Social complexity and the urbanization in prehistoric West Asia

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22251009
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 海外学術
• Research Field: Archaeology
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: TSUNEKI Akira 筑波大学, 人文社会系, 教授 (70192648)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): TANIGUCHI Yoko 筑波大学, 人文社会系, 准教授 (40392550) ; HISADA Kenichiro 筑波大学, 生命環境系, 教授 (50156585)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): TANNO Kenichi 山口大学, 農学部, 助教 (10419864)
• Research Collaborator: DOUGHERTY Sean ミルウォーキー大学, 看護学部, 講師 ; ODAKA Takahiro 早稲田大学, 高等学術院, 助教 ; HYDAR Jamal シリア文化財博物館総局, ラタキア局長 ; SHAB'AN Haifa シリア文化財博物館総局, ラタキア博物館, 館長
• Project Period (FY): 2010-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 西アジア / 新石器化 / 社会の複雑化 / 都市化 / レヴァント / ザグロス / テル・エル・ケルク / イラン高原

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We investigated early Neolithic sites in the northern Levant, northwestern Zagros, southeastern Zagros and the northeastern Iranian Plateau. It is clear that sites in the northern Levant facilitated not only the development of the earliest farming societies, but also the expansion of settlement size and social complexity, much earlier than other regions in West Asia. This progression occurred gradually and reached its height around 7000 BC in northern Syria. The project leader had a hypothesis that Neolithization and Urbanization were part of the same historical process, and that these two processes advanced in related regions, i.e., the northern Levant and neighboring northern Mesopotamia. The hypothesis was partly proved by results from this project.

Free Research Field

西アジアにおける新石器化・都市化プロセスの考古学的研究