LATE HALAF POTTERY PPRODUCTIONS IN : EVIDENCES FROM HA LULA ( VALLEY)

Anna Gómez Bach SS.A.P.P.O, A P P O Seminari d’Arqueologiad Arqueologia Pr rehistòrica del Proper Orient*Orient Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Spain)

ABSTRACT: ThThe potterytt productiondti ffrom TllTell HllHalula ththat t blbelongs tto ththe HlfHalaf periodidshowsh ththe economici andd socialilcomplexitylitoff thhihis communityit iin ththe middleiddl EhtEuphrates valleyll . ThThrough h ththe studytd off ththe ceramicsi ffrom ththe excavationsti btbetween 1996 andd 2007, we combines traditional morpho-stylistic analysis with technological ones and we present the current state of the stuudy of the in its final stagestage, known as Late Halaf. With this study of pottery assemblages from the site we primarily aims at reconstructing the systems of production and the organisation of society about pottery sources. This work will be considerate a global approach has enabled us to identify severall pottery traditionsdi i .

TELL HALULA

Tell Halula is located in the rightg bank of the middle Euphratesp river valley,y in the regiong of Djerabusj in northern Syriay . The The potterypyassemblagesg ascribed to late Halaf periodp comes from several archaeologicalg contexts. Principallypyashes levels, site is placed between two small wadis of seasonal nature, which are being consolidated into a single one which flows into the external areas, domestic areas and an important group of pits situated of the top of the main tell. Thisrin Dam. The site with 360 m by 300 m and 11 m height corresponds to two elevations with antrhopic deposits, The sample presented in this paper consists of 5,383 pieces of ceramics, 1,245 mni and 1,318 mni weighted by 1 with an excavatedd bby theh UniversitatiiAutònoma off Barcelonal andd ldled bby MiquelilMolistli sincei 1989 untilil nowadaysd . unequalq dispersionp in the site as secondaryy material (pits,(p , holes,, etc.) and external soils related to openp areas worked in 1996, The archaeological sequence belongs to Pre-Ceramic B, with continuous stages to Ceramic Neolithic levels (Pre- 1999, 2000 and 2006. Halaf and Halaf) with a timeline covering from 7,900 to 5,300 BC Cal. The levels for the late Halaf (HLVII) come from For study this pottery assemblages we combines the morpho-stylistic analysis with technological and physico-chemical sectors 30, 32, 36, 38 and 39 and dating from 5550-5300 BC Cal., in terms of the local relative chronology for the site analysis (in course) that let as to enable to identified pottery traditions but also several techniques of fashioning and finishing (C(Cruells, ll 2005). who belongsg a several potter’sp abilities.

LOCATIONOC O POTTERYO ASPECTSSCS

As mostly Neolithic communitiescommunities, the Halaf culture and their terminology come from our making. In spite of this the main archaeologicalg evidences as their potterypyproductionsp let us a small wayy to approachpp to economic and social practicesp from these societies. In this case, the Tell Halula potterypyassemblageg was classified accordingg to surface features that are diagnosticg of techniques and methods of manufactures. Each technological group a morphological and stylistic typology was established, and with this we try to make an approach to their fabric.

The morphological observation is made for each type of wareware, the rim is the first morphological feature used to sort sherds. This first grouping separates close vessels from open ones. And in some cases we can calcule the maximum diameter and the volumevolume, it it’sit s possible. Variability in the lip, rim slope and neck height are used to identify different morphological types and let us to approachpp the typologicalyp g corpusp .

This work shows us that open forms are represented in 71%; 24% responded to closed shapes and a 5% have a straight sided walls. The most represented diagnostically sherd are the lips, dominating the pieces with diameters of 150-200 mm and bases of 100-150 mm didiameter t withith thithicknesses k off 5-10 mm. ThThe mostt dtddocumented shapesh blbelongs a smallll containers,ti blbowls, a 22% blbowl IVIVa concave wallwall, a 18% Ia and IIbIIb, and closed formsforms, especially the VIIa. We also have identified two types of dishes the VIb (38%) and VI (13%).

The presencep of largeg or medium size containers is composedp byy potsp and jarsj . Predominates in the form of potsp VIIIc,, despitep that the remaining groups are also represented. Stresses how IXd, being the pitcher most documented, with 50% of the sample, followed by IXe or rim bow jar and IXb.

In general,l thereh iis a predominancedi off slightlyli h l ilincomplete oxidising,idi i andd stronglyl illincompletely oxidising,idi i withiha mineralililiinclusions ffor fifine wares andd iltlincompletely reducedddffor coarse ware withith a mineralilandd vegetaltl(7%) iliinclusions. MtMost off ththe piecesi hhave ththeir i surfaces finished with a slip (65%)), followed by smoothingsmoothing, brushed and burnish treatments.

