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Building Social Identity. Settlement Organization and Architecture in Eastern Anatolia During the Ubaid and Post-Ubaid Periods

BIANCIFIORI, Elisa

Recent research in Northern Mesopotamia has raised the question of both when and how the Ubaid period collapsed in the peripheral areas of Greater Mesopotamia: aim of this paper is to contribute to this debate by analysing Late Ubaid and Early Post-Ubaid settlements in eastern Anatolia. Over the last decade, ongoing archaeological research along the Batman and Tigris rivers of Eastern Anatolia has revealed a significant concentration of Ubaid and Post-Ubaid sites. In the Upper Euphrates valley, ongoing excavations at Arslantepe too are providing insights into these phases. This paper will examine the architecture of Chalcolithic sites in the Upper Tigris and Upper Euphrates regions with the aim of identifying and highlighting features, continuities or discontinuities, and local peculiarities between the Middle and Late Chalcolithic. Settlement layout, the design and use of open and enclosed spaces, the features of buildings and their interiors are significant markers of identity construction and socio-cultural dynamics. Local characters that persist with Ubaid contact and are maintained in the post Ubaid period shall be given particular attention to identify proper culture markers of Chalcolithic Eastern Anatolia. Most informative shall be the sites of Degirmentepe and Arslantepe, together covering the entire time span under investigation.

Session 4. Crafting Identity and Clusters through Material Culture, Iconography and Texts [info]