DOCSLIB.ORG

BRENIQUET, Catharine. — La Disparition De La Culture De Halaf: Les Origines De La Culture D'obeid Dans Le Nord De La Mésopotamie

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
BRENIQUET, Catharine. — La Disparition De La Culture De Halaf: Les Origines De La Culture D'obeid Dans Le Nord De La Mésopotamie 505 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARCHEOLOGIE 506 ARCHEOLOGIE BRENIQUET, Catharine. — La disparition de la culture de Halaf: les origines de la culture d'Obeid dans le Nord de la Mésopotamie. Éd. Recherche sur les Civilisations, Paris, 1996. (29 cm, 216, ill., photogr.). ISBN 2-86538- 256-7. 190 FF. Catharine Breniquets book is the long-awaited publication of her thesis (submitted in 1990), parts of which have already been presented as various articles (e.g. Breniquet 1987a, 1987b, 1989, 1991a, 1991b, 1994). Although due to this delay the latest evidence from the field could not be incorporated, as the writer notes (p. 16), this does not in the least make the book less valuable. As is reflected in its title, 507 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LV N° 3/4, Mei-Augustus 1998 508 the purpose of the book is twofold: to offer an explanation the style of decoration; 2) the disappearance of the complex for the disappearance of the Halaf culture and, at the same vessel shapes which are characteristic of the Halaf period; time, to explain the rise of the Ubaid in northern 3) the appearance of ‘hybrid' pottery combining elements of Mesopotamia. The Halaf (ca. 5100-4700 B.C.) represents both traditions. the end of the Late Neolithic period in northern The evidence strongly suggests that a Halaf-Ubaid transi- Mesopotamia. The Ubaid, which starts in southern tional phase may indeed exist in northern Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia (Ubaid 1 and 2) spreads over Halaf territory ‘Transitional' levels have also been reported from Tell during the Ubaid 3 phase. Aqab, situated in the Khabur headwaters of northern Syria The book consists of four parts: 1) An outline of the (Davidson 1977). Nevertheless, I am not entirely convinced research questions, an assessment of the current state of that the strata excavated at Khirbet Derak must be seen as research and an evaluation of the existing hypotheses (chap- ‘transitional'. It seems still possible to argue that at Khirbet ter I, La problématique). Here Breniquet already introduces Derak one finds a mixed ceramic assemblage, containing her alternative hypothesis of acculturation, based on the both Late Halaf pottery together with early northern Ubaid work of André Leroi-Gourhan. 2) A discussion of the pottery and, possibly, with ‘hybrid' groups. At Khirbet ceramic evidence (chapter II, Les données céramiques). This Derak this pottery was excavated in the very eroded upper includes the presentation of the pottery of Khirbet Derak, levels of the site, which did not yield much architecture. The situated in northern Iraq. 3) A discussion of the evidence of stratigraphy of the site is ‘quasi inexistante' (p. 40), and the contact between the Halaf and the Ubaid, which made the pottery was badly eroded. The dating of these levels rests acculturation possible (chapters III, La culture de Halaf et solely on the pottery, and the danger of circular reasoning is les cultures contemporaines and IV, Évolution de la culture strong here. Thus, the cultural context of Breniquet’s hybrid de Halaf). Here the emphasis is on architecture, burial rites ‘third category' of pottery, in which Halafian and Ubaidian and glyptics. 4) Finally, these data are synthesised (chapter elements are combined (p. 46-47, see also Breniquet 1994), V). remains somewhat enigmatic. More research is needed, In the past, various explanations have been put forward to therefore, before we can say with certainty what the pottery explain the remarkably wide distribution of the Ubaid pot- from the Halaf-Ubaid-transitional phase looks like. tery style. Breniquet notes how deeply Max Mallowan’s Prior to the northern Ubaid ‘expansion', which is the sub- excavations at Tell Arpachiyah (Mallowan and Rose 1935) ject of the book, Halaf material culture finds a remarkably have influenced previous explanations (p. 28-29). Mal- wide distribution over northern Mesopotamia. Not unlike lowan's idea that the Ubaid arrived in northern Mallowan's view of an Ubaid ‘colonisation', the Halaf phe- Mesopotamia by means of conquest now appears anachro- nomenon has often been framed in terms of population nistic, not to say absurd. Breniquet dismisses the hypothesis movements. While Breniquet chooses acculturation to of wandering potters distributing Ubaid-style pottery over explain the Ubaid distribution, she suggests population dis- northern