Masaryk University Faculty of Arts
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Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of Archaeology and Museology MASTER’S DIPLOMA THESIS Brno 2017 Bc. Hana Koubková Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of Archaeology and Museology Center of Prehistoric Archaeology of the Near East Bc. Hana Koubková Analysis of Fine Ware Third Millennium BC Pottery from Khabur Basin Project in the area of Jebel Abd al-Aziz and Khabur Basin Regions: as a complementary Source of Information on Settlement Distribution Pattern Master´s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Mgr. Inna Mateiciucová, PhD Instructor: Zuzanna Wygnańska, PhD Brno 2017 DECLARATION I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently only the primary and secondary sources listed in bibliography below. I agree with storing this thesis in the library of the Center of Prehistoric Archaeology of the Near East at Masaryk University in Brno, and with making it accessible for study purpose. Brno 30th November 2017 . Signature ABSTRACT / ANNOTATION Title: Analysis of Fine Ware Third Millennium BC Pottery from Khabur Basin Project in the area of Jebel Abd al-Aziz and Khabur Basin Regions: as a complementary Source of Information on Settlement Distribution Pattern Author: Hana Koubková, BA Department / Institute: Department of Archaeology and Museology/Prehistoric Archaeology of the Near East Supervisor: Mgr. Inna Mateiciucová, Ph.D. Abstract: The hereby presented Master Thesis is focused on analyzing the fine ware pottery from a surface survey in the Khabur River Basin and Western Jezirah region in north-eastern Syria. Most of pottery studied in this thesis originated in the area surrounding Jebel Abd al-Aziz range. This material was collected by the Yale University research team as a part of the Khabur Basin Project in the 1980s and 1990s. The master thesis focuses on the pottery from the Early Bronze Age period (3000-2000 BC). More than 200 pottery fragments were analyzed and subsequently compared with the pottery which comes from well-known and well-published sites from Early Bronze Age in the area around Upper Khabur River. Key words: Fine Ware Pottery, Metallic Ware, Khabur River Basin, Jebel Abd al-Aziz Region, Early Bronze Age, Khabur Basin Project ABSTRAKT / ANOTACE Název: Analýza jemné keramiky ze třetího tisíciletí př. n. l. z Khabur Basin Project z oblasti pohoří Jebel Abd al-Aziz a povodí řeky Khabur: jako doplňující zdroj informací k distribuci osídlení Autor: Bc. Hana Koubková Ústav / Oddělení: Ústav archeologie a muzeologie/Oddělení Pravěké archeologie Předního Východu Vedoucí práce: Mgr. Inna Mateiciucová, Ph.D. Anotace: Zde předkládáná diplomová práce věnuje analýze jemné keramiky z povrchového sběru v oblasti povodí řeky Khabur a Západní Jaziry v severovýchodní Sýrii. Většina studovaného materiálu pochází z oblasti kolem pohoří Jebel Abd al-Aziz. Tento material byl shromážděn týmem z Yaleovy university jako část tzv. Khabur Basin Project v 80. a 90. letech 20. století. Diplomová práce se soustředí na keramiku z časné doby bronzové (3000-2000 BC). Více než 200 fragmentů nádob bylo analyzováno a následně porovnáno s keramikou pocházející z archeologicky významných lokalit z daného období z oblasti horního toku řeky Khábur. Klíčová slova: jemná keramika, keramika typu Metallic Ware, povodí řeky Khabur, oblast kolem Jebel Abd al-Aziz, časná doba bronzová ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I wish to express my greatest appreciation for the support, guidance, and mentorship of my primary supervisor, Mgr. Inna Mateiciucová, PhD. Heartfelt thanks go also to my second supervisor, Zuzanna Wygnańska, PhD.; particularly for her great help during the processing and sorting of pottery material. Her comments did much to significantly improve this thesis. Ideas, knowledge and data were also given to me by two important persons, Prof. Emeritus Frank Hole and Yukiko Tonoike, PhD. from Yale University who provided me with the pottery material during my study visits in 2014 and 2015 at Yale University. It is my pleasure to express my sincere gratitude to Stefan Smith PhD from Ghent University for his advice and many articles which have helped me a lot during the writing of my MA thesis. I would also like to express my appreciation for the support of and consultations with my university colleague and friend Bc. Anna Hanzelková, and also to all members of the study visit at Yale University: firstly to Dr. phil Maximilian Wilding, Beáta Baluchová, Veronika Struhárová, Mgr. Soňa Krollová, Mgr. Lenka Tkáčová, and Mgr. Denis Štefánisko. Finally, I would like to thank all my friends and my family and those who have supported me the most, Mum and Dad. I would like to dedicate this work to my grandma who gave me so much love, patience and support. If only, I could have spent more time with you when you needed me most. OBSAH 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 12 2 KHABUR BASIN PROJECT ....................................................................................................... 