RUNNING AMUQ WITH OBSIDIAN A STUDY ON SUPRA-REGIONAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIPS IN THE NEAR EAST AS SEEN THROUGH OBSIDIAN CONSUMPTION PRACTICES IN THE AMUQ VALLEY (S.E. TURKEY) (CA. 6000 – 2400 B.C.E.) By LAUREN RENNIE, B.Sc. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts McMaster University © Copyright by Lauren Rennie, 2019 McMaster University MASTER OF ARTS (2019) Hamilton, Ontario (Anthropology) TITLE: A study on supra-regional socio-economic relationships in the Near East as seen through obsidian consumption practices in the Amuq Valley (S. E. Turkey) (ca. 6000 – 2400 BCE) AUTHOR: Lauren Rennie, B.Sc. (University of Calgary) SUPERVISOR: Dr. Tristan Carter NUMBER OF PAGES: 1-277 ii Lay Abstract This research involved the chemical analysis of 290 artefacts of archaeological obsidian – a naturally occurring substance made of crystallized lava - as a means of studying ancient exchange systems in the Near East. More specifically, this study covers archaeological periods from 6000 B.C.E. (Late Neolithic) to 2400 B.C.E. (Early Bronze Age) in the Amuq Valley region of southern Turkey. These artefacts were procured during excavations under the Oriental Institute Museum (University of Chicago) beginning in the 1930s. All artefacts are exotic to the Amuq Valley from several known obsidian outcrops in Anatolia (Turkey), some over 1000km away. Analysis was conducted using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to match each artefact to its geological origin thereby identifying the range of exotic materials were exchanged across long-distances. The goal of this research was to uncover social and/or economic dynamics of the Amuq Valley through deep-time with regards to the greater obsidian trade network of the Near East. iii Abstract Southern Turkey’s Amuq Valley has been described as a point of convergence bridging distant regions within the ancient Near East. Through an in depth techno- typological and chemical characterization study of 290 obsidian artefacts, this research details changes in deep-time patterns of obsidian use from the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age (6000 BCE – 2400 BCE), arguing that shifting traditions of consumption reflect socio-economic developments both within and beyond the Northern Levant. These artefacts come from the three sites of Tell al- Judaidah, Tell Dhahab and Tell Kurdu, the material excavated during the 1930’s by the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute. Methodologically raw material sourcing was achieved using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (EDXRF) in the well-established McMaster XRF Lab [MAX Lab]. With these artefacts’ raw materials all being exotic to the Amuq Valley, originating from various outcrops in Cappadocia, the Lake Van region and Transcaucasia (Turkey and Armenia), over 1000km away, this study not only offers new insight into how Amuq Valley communities engaged in long-distance relations, but also contributes to a larger, deep-time regional study of obsidian consumption as a proxy for understanding significant shifts in Near Eastern socio-economics, from hunter- gatherers to the earliest states. In turn, this study, by employing an Annales school framework to consider practice over deep time at the local and supra-regional level further contributes to an ‘archaeology of the long-term’. iv Keywords: The Amuq Valley, Near East, obsidian consumption, XRF, chemical characterization, techno-typological analysis, supra-regional connectivity, socio- economic relationships, long distance trade, Northern Levant, deep-time chronology. v Acknowledgements I acknowledge the privilege of conducting this research on the traditional territory shared by the Haudenosaunee confederacy and the Anishinabe nations under the Dish with One Spoon agreement. I would like to thank my supervisors Dr. Tristan Carter, and Dr. Aubrey Cannon, plus Kathryn Campeau for their time and dedication. My warm regards also goes out to Dr. Elizabeth Healey for her time and enjoyable conversation. I would also like give special thanks to the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago and Helen MacDonald for their contribution and generosity. Finally, my ever grateful appreciation goes out to John Silva in the Anthropology Department at McMaster University for his infinite support and to my many friends and family members who saw me through this experience. vi Table of Contents Lay Abstract …………………………………………………………………….iii Abstract ………………………………………………………………………… iv Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………...vi List of Tables ………………………………………………………………….....xi List of Figures ………………………………………………………………….xvi List of Plates …………………………………………………………………..xxiii List of Abbreviations …………………………………………………………xxiv Declaration of Academic Achievement ………………………………….....xxvii Chapter 1: Introduction to the Thesis …………………………………………..1 1.0 Introduction ...