Mesopotamia (p. 29). The hypothesis that the persion to explain the Halaf distribution (p. 63-68). From Ubaid culture was spread by pastoral nomads does not acco- her perspective this is perfectly reasonable, because the idea modate the evidence that Ubaid society was largely seden- of an Halaf ‘expansion' is closely linked to the view of tary (p. 30-31). Halaf society as a ‘segmentary' society. Very similar views Alternatively, Breniquet argues for a process of accultur- have recently been expressed by other French writers ation. As she sees it, following Leroi-Gourhan, material cul- (Forest 1996, Huot 1994). ture patterning results from the combination of two major According to these authors, the strategy adopted by forces. The ‘milieu intérieur' represents the ‘personality' (p. Halafian communities to cope with population growth and 32) of the society in question. The ‘milieu extérieur' repre- increasing settlement size was to split up whenever prob- sents the ecological and cultural environment of that society, lems arose, and to found new, small villages in empty areas including other, contemporaneous groups. Changes in mate- (p. 67-68). Lacking strong integrating overarching political rial culture result from disequilibrium between the two structures, segments of society could always break apart, ‘milieu's'. Disequilibrium occurs, for example, when two and this resulted in a constant regional expansion. Instead of neighbouring groups differ in socio-economic complexity becoming more strongly integrated, as did the Ubaidian and are exposed to each other for a significant amount of groups, Halafian society kept to its ‘segmentary' character. time. As a result of such conditions, acculturation may A major assumption in the model offered by Breniquet and occur: the adoption of a completely different material cul- other French writers is that the Halaf culture is unstable and ture (p. 32-34). Thus, to explain material culture change is to underdeveloped (‘moins advancée', p. 21) when compared explain how two contemporaneous groups (in this case: to the Ubaid. The Halaf is seen as manifestly ‘plus fruste' Halaf and Ubaid) differ and how such differences cause (p. 77). According to this view, this system led to crisis social ‘disequilibrium' in the weaker group (read: in the when Halaf communities were no longer able to expand, Halaf culture). apparently because all the available ecological niches had As proof for a continuous development from (Late) Halaf been filled. It is at this moment that the Ubaid-solution is to Ubaid, Breniquet discusses the pottery from Tell Turlu, finally ‘imitated', resulting in the adoption of a different situated in southern Anatolia, and from Khirbet Derak in the life-style and a more complex social organization. In short, Eski-Mosul region. As Breniquet convincingly shows, at it leads to acculturation. these two sites Late Halaf pottery is excavated together with Leaving aside the theoretical difficulties of archaeological Ubaidian pottery (p. 40-46). She interprets this as evidence concepts such as ‘culture' and ‘acculturation' (Shennan that this pottery represents a ‘transitional' stage between 1989), there are empirical grounds for questioning the con- Halaf and Ubaid. Thus, the characteristics of the Halaf- cept of acculturation. Recent archaeological work (e.g. Ubaid Transitional stage are (p. 56): 1) the simplification of Akkermans 1993, Campbell 1992) has made it clear that the 509 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARCHEOLOGIE 510 areas into which the Halaf ‘expanded' were not in the least Halaf period. We should not forget, however, that until very empty. This research shows that Pre-Halaf to Early Halaf recently we simply knew much more about the architecture Transitional stages exist. Population movements or migra- from the Middle-Late Halaf period than from the Early tions may not be nescessary, indeed are becoming much less Halaf period. To attribute Halafian architectural evolution to likely, to explain the ‘rise' of the Halaf culture. Further, per- Ubaidian influences may be premature. Similarly, the appar- haps more importantly, during the Halaf period, important ent increase in size of Halafian round houses (the so-called changes in social organisation did take place. Contempora- tholoi) and the introduction of complex tholoi during the neous with the Ubaid 1-2, a settlement hierarchy did Middle Halaf period (p. 90) may largely reflect the current develop. Some good examples of large Halafian mounds state of research. At Early Halaf Tell Sabi Abyad, for exam- (over 15 hectares) include Tell Mounbatteh, in the Balikh ple, where complex tholoi-structures occur (Akkermans, ed., valley of northern Syria (Akkermans 1993), Tell Nisibin in 1996), there is no reason to attribute these features to Ubaid- the Khabur headwaters (Nieuwenhuyse in press), or Domuz ian influences. Tepe, on the edge of the Halaf distribution in southern Breniquet suggests that the practice of sealing increases Turkey (Stuart Campbell, pers comm.). considerably with the beginning of the Ubaid period. Fur- One is led to wonder why Halaf society lasted so long ther, changes in style and iconography reflect important (for over half a millennium), if it were so unstable. For modifications in the ‘psychology' of the Halaf communities instance, Breniquet mentions the absence of irrigation sys- (p. 109-110). This may be true, but it certainly also reflects tems as characteristic of the simplicity of Halaf society (p. the current state of research. This is indicated by the several 21). One good reason for the Halafians not to adopt irriga- hundreds of sealings preserved by chance in a burnt context tion may have been that they simply didn't need it, in what at Tell Sabi Abyad (Duistermaat 1996).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hassuna Samarra Halaf
    arch 1600. archaeologies of the near east joukowsky institute for archaeology and the ancient world spring 2008 Emerging social complexities in Mesopotamia: the Chalcolithic in the Near East. February 20, 2008 Neolithic in the Near East: early sites of socialization “neolithic revolution”: domestication of wheat, barley, sheep, goat: early settled communities (ca 10,000 to 6000 BC) Mudding the world: Clay, mud and the technologies of everyday life in the prehistoric Near East • Pottery: associated with settled life: storage, serving, prestige pots, decorated and undecorated. • Figurines: objects of everyday, magical and cultic use. Ubiquitous for prehistoric societies especially. In clay and in stone. • Mud-brick as architectural material: Leads to more structured architectural constructions, perhaps more rectilinear spaces. • Tokens, hallow clay balls, tablets and early writing technologies: related to development o trade, tools of urban administration, increasing social complexity. • Architectural models: whose function is not quite obvious to us. Maybe apotropaic, maybe for sale purposes? “All objects of pottery… figments of potter’s will, fictions of his memory and imagination.” J. L. Myres 1923, quoted in Wengrow 1998: 783. What is culture in “culture history” (1920s-1960s) ? Archaeological culture = a bounded and binding ethnic/cultural unit within a defined geography and temporal/spatial “horizons”, uniformly and unambigously represented in the material culture, manifested by artifactual assemblage. pots=people? • “Do cultures actually
    [Show full text]
  • Late Neolithic Agriculture in Temperate Europe—A Long-Term Experimental Approach
    land Article Late Neolithic Agriculture in Temperate Europe—A Long-Term Experimental Approach Manfred Rösch 1,*, Harald Biester 2, Arno Bogenrieder 3, Eileen Eckmeier 4, Otto Ehrmann 5, Renate Gerlach 6, Mathias Hall 7, Christoph Hartkopf-Fröder 8, Ludger Herrmann 9, Birgit Kury 5, Jutta Lechterbeck 10, Wolfram Schier 11 and Erhard Schulz 12 1 Landesamt für Denkmalpflege im Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart, Fischersteig 9, 78343 Gaienhofen-Hemmenhofen, Germany 2 TU Braunschweig, Abt. Umweltgeochemie, Institut für Geoökologie, Langer Kamp 19c, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany; [email protected] 3 Institut für Biologie/Geobotanik, Universität Freiburg, Schänzlestr. 1, 79104 Freiburg i. Br., Germany; [email protected] 4 Department für Geographie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Luisenstraße 37, 80333 Munich, Germany; [email protected] 5 Büro für Bodenmikromorphologie und Bodenbiologie, Münster 12, 97993 Creglingen, Germany; [email protected] (O.E.); [email protected] (B.K.) 6 Geographisches Institut Universität Köln, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, D-50923 Köln, Germany; [email protected] 7 Forstamt Hohenlohekreis, Stuttgarter Str. 21, 74653 Künzelsau, Germany; [email protected] 8 Geologischer Dienst Nordrhein-Westfalen, Postfach 100763, 47707 Krefeld, Germany; [email protected] 9 Institut für Bodenkunde und Standortslehre, Universität Hohenheim, Emil-Wolff-Str. 27, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany; [email protected] 10 Arkeologisk Museum i Stavanger, Peder Klows gate 30A, 4010 Stavanger, Norway; [email protected] 11 Institut für prähistorische Archäologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Fabeckstr. 23-25, 14195 Berlin, Germany; [email protected] 12 Institut für Geographie und Geologie, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +49-7735-93777-154 Academic Editors: Erle C.