14 2.1 METHODS OF THE KHABUR BASIN PROJECT ............................................................... 15 3 METHODS FOR PROCESSING, SORTING AND ANALYZING THE POTTERY MATERIAL FROM KHABUR BASIN PROJECT ........................................................................ 17 4 CRITICISM OF THE SOURCES OF DATA .......................................................................... 24 4.1 CRITICISM OF THE POTTERY MATERIAL ....................................................................... 25 5 AREA OF INTEREST ................................................................................................................ 26 5.1 GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE OF THE STUDIED REGIONS ................................................. 26 5.1.1 WESTERN JEZIRAH – AREA AROUND JEBEL ABD AL-AZIZ ........................... 27 5.1.2 UPPER KHABUR REGION ......................................................................................... 28 5.1.3 MIDDLE KHABUR REGION ...................................................................................... 28 5.2 ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................................... 29 5.2.1 CLIMATE ..................................................................................................................... 31 5.2.2 GEOLOGY .................................................................................................................... 32 5.2.3 GEOMORPHOLOGY ................................................................................................... 33 5.2.4 HYDROLOGY .............................................................................................................. 35 5.2.5 FAUNA AND FLORA.................................................................................................. 37 5.3 HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL FRAME ............................................................................. 39 5.3.1 CHRONOLOGY AND PERIODIZATION .................................................................. 41 5.4 HISTORY OF SURFACE SURVEYS BEFORE KHABUR BASIN PROJECT ....................... 43 6 THIRD MILLENNIUM BC POTTERY WITHIN THE AREA OF INTEREST ................. 45 6.1 EJZ 0 POTTERY .................................................................................................................... 45 6.2 EJZ 1 POTTERY .................................................................................................................... 45 6.3 EJZ 2 POTTERY .................................................................................................................... 46 6.4 EJZ 3 POTTERY .................................................................................................................... 46 6.5 EJZ 4 POTTERY .................................................................................................................... 47 6.6 EJZ 5 POTTERY .................................................................................................................... 48 7 TYPES OF THIRD MILLENIUM BC FINE WARES WITHIN THE AREA OF INTEREST ........................................................................................................................................... 49 7.1 TECHNOLOGY OF FINE WARE IN GENERAL .................................................................. 49 7.2 DECORATED FINE WARE (NINEVITE 5) .......................................................................... 50 7.2.1 DISTRIBUTION ........................................................................................................... 51 7.2.2 TECHNOLOGY OF FINE WARE NINEVITE 5 ........................................................ 51 7.2.3 DECORATION ............................................................................................................. 51 7.2.4 VESSEL TYPES OF FINE WARE NINEVITE 5 ........................................................ 51 7.2.4.1 BOWLS AND CUPS .................................................................................................. 51 7.2.4.2 JARS .......................................................................................................................... 52 7.2.4.3 POTS ......................................................................................................................... 52 7.3 METALLIC WARE ................................................................................................................ 53 7.3.1 TECHNOLOGY OF METALLIC WARE