University of Groningen

Le mobilier en pierre de Bouqras. Utilisation de la pierre dans un site néolithique sur le Moyen Euphrate (Syrie) Roodenberg, Jacobus Johannes

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Publication date: 1986

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Citation for published version (APA): Roodenberg, J. J. (1986). Le mobilier en pierre de Bouqras. Utilisation de la pierre dans un site néolithique sur le Moyen Euphrate (Syrie). s.n.

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Download date: 12-11-2019 ENGLISH SUMMARY

This work givesthe resultsoÍ a studyon artiÍactsof diÍferentstone materials,recovered Írom the Vllth millenniumPre- B settlementTell Bouqrasduring the 1976-1 978 excavationseasons.

Bouqrasis situatedon a remnantoÍ a Late Pleistoceneterrace on the rightbank oÍ the SyrianEuphrates, close to the roadbetween the townsof Deirez-Zor and Meyadin. lts locationon the edgeoÍ two ecologicalzones, the steppeand the rivervalley, is reÍlected by plant and animal remainsÍrom the neolithicdeposits, which representspecies characterizingboth the arid, almosttreeless steppe environment and the well watered and woodedvalley at that period. ln 1965a soudingwas madeon thistell by H. de Contensonand W. van Liere,providing an outline for its cultural assemblage. A decade later, a team Írom the Biologisch-Archaeologisch lnstituut of the UniversityoÍ Groningenand the Instituut voor Pre- en Protohistorie oÍ the University oÍ Amsterdam started excavationsin the southernarea of lhe 2.75 ha largemound. Duringthe threeseasons of work some 25 buildingswere clearednear the surfaceand a row oÍ Íive 7.50 by 7.50 m trencheswere dug downto virginsoil on the highestpart oÍ the (Íig.2). Herea stratigraphyoÍ 10 buildingphases, together c.5 m thick,provided a chonological sequencefrom 6 400to 5 900 BC.

The majorityoÍ the stoneartiÍacts - especiallyoÍ Ílintand obsidian- werecollected in the above mentionedÍive "deep trenches",while materialÍrom 19 "shallowtrenches" exposingseveral of the four last buildingphases, was occasionalyadded to enlarge smalltool type samples Írom the deeptrenches. The studycomprises a sampleoÍ the chippedstone industry(Ílint and obsidian),ground stone choppingand splitting implements,stone vessels and smallgrinding and poudingtools. According to the artiÍactcategory and tool type, the analysistakes morphological,metrical features and (macro)tracesoÍ wear into account,leading in somecases to interpretationsof Íunction. Moreovera chronologicaland geographicalsurvey is given on projectilepoints, choppingand splittingtools and stonevessels in the NearEast.

Raw materialsof the chippedstone industryare Íine grainedtabular flint, probably carriedto the site over some distance,river-pebbles or coarserÍlint from the .nearby Euphratesriver-bed, and obsidianÍrom easternAnatolian sources. Groundstone implementsand stonevessels are madeof regionallimestone and oÍ variouskinds of exotichard rocks,most likely imported Írom the Taurusmountain range. For grinding and poundingtools Ílint river-pebbles were usual.

The analysisoÍ the Ílint and obsídiandebitage is basedon c. I 900 artifactscollected fromthree deep trenches,while the tool sample(c. 4 900) was collectedÍrom all five deeptrenches and occasionallyÍrom shallow trenches. Chipped implements make up

202 1B'/"of the industry,and when unworkedblades, bladelets and flakeswith edgewear are included,flint and obsidianartiÍacts used as tools reach 30"/"ol the industry. Obsidiannumbers 1O% and 25"/ointhe toolkit andthe debitagerespectively and 'l8o/oin the wholeindustry. According to the massof unworkedÍlakes (many with cortex), Ílint working- Írom core preparationto tool trimming- took placeon or nearthe site. ln additionto unworkedflakes (1 544),an equalnumber of bladelets(width equals or is lessthan 12 mm),oÍ which66'/" are of obsidian,were Íound. Unworkedblades are less numerous(790). The Íew coresare mainlyprismatic and to a lesserextent irregular, naviformor conical;crests occur on prismaticand naviformcores. Percussionas well as presurewas usedÍor the removaloÍ bladesand bladelets from the cores.