    [Show full text]
  • Palaeoenvironment and Dating of the Early Acheulean
    Quaternary Science Reviews 149 (2016) 338e371 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary Science Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quascirev Palaeoenvironment and dating of the Early Acheulean localities from the Somme River basin (Northern France): New discoveries from the High Terrace at Abbeville-Carriere Carpentier * Pierre Antoine a, Marie-Hel ene Moncel b, , Nicole Limondin-Lozouet a, Jean-Luc Locht c, d, Jean-Jacques Bahain b, Davinia Moreno e, Pierre Voinchet b, Patrick Auguste f, Emmanuelle Stoetzel g, Julie Dabkowski a, Silvia M. Bello h, Simon A. Parfitt h, i, Olivier Tombret a, Bruce Hardy j a Laboratoire de Geographie Physique, Environnements Quaternaires et Actuels, UMR 8591 CNRS-Univ, Paris 1-UPEC, 1 Pl. A. Briand, 92 195 Meudon, France b UMR 7194 CNRS Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Prehistorique Departement de Prehistoire, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Universites, 1 Rue R. Panhard, 75 013 Paris, France c INRAP, Nord-Picardie, 518, Rue Saint-Fuscien, 80 000 Amiens, France d UMR CNRS UMR 8591 CNRS-Univ, Paris 1-UPEC, 1 Pl. A. Briand, 92 195 Meudon, Meudon, France e Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca, 3, 09001 Burgos, Spain f UMR 8198 Evo-Eco-Paleo, CNRS, Universite de Lille, Sciences et Technologies, Batiment^ SN 5, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France g Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Prehistorique (HNHP, UMR 7194), Sorbonne Universites, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Departement de Prehistoire, CNRS, Musee de l'Homme,
    [Show full text]
  • Ch. 4. NEOLITHIC PERIOD in JORDAN 25 4.1
    Borsa di studio finanziata da: Ministero degli Affari Esteri di Italia Thanks all …………. I will be glad to give my theses with all my love to my father and mother, all my brothers for their helps since I came to Italy until I got this degree. I am glad because I am one of Dr. Ursula Thun Hohenstein students. I would like to thanks her to her help and support during my research. I would like to thanks Dr.. Maysoon AlNahar and the Museum of the University of Jordan stuff for their help during my work in Jordan. I would like to thank all of Prof. Perreto Carlo and Prof. Benedetto Sala, Dr. Arzarello Marta and all my professors in the University of Ferrara for their support and help during my Phd Research. During my study in Italy I met a lot of friends and specially my colleges in the University of Ferrara. I would like to thanks all for their help and support during these years. Finally I would like to thanks the Minister of Fournier of Italy, Embassy of Italy in Jordan and the University of Ferrara institute for higher studies (IUSS) to fund my PhD research. CONTENTS Ch. 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Ch. 2. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH 3 Ch. 3. NEOLITHIC PERIOD IN NEAR EAST 5 3.1. Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) in Near east 5 3.2. Pre-pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) in Near east 10 3.2.A. Early PPNB 10 3.2.B. Middle PPNB 13 3.2.C. Late PPNB 15 3.3.
    [Show full text]
  • The Earliest Evidence of Acheulian Occupation in Northwest
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN The earliest evidence of Acheulian occupation in Northwest Europe and the rediscovery of the Moulin Received: 5 December 2017 Accepted: 19 August 2019 Quignon site, Somme valley, France Published: xx xx xxxx Pierre Antoine1, Marie-Hélène Moncel2, Pierre Voinchet2, Jean-Luc Locht1,3, Daniel Amselem2, David Hérisson 4, Arnaud Hurel2 & Jean-Jacques Bahain2 The dispersal of hominin groups with an Acheulian technology and associated bifacial tools into northern latitudes is central to the debate over the timing of the oldest human occupation of Europe. New evidence resulting from the rediscovery and the dating of the historic site of Moulin Quignon demonstrates that the frst Acheulian occupation north of 50°N occurred around 670–650 ka ago. The new archaeological assemblage was discovered in a sequence of fuvial sands and gravels overlying the chalk bedrock at a relative height of 40 m above the present-day maximal incision of the Somme River and dated by ESR on quartz to early MIS 16. More than 260 fint artefacts were recovered, including large fakes, cores and fve bifaces. This discovery pushes back the age of the oldest Acheulian occupation of north-western Europe by more than 100 ka and bridges the gap between the archaeological records of northern France and England. It also challenges hominin dispersal models in Europe showing that hominins using bifacial technology, such as Homo heidelbergensis, were probably able to overcome cold climate conditions as early as 670–650 ka ago and reasserts the importance of the Somme valley, where Prehistory was born at the end of the 19th century.