FOLLOWING THE CURRENT TYPOLOGY THE “CHAINE OPERATOIRE”

In the set of operations which transforms a raw material into a finished product we found four main stages: manufacture and pastee preparation,pp ,fashioning,g, finishingg (including(gdecorating)g) and firingg. This processp reveals cultural traditions which are entities consisting of production unities belonging to one tradition and which can be later identified by analyses of clay provenance (that inn Tell Halula are in process).

FhiiFashioning:

Colombines, rotative kinetic energy (RKE), mold.

FiFinishing: i hi PolishedPolished, smoothedsmoothed, cloth and water applicationapplication, burnished.

Decorating: Slipspp and paint. Monocrom and bicroms (y(mainly oxide Fe, hematite g (Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3 O4), Charcoal et calcite), kind of paintbrush.

WHAT ABOUT FUNCTION? LOOKING FOR PATTERN DESIGNS Volum: 2,50 Kg Volum: 0,88 Kg 2,50 Kg water 0,88 Kg water

% 50 45 2,30 Kg oil 0,81 Kg oil FtilitiFunctional criteria otifs otifs 40 2,40 Kg wine 0,85 Kg wine 35 gn m 30 1,85 Kg 0,65 Kg wheat desig 225 1,56 Kg barleybl 0,55 Kg barleybl 20 of all d 15 Volum: 0,53 Kg Volum: 1,56 Kg - PhPhysical i l Properties P ti of f age o age 10 0,53 Kg water 1,56 Kg water temper and finishes 5 centa - Traces of uses 0 0,49 Kg oil 1,44 Kg oil Perc III II V V VI

p I - Morphometric characters VII VII VIII 010,51 Kg wine i 101,50 Kg wine i Group roup V roup V

GroupG - Archeologicalg context roup V Group Group G Group V Group G Group I Group G V Group G G G

Gr 039K0,39 Kg wheat h t 115K1,15 Kg wheat h t Main gpgroups 033Kgbarley0,33 Kg 097Kgbarley0,97 Kg barley Polychrome sherds The technical-morphological features of small container show us an TYPES SiServing andd consumption,i The pictorial decoration is present in 47% of productions which are monochrome. Predominantly we found black, red and browwn individual consumptionp make byy liquidsq or solid food. The medium/bigg líquid servingserving, transporttransport, colors. Moreover polychrome vessels (8%) combine black and red and exceptionally with white. The decorative motifs are on thhe pieces make them an ideal container for storage and transportation of liquid short/long storagestorage, heatingheating, ttop off ththe vessels,l outsidetid andd iidinside lilips, mainlyil simpleilandd complexl geometricti motifstif (89%)), flfloral l (4%) andd zoomorphichi motiftifffs, provisions (small-rimmed jars) or solid provisions (wide-rimmed jars). preparation-cookingcooking, giftsgifts, as well as representations of horizontal bucrania (7%). Dishes-cover or collared-rimmed jars have a depression inside necks which gravesg goods,g,other uses affordsff d hldiholding a closingli didevice. LLarge blbowls whichhi h predominatedi among (as( tools, lighting,ggetc.). open potspots, could have served to transfer provisions. CONSIDERATIONS

The Late Halaf potterypyfrom the Euphratesp regiong presentsp a greatg homogeneity,gyespeciallypycomparedp to the samplep Att the same time, in late Halaf we report an increase in complex shapes from the bow rim jar or jars neck arched up and shapes with a recovered in the westernmost deposits. fooot base. Also some middle Halaf shapes increase the number as the shallow open bowls and bowls of globular careening ticked, and The Euphrates can be considered as the result of a local development of these productions, with obvious contacts othhher ones, as theh so-calledll d cream blbowls, appears withihlless iiintensity andd bbecomes carinatedidshapesh thath showsh us a clearl continuityii. ThiThis withihtheh surroundingdi communitiesii (bidi(obsidian trade,d exogenous ceramicsi as redd ware, etc.). newws shapesh are nott relatedltdtto news fhfashoning i hdhands, as we can experimenteditdiin our work,k andd it seems tto bbe an answer relatedltdtto didiet t In this context it is necessary to concentrate efforts to identify sites and types of ceramic production and therefore the praactices or storage necessities. authorsth off ththese specificifi productionsdti andd ididentifying tif i ththe piecesi as containersti or as productsdtffor ththemselves l . With thithis Also ththe profusionfi off painteditddtidecorative motifstif (i(in quantitytit andd quality),lit ) andd speciallyill ththe polychromelh examples,l seems tto referf tto ththe work try to make a global approach who lets us to identify several pottery traditions. We interprets them as the result connsolidation of social inequalitiesinequalities, initially documented in the formative Halaf. How these communities manage their resourcesresources, of different production and distributions systems involving production t local and regional levelslevels, thus testifying to connsolidating and socially assimilate the influence Obeid is another major outstanding issue. the complex relations that the local population may have maintained with contemporaneus groups.

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