Bouqras'tool kit comprisesprojectile points, scrapers, burins, drills/perforators, sickle blades,various retouched blades, bladelets and flakes;given percentages bear on the total numberoÍ tools recoveredin the deeptrenches. According to the breakagepattern on the tips,a groupof morphologicallysimilar implements were designated as projectile points(4.6%). Except for a few singleshouldered and leaf-shapedpoints, the projectile pointsare characterizedby a centralstem. The mainÍorm has pronouncedrounded or angularshoulders, ventral retouch on the tip anda stemtrimmed by a semi-abruptor flat invasiveretouch (Byblos points). A largetype with Ílat parallel retouch on the shoulders and a slim stem, a varietyof the Byblostype, has been calledthe Bouqraspoint. Furthermore,some Amuq 1 pointswere present;Amuq 2 pointswere only recordedin the shallowtrenches. On the principalthat the maximumweight Íor arrowheadsis 7 to I gr.,a divisionhas beenmade between arrowheads and spearheads.

Scrapers(9.7%) mainly consist oÍ the endoÍ bladetype; other types are double scrapers, Ílakescrapers, carinated, circular and burin-scrapers.Almost all havea convexworking edge. The amountof specimenswith transversefractures opposite to the scraperedge is high (60%);edge damageon some of the toolssuggests that they were used in a scraping,not in a planingmotion.

Burinsare numerousin the assemblage(22.8%), especially burins on Íracturesand dehidralburins. Burinson truncations,natural pans and lateralretouch also occur. Severalkinds oÍ perÍoratorsand drillingtools (1.7%) should be mentioned:shoulderéd types,some with double points, beaks, reamers, matchlike perforators (rare in the deep trenches,but numerouselsewhere) and drill-bits.Drilling and perforatinghave been observedÍrequently on all kindsof objectsfrom the site. ln comparisonto manyneolithic settlements, sickle elements are (are in Bouqras(1.9%). Thereare two shapes:parallel sided blades and bladesor Ílakes.with divergent sides, suggestingdifÍerent ways of haftingon the site. Parallelsided specimens are reportedto havebeen mounted in linewith the sickleshaft, whereas the specimenswith divergent sideswere obliquelymounted. Worked as wellas unworkededges were Íound, but no serratededges.

Of the variousretouched blades (37.9%) and bladelets(8.8%) it shouldbe said that chippingoÍ the edgesoften occurs; truncation however is seldommet. Specialmention mustbe madeof bladeswith natural pointed ends and a marginallyretouched base

203 I ï

I a whichshows on itsventral side the removalby burinblow oÍ oneoÍ the edges.Several doublebacked obsidian blades (strangulated blades), reported on settlementsnorth and north-eastoÍ Bouqras,were also collected. Flakes (10.7%) bear occasional retouch on theedges.

Choppingand splitting tools, which number c. 100specimens including Íragments, were manuÍacturedÍrom diÍferent kinds oÍ stoneby pecking,grinding, sawing and polishing. Mostof theseartifacts were recoveredin a burnthouse which yielded an extensive inventoryoÍ objectcategories comprising , stone ware, grinding and pounding tools, Ílint and obsidianimplements, matting, basketry and differentkinds of anthropomorphicand animalÍigurines. On the basisoÍ the kindsof weartraces on cuttingedges, traces left by hafting,percussion marks on buttseÍc. , Íunctionalgroups havebeen distinguished. There are axes and azdes, r.e. haftedimplements used with directpercussion, and chisels, which are used with indirect percussion. With the helpoÍ wearpatterns, another distinction could be madebetween (Íalling)axes and adzes:the cuttingedge oÍ theÍirst shows diagonal striations, the cutting edge oÍ the latter,striations paralleltothe lengthaxis. Longslender blades with percussion marks on thebutt and a striationpattern parallel to the tool'saxis, hàve been deÍined as chisels.A varietyof thesetools, smaller in size,without percussion damage on the butt andmade of sotter stone,have been called paring chisels.