    [Show full text]
  • Dictionary of Artifacts
    DICTIONARY OF ARTIFACTS Barbara Ann Kipfer DICTIONARY OF ARTIFACTS DICTIONARY OF ARTIFACTS Barbara Ann Kipfer © Barbara Ann Kipfer 2007 BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Barbara Ann Kipfer to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2007 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1 2007 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kipfer, Barbara Ann. Dictionary of artifacts / Barbara Ann Kipfer. p. cm. ISBN-13: 978-1-4051-1887-3 (hardback : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-4051-1887-3 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Antiquities— Dictionaries. 2. Archaeology—Dictionaries. I. Title. CC70.K55 2007 930.103—dc22 2006034639 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Set in 10/13pt Sabon by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall The publisher’s policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board used have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards.
    [Show full text]
  • Neolithic Period Is Accepted to Be One of the Most Important
    SOCIAL CONTEXT OF SMALL FIND DISTRIBUTION AT DOMUZTEPE; RITUAL DISPLAY AND SOCIETY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY DENİZ ERDEM IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SETTLEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY SEPTEMBER 2013 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doç. Dr. D. Burcu Erciyas Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Assist. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Atakuman Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Numan Tuna (METU,SA) Prof. Dr. Asuman Türkmenoğlu (METU, ARME) Prof. Dr. Yılmaz S. Erdal (H.Ü. ANT.) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jan Bertram (METU, SA) Assist. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Atakuman (METU, SA) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name: Deniz Erdem Signature : iii ABSTRACT SOCIAL CONTEXT OF SMALL FIND DISTRIBUTION AT DOMUZTEPE; RITUAL DISPLAY AND SOCIETY Erdem, Deniz Ph.D., Department of Settlement Archaeology Supervisor: Assist Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Atakuman September 2013, 178 pages This study examines the spatial distribution of small finds within a late Neolithic ritual context at the site of Domuztepe-Kahramanmaraş (c.
    [Show full text]
  • Neolithic Society in Northern Greece: the Evidence of Ground Stone Artefacts
    Neolithic society in Northern Greece: the evidence of ground stone artefacts Volume I Christina Tsoraki Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Archaeology, University of Sheffield October 2008 to (j3en ABSTRACT Analysis of ground stone technology from the Neolithic of Greece rarely goes beyond incomplete descriptive accounts to focus on the activities performed with these tools and the contexts of their use. Ground stone products are seen as mundane static objects devoid of meaning and lacking significance. The aim of this thesis is to move away from incomplete accounts of ground stone technology and static typologies. Drawing upon the concepts of the chaine operatoire and 'object biographies' this thesis investigates ground stone technology as a social practice focusing on the life-cycle of artefacts from raw material selection to final deposition. The underlying premise is that a contextual approach can contribute to understanding the ways in which the production, consumption and discard of ground stone artefacts were structured within different forms and scales of social practice and the manner in which these differences articulated different meanings and social understandings. The aims of the thesis were materialised through the study of the rich ground stone assemblage from the LN settlement of Makriyalos, Greece. The analysis of the chaine operatoire of the Makriyalos ground stone assemblage revealed diverse technological choices expressed throughout the cycle of production and use. Established traditions existed according to which specific materials were considered to be appropriate for the production of different objects. Furthermore, detailed analysis suggests that the resulting objects were far from mundane artefacts but were instead active media for expressing choices informed by cultural understandings of appropriateness.
    [Show full text]
  • Palaeolithic Continental Europe
    World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum: A Characterization edited by Dan Hicks and Alice Stevenson, Archaeopress 2013, page 216-239 10 Palaeolithic Continental Europe Alison Roberts 10.1 Introduction The collection of Palaeolithic material from Continental Europe in the Pitt Rivers Museum (PRM) is almost of equivalent size to the collection from the British Isles (see Chapter 9), but is not nearly as well known or as well published. It consists mainly of material from France that seems to have been an under-acknowledged highlight of the PRM archaeological collections for most of the 20th century. Despite the obvious care with which French Palaeolithic material was acquired by the museum, especially during the curatorship of Henry Balfour, the collection has mainly been used for teaching and display, rather than as a research resource. Due to the historic lack of work on the collection so far, this chapter presents a preliminary overview, to orient and inform future research, rather than a full account of the collections. The exact numbers of Palaeolithic objects from Europe are difficult to state with certainty due to factors such as unquantified batch registration of groups of objects in the past, and missing or incorrect cultural attributions in the documentation. However, it is estimated that there are c. 3,760 Palaeolithic objects from continental Europe in the PRM, c. 534 of which are from the founding collection of the PRM (PRMFC)(1). The majority of the material comprises c. 3,585 objects from France (Figure 10.1), with smaller collections from Belgium (c. 63 objects), Italy (c.
