| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YOSHIDA Kunio The University of Tokyo (2001-2003), The University Museum, Research Associate, 総合研究博物館, 助手 (10272527)
OGUCHI Takashi The University of Tokyo (2001-2003), Center for Spatial Information Science, Associate Professor, 空間情報科学センター, 助教授 (80221852)
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| Research Abstract |
Tell Seker al-Aheimar is a prehistoric settlement with a complete sequence from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) to the Pottery Neolithic (PN), the only one so far systematically investigated in the Khabur basin, northeast Syria. The excavations in 2001 to 2003 allowed us to discuss how the Neolithic society developed at the western edge of North Mesopotamia. The sequence consists of several phases, probably starting from the middle PPNB that had been previously unknown in this region. These phases include a very early PN, which bridges the latest PPNB and the Proto-Hassuna of the PN. Our analysis of the architecture, flaked stone artifacts as well as pottery suggests that the transition over this period was a continuous process. At the same time, the archaeological remains from each phase show evidence of a complex cultural interaction with the neighboring regions such as the southern Taurus and the northern Syria. While they belong to, in principle, a particular cultural entity of the east Jezireh stretching to Iraq, the PPNB phases show more evident ties with the north. This gives us an insight into the background of Neolithization processes of the northern Mesopotamia, where the Proto-Hassuna became widely distributed during the later PN period.
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