The prehistoricvillage yielded an importantnumber oÍ completestone vessels (c. 50) andvessel Íragments (c. 1 750). Thecomplete ones were found for the mostpart in the debrisoÍ the so-calledburnt house, while Írom all levelsof thedeep trenches fragments wererecovered (c. 270in total). Like the chopping and splitting tools, regional limestone togetherwith imported hard stone were used Íor their manuÍacture, although the latterin a smalleramount. Shapes are openbowls with Ílattened bases, carinated vessels of differentsizes on ÍourÍeet or witha Ílat base. OutstandingÍor the Bouqrasstone ware is the highcraftmanship of the manuÍacture;in particular, the numerousminiature carinated vessels,among which some were made oÍ hardrock, required a skilÍulartisan and most probablythe useof a lathe.

The lastcategory oÍ stoneobjects in thisstudy is a cottectionof tools,traditionally called percussionand grinding tools, or evensling stones. The deep trenches yielded about 460 suchobjects, usually made of flintpebbles or to a lesserextent of softerstones. DiÍferentin diameterand weight, the sharea moreor lessglobular shape, often Ílattened or facetedby use. The surfacesshow battering marks and tracesoÍ grindingand polishing.

As a rule,the analysedobject categories were Íoundin secondaryposition in the stratiÍiedbuilding levels of the deeptrenches as wellas in the Íill oÍ the architecture exposedin the shallowtrenches. The earliermentioned burnt house however representeda rareexception to this. Herea richcollection of diÍÍerentartifact categories can undoubtedlybe associatedwith the dwelling,although its collapsedisturbed the interiorarrangement ànd madeinterpretation oÍ the activityareas speculative. Apart Íroma few objectswhich apparently were on the Íloorswhen the Íire brokeout, the majorityof thematerial was Íound mixed with the debris, suggesting that they had Íallen

204 Ï i1 , i' írl t' Íroman upperstructure, a roofor maybe partlyfrom shelves along the walls. The t: proportionsoÍ thecategories treated here are given in Íigures86 and87.

Whenconsidering the evolutionwithin those categories through the occupation period oÍ the settlement,the picturegives an impressionof a certainstability. There are some changesin the Ílintindustry, Íor examplethe increaseoÍ localcoarse Ílint exploitation and,in addition,a gradualsize reduction in unworkedblades and Ílakes. In the toolkit and debitage,there are Íluctuationsof type percentagesduring the 500 year long habitation(fig. aA and B). On the otherhand, when leaving aside type samples which are unrepresentativelysmall, one does not observetypological changes in the compositionof the tool range. Stablealso is the importflow oÍ exoticraw materials duringthe occupation.

Whileforming part of the LevantinePPNB cultural complex of thesecond half oÍ theVllth millennium,Bouqras at the sametime represents a regionalmanifestation, that region broadlycoinciding with the drainagebasin of the Middle(r.e. Syrian) . To its regionaltraits belong miniaturised vessels oÍ hardand soft stone, found in the upper levels,ground stone chopping and splittingtools, bipolar crested cores and various stemmedpoints throughout the occupationdeposit. Special ties withthe northand north-eastare noticeableby the occurranceat Bouqrasof strangulatedblades and side-blowblade{lakes, typical artiÍacts related to obsidianrich industries in the mountain range. In particularwith regard to stoneware from the'burnt house, close parallels are foundin the Sinjar,in a Pre-and Proto-Hassuna context (Umm Dabaghiya, Kiiltepe, Tell Sotto),which is slightlyyounger than this collection, and also in the severalcenturies latercentral Mesopotamian site Tell es-Sawwan.When Bouqras is abondonedat the disappearanceof the PPNBin the ÍirsthalÍ of the Vlthmillennium, some aspects of its materialculture, Íor examplepottery, architecture and stone ware manufacture, seem to continuein abovementioned areas.

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