    [Show full text]
  • Biface Distributions and the Movius Line: a Southeast Asian Perspective
    University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive) Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health 2012 Biface distributions and the Movius Line: A Southeast Asian perspective Adam Brumm University of Wollongong, [email protected] Mark W. Moore University of New England Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/scipapers Part of the Life Sciences Commons, Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Brumm, Adam and Moore, Mark W.: Biface distributions and the Movius Line: A Southeast Asian perspective 2012, 32-46. https://ro.uow.edu.au/scipapers/4441 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Biface distributions and the Movius Line: A Southeast Asian perspective Abstract The ‘Movius Line’ is the putative technological demarcation line mapping the easternmost geographical distribution of Acheulean bifacial tools. It is traditionally argued by proponents of the Movius Line that ‘true’ Acheulean bifaces, especially handaxes, are only found in abundance in Africa and western Eurasia, whereas in eastern Asia, in front of the ‘line’, these implements are rare or absent altogether. Here we argue, however, that the Movius Line relies on classifying undated surface bifaces as Acheulean on typological grounds alone, a long-standing and widely accepted practice in Africa and western Eurasia, but one that is not seen as legitimate in eastern Asian contexts. A review of the literature shows that bifaces are relatively common as surface finds in Southeast Asia and on this basis we argue that the Movius Line is in need of reassessment.
    [Show full text]
  • Halaf Settlement in the Iraqi Kurdistan: the Shahrizor Survey Project
    The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Adjacent Regions Access Open Edited by Konstantinos Kopanias and John MacGinnis Archaeopress Archaeopress Archaeology Copyright Archaeopress and the authors 2016 Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978 1 78491 393 9 ISBN 978 1 78491 394 6 (e-Pdf) © Archaeopress and the authors 2016 Access Cover illustration: Erbil Citadel, photo Jack Pascal Open All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. Archaeopress Printed in England by Holywell Press, Oxford This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com Copyright Archaeopress and the authors 2016 Contents List of Figures and Tables ........................................................................................................................iv Authors’ details ..................................................................................................................................... xii Preface ................................................................................................................................................. xvii Archaeological investigations on the Citadel of Erbil: Background, Framework and Results.............. 1 Dara Al Yaqoobi, Abdullah Khorsheed Khader, Sangar Mohammed, Saber Hassan Hussein, Mary Shepperson and John MacGinnis The site
    [Show full text]
  • CHAPTER1 INTRODUCTION When During the Early Years of This
    CHAPTER1 INTRODUCTION When during the early years of this century Chr. Weinberg (1942. p. 121; 1947, pp. 165-182), Tsountas excavated the first Neolithic settlements in discussing the subject with the ceramic material Thessaly and in Greece, he reached the conclusion from Corinth as his main evidence, drew a parallel that three periods could be discerned in this area: A, between Thessaly II and the Late Neolithic, between B and C, respectively Early and Late Neolithic and Thessaly I and the Middle Neolithic and between the (Early) Bronze Age. He noted many arguments in beginning of Thessaly I (and an earlier phase) and favour of a subdivision of period A into two sec- Early Neolithic. Milojcic on the other hand, mainly tions. but he also observed some factors which in the using the Thessalian material, proposed a division end prevented him from making the division and he intofive periods (1950/51, pp. 1-90). The first was a left the problem to future investigators. socalled "Vor-Sesklo" (not to be confused with the The research was continued by two English present Vor-Sesklo) or Early Neolithic, the follo- scholars, A.J.B. Wace and M.S. Thompson during wing two belonged to the Middle Neolithic, the the 1910's. They did not restrict their activities fourth to the Late Neolithic and the fifth - Rachmani merely to excavating settlements, but made a more - belonged to the Chalcolithic. Schachermeyr invaluable contribution to our knowledge with an (1955) agreed with Weinberg's crude division into exhaustive typology of the ceramic material. They Early, Middle and Late.
    [Show full text]