…………………………………………………………1 Chapter 2: Background to the Project …………………………………………2 2.0 Introduction ………………………………………………………...…2 2.1 Historical Background to the Amuq Valley as a Region of Archaeological Investigation …………………………………………..….2 2.2 The sample collection………………………………………………….4 2.3 The study sites ……………………………………………………..… 5 2.3.1 Tell al-Judaidah ………………………………….……….….5 2.3.2 Tell Dhahab ……………………………………………….…6 2.3.3 Tell Kurdu …………………………………………………...6 2.4 The Amuq Sequence in detail …………………………………………7 2.4.1 Phase A ……………………………………………………...7 2.4.2 Phase B ……………………………………………………...9 2.4.3 Phase C …………………………………………………...…9 2.4.4 Phase D ………………………………………………….…10 2.4.5 Phase E …………………………………………………..…11 2.4.6 Phase F ……………………………………………………..12 2.4.7 Phase G …………………………………………………….13 2.4.8 Phase H …………………………………………………….14 2.5 Additional notes on the Amuq Valley Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age Occupation Sequence ……………………………………………….15 2.6 Chapter 2 Tables and Figures ………………………………………...18 vii Chapter 3: An Overview of X-ray Fluorescence as Application for Obsidian Sourcing …………………………………………………………………………24 3.i Foreword ………………………..…………………………………….24 3.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………….…24 3.1 Part I, Sourcing versus characterization …………………………..…25 3.2 Part II, Obsidian …………………………………………………...…26 3.2.1 What is obsidian? ………………………………………..…27 3.2.2 Obsidian’s mineral composition …………………………...28 3.2.3 Obsidian’s cultural relevance throughout human history .…29 3.2.4 Obsidian’s archaeological significance ……………………30 3.3 Part III, How to characterize obsidian ……………………………..…30 3.3.1 Visual and haptic techniques ………………………………31 3.3.2 Density and refractive index …………………………….…31 3.3.3 Crystalline and mineral structures ……………………….…32 3.3.4 Dating techniques ………………………………………….33 3.3.5 Chemical ………………………………………………...…34 3.4 Part IV, Choosing X-ray Fluorescence ………………………………36 3.4.1 History and development of XRF ………………………….36 3.4.2 A major comparative ………………………………………38 3.5 Part V ………………………………………………………………...39 3.5.1 How XRF works …………………………………………...39 3.6 Part VI, Summary ……………………………………………………42 3.7 Chapter 3 Tables and Figures ………………………………………..44 Chapter 4: Theoretical Temporal Methodology ………………….………..…49 4.0 Introduction ………………………………………………………….49 4.1 The Annales school of history and archaeology ……………………..49 4.2 An adapted methodology ………………………………………….…50 4.3 Braudelian time, repurposed …………………………………………51 4.3.1 The event ………………………………………………..…51 4.3.2 Mid-range history ……………………………………….…53 4.3.3 Deep-time ………………………………………………….56 4.4 Using a multi-scalar time perspective ……………………………….58 4.4.1 From mid-range history to the event ………………………58 4.4.2 From mid-range history to deep-time history ………………60 4.5 Summary and prelude to the discussion …………………………...…62 4.6 Chapter 4 Tables and Figures ……………………………………..…63 Chapter 5: Laboratory Methods and Analyses ………………………………65 5.i Foreword ………..………………………………………………….…65 5.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………….…65 5.1 Organizing the sample collection ……………………………………66 5.2 Sample preparation for EDXRF analysis ……………………………67 5.3 Analytical procedures ……………………………………………..…69 viii 5.4 Critical reflections on data-integrity …………………………………70 5.5 Conclusion ………………………………………………………...…73 5.6 Chapter 5 Tables and Figures ……………………………………...…74 Chapter 6: Sourcing Results from XRF Analysis …………………………….83 6.0 Introduction ………………………………………………………….83 6.1 Part I, Obsidian source description …………………………………..84 6.1.1 Sources from the Cappadocian Region …………………….84 6.1.1.i Göllü Dağ …………………………………………84 6.1.1.ii Acigöl ……………………………………………86 6.1.1.iii Nenezi Dağ ……………………………………...86 6.1.2 Sources from the Lake Van Region ………………………..87 6.1.2.i Bingöl A and Nemrut Dağ ………………………..87 6.1.2.ii Bingöl B ………………………………………….90 6.1.2.iii Meydan Dağ …………………………………….91 6.1.3 Sources from North-East Anatolia …………………………92 6.1.3.i Sarıkamış …………………………………………92 6.1.3.ii Pasinler …………………………………………..92 6.2 Part II, Tell al-Judaidah obsidian source distribution ………………..93 6.2.1 Phase A …………………………………………………….94 6.2.1.i East Göllü Dağ products ………………………….94 6.2.1.ii Nenezi Dağ products ……………………………..95 6.2.1.iii Other source materials …………………………..96 6.2.2 First Mixed Range ………………………………………….96 6.2.3 Phase F ……………………………………………………..97 6.2.4 Phase G …………………………………………………….97 6.2.4.i East Göllü Dağ products ………………………….97 6.2.4.ii Nenezi Dağ products ……………………………..98 6.2.4.iii Other source materials …………………………..98 6.2.5 Phase H …………………………………………………….99 6.2.6 Second Mixed Range ……………………………………..100 6.2.7 Unconfirmed Phase ……………………………………….100 6.2.8 Summary of obsidian source consumption at Tell al- Judaidah ………………………………………………………………………...100 6.3 Part III, Tell Kurdu obsidian