 4.2.1 Objective 1: Contexts analysis and elements of monumentality 84 4.2.2 Objective 2: Pottery characterisation, organisation of ceramic production, patterns of use and distribution 87 Characterisation of the assemblage 87 Organisation of ceramic production 90 Function and consumption of ceramic artefacts 93 4.3 Aim 2: The regional framework 95 4.3.1 Objective 1: Regional analysis 95 4.3.2 Objective 2: Interregional analysis 96 4.4 Aim 3: Formative processes of social complexity 97 4.4.1 Objective 1: Arslantepe in the wider debate on the emergence of social complexity 97 5. Analysis of the ceramic assemblage from Arslantepe VII 98 5.1 Introduction 98 5.2 Arslantepe VII ceramic assemblage: an overview 99 5.2.1 Earlier studies 99 5.2.2 The present work 100 5.3 Functional categories 101 5.4 Distinguishing production processes through the analysis of ware classes: the identification of two clear groups 115 5.4.1 Handmade ware 116 5.4.2 Wheel-thrown of wheel-finished wares 117 5.4.3 Matching ware classes to functional categories 121 5.5 Mass produced bowls: a key indicator of public social practices 124 5.5.1 Types, chronology or manufacture? 126 5.5.2 Distribution of the bowls and their function at Arslantepe VII 128 5.6 Potters’ marks: insight into potters’ workshops 131 5.6.1 The ethnographic evidence 131 5 5.6.2 Potters’ marks at Arslantepe VII 132 5.7 Morphological variability and craft specialisation 140 5.7.1 The standardisation hypothesis: the theoretical and methodological background 140 5.7.2 ‘Time’ and ‘work units’: uncontrollable variables 143 5.7.3 Morphological variability at Arslantepe VII 143 Serving/storage jars 145 Cooking pots 149 Mass-produced bowls 155 5.7.4 The difficulty in interpreting the results from morphological variability analysis: final remarks 158 5.8 Arslantepe VII ceramics in the context of Northern Mesopotamia: redefining networks to understand regional power structures 160 5.8.1 Arslantepe VII in its regional context 161 5.8.2 Survey projects along the Turkish Euphrates: further evidence for networks of contacts 165 5.9 Specialists at Arslantepe 175 6. Arslantepe VII. Daily practices, ‘special occasions’ and their locations 176 6.1 Introduction 176 6.2 The archaeological contexts of Arslantepe VII 177 6.2.1 Describing the contexts 177 6.2.2 Evidence of artefacts consumption: methods for sampling the contexts 178 6.3 The North-eastern sector: excavations from the 1960-70s 181 6.3.1 The contexts: a domestic quarter 181 6.3.2 Analysis of the portable artefacts: utilitarian assemblage 187 6.4 The Western Slope, phases 1 and 2: first signs of social differentiation 197 6.4.1 Phase 1: early monumentality, the ‘elite residences’ 197 Analysis of the portable artefacts: storage facilities 200 6.4.2 Phase 2: domestic structures 208 Analysis of the portable artefacts: utilitarian assemblage 211 6.5 The Western Slope, phase 3: the latest phase 215 6.5.1 Building XXIX: the ceremonial monumental structure 216 Internal stratigraphy and analysis of the portable artefacts: evidence for redistribution practices 219 6.5.2 The long rooms complex 224 Internal stratigraphy and analysis of the portable artefacts 227 6.5.3 Contexts north of Building XXIX: possible meal preparation area 236 6.5.4 Structure A564: the bean-shaped building 242 6.6 Domestic and non-domestic buildings at Arslantepe VII as evidence for a complex social organisation 246 7. Results and Discussion 250 7.1 Introduction 250 6 7.2 The organisation of pottery production: evidence combined 250 7.2.1 Manufacture, marks and bowls. The focus on the organisation of the pottery production 251 7.2.2 Analysis of morphological variability. How much can we gain calculating the past? 253 7.2.3 Mass-produced bowls. Powerful evidence of complex organisation 254 7.3 Archaeological contexts, domestic and non-domestic buildings. The evidence for monumentality 256 7.3.1 ‘Domestic’ buildings, an over simplified category 257 7.3.2 Monumental architecture 257 7.4 Feasts and monuments, a look at Arslantepe VII social dynamics through the processes of materialisation of ideologies 259 7.4.1 Feasts and their ‘archaeological signatures’ at Arslantepe VII 260 7.4.2 Arslantepe: evidence for feasts in building XXIX 261 7.4.3 Monumental buildings and mass produced bowls as social landmarks 265 7.5 Arslantepe complexity across time. A diachronic look at the evidence 266 7.5.1 Period VIII: more egalitarian or simply less known? 267 7.5.2 Period VII: complexity across 400 years 267 7.5.3 Period VII and VIA: continuity and change at the end of the 4th millennium BC 269 7.6 The power of social practice 271 7.7 Arslantepe VII and other key sites in northern Mesopotamia: differences and similarities 273 7.7.1 Tell Brak and Arslantepe, similar complexity at the two ends of the size range? 273 7.7.2 Hamukar, another regional centre in the Khabur basin 275 7.7.3 Tepe Gawra a small site with strong evidence of hierarchical social structure 277 7.8 The role of Arslantepe VII in the ‘making’ of Mesopotamia 278 7.8.1 Urban and Non urban communities, a matter of scale? 278 7.8.2 Arslantepe and its neighbours, was it a hierarchically organised network? 281 7.8.3 Arslantepe VII, Northern Mesopotamia and the theoretical debate 283 8. Conclusions 285 8.1 Introductions 285 8.2 Original contributions 285 8.3 Shortcomings and suggestions for future research 288 References 281 7 List of Illustrations Figure 1.1 – Greater Mesopotamia and Arslantepe (Adapted from Google Earth) 17 Figure 2.1 – Greater Mesopotamia and Arslantepe (Adapted from Google Earth) 26 Figure 2.2 – The plain of Malatya from the mound of Arslantepe.