Workshop on Bioarchaeology in Mesopotamia/ورشة العمل حول البيوأثرولوجيا في بلاد ما بين النهرين

Panel A ARCHAEOBOTANY

1 Reading seeds: investigating the diversity of plant exploitation in ancient Mesopotamia

Carolyne Douché¹

¹ University of Oxford, UK

Changes in the vegetation and cultivation strategies can be influenced by various factors, including human decision and/or environmental changes. In the northern Fertile Crescent for example, changes in farming production have been interpreted as the combined results of environmental, political and cultural transformations. Recent work carried out in northern and southern Iraq allow us to compare the evolution of crops and wild taxa in this extended and diversified area. Since 2010’s, many archaeological excavations aim at exploring the region with new methodologies including bioarchaeological studies and (re)defining new scopes for research. The implementation of large-scale sampling for the recovery of plant remains on archaeological sites offers the opportunity to reconstruct the relation between societies and their environment and to investigate plant exploitation in a broad-spectrum, including collection, production, trading and consumption. While agro-pastoral activities are considered as one of the main driver for the development of the first urban centers, most of our knowledge on farming is based on indirect evidence, such as textual sources and pottery sherds. Despite potential preservation biases, plant remains allow to approach the economy of any site, of any type and from any period (including settlements occupied prior the development of writing). Based on the results obtained in the framework of a postdoctoral research, the present paper aims at demonstrating how archaeobotany may be helpful to understand ancient Mesopotamian societies. By presenting several case studies from newly excavated sites distributed in distinct ecosystems and covering seven millennia–from the early Ubaid to the Iron Age–we will shed light on the wide range of activities involving plants, animals and societies.

2 Investigating hunter-gatherer plant use in the northern Zagros through carbonised plant remains

Ceren Kabukcu¹

¹ ICArEHB, University of Algarve; Dept. of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool

New research and multiple lines of evidence increasingly point to the importance of plant foods in Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer subsistence. This paper presents recent archaeobotanical results of archaeobotanical research on carbonised plant macro-remains from late-Middle and Upper Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic sites located in the northern Zagros Mountains (Kabukcu et al. 2023, Asouti et al. 2020). The evidence from these regions suggests long-term reliance on wild pulses and nuts, and contrast existing evidence from other regions where wild grasses and underground storage organs (USOs) are more prominent in late Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherer plant subsistence (Arranz-Otaegui et al. 2018). In addition, carbonised food fragments in the northern Zagros sites show complexity and diversity in culinary practices involved in food preparation, including the multi-step preparation of plants with unpalatable and potentially toxic compounds.

References:

Arranz-Otaegui, A., Carretero, L.G., Roe, J. and Richter, T., 2018. “Founder crops” v. wild plants: Assessing the plant-based diet of the last hunter-gatherers in southwest Asia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 186, pp.263-283.

Asouti, E., Baird, D., Kabukcu, C., Swinson, K., Martin, L., García-Suárez, A., Jenkins, E. and Rasheed, K., 2020. The Zagros Epipalaeolithic revisited: New excavations and 14C dates from Palegawra cave in Iraqi Kurdistan. PloS one, 15(9), p.e0239564.

Kabukcu, C., Hunt, C., Hill, E., Pomeroy, E., Reynolds, T., Barker, G. and Asouti, E., 2023. Cooking in caves: Palaeolithic carbonised plant food remains from Franchthi and Shanidar. Antiquity, 97(391), pp.12-28.

PANEL A DISCUSSION:

Plants and Plant Exploitation through the Lens of Cuneiform Sources

Angela Greco^1,2

¹Gerda Henkel Stiftung, ²Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

Cuneiform writing emerged at the close of the fourth millennium BCE in the alluvial plains of Southern Mesopotamia. This development followed several centuries after agriculture had started to modify the surrounding landscape, and the randomness in the procurement of resources had substantially given way to targeted and systematic exploitation of the territory. Already from a formal perspective, we can note that different cuneiform signs, pictographic in origin, could directly refer to plants, as for example the sign ŠE, clearly depicting a ear of barley, or indirectly refer to their systematic exploitation, as for example the sign GANA₂, depicting a sequence of arable fields. Plant exploitation was undoubtedly a major concern in ancient Mesopotamian society, and three categories of texts could particularly provide in-depth insights into plant types or plant exploitation strategies: lexical lists, economic documents, and literary compositions. Lexical lists, originally created as thematic didactic tools, collect an array of realia, including plant varieties, trees, wooden objects, and agricultural terms. The transmission of such lists in distant places or over time favored their evolution into proper ancient vocabularies, potentially facilitating the modern understanding of the ancient flora. Economic texts are the most eloquent type of documents, as they can shed light on the adaptive strategies employed in response to the challenges posed by the local environments for profiting from the diversified plant resources, both domesticated and wild, with varying degrees of commitment in terms of land, workforces and water supply. Finally, literary compositions, although portraying landscapes or plants in ideological terms, can underscore the significance of these precious resources in the coeval cultural imagination.

Delving into the realm of ancient Mesopotamian plants and their exploitation through textual analysis necessitates considering the perspective and contextual nuances embedded within the data. Each category of texts possesses unique potential and limitations for investigating realia and strategies. Each offers its own perspective, tackle different inquires, and addresses to distinct audiences. The papers of Panel A offer further valuable perspectives on the study of the ancient flora and its exploitation dynamics, as they are based on the analysis of recovered plant remains. Therefore, Panel A, Archaeobotany presents an interesting opportunity for an integrative discussion on the ancient flora and the human approach towards both wild and tamed landscapes, fostering an interdisciplinary understanding of the possibilities and boundaries inherent in synergic research endeavors.

Panel B ARCHAEOZOOLOGY

1 Herders from the mountains and herders from the plains. Changing animal exploitation patterns from the Halaf period to the Ninevite V and beyond.

Roger Alcàntara Fors^1,2, Richard Madgwick²,Anna Bach-Gómez¹, Miquel Molist Montaña¹

¹ Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

² School of History Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University

Since 2015 the Autonomous University of Barcelona and Salahaddin University have been carrying out a joint project seeking to understand the development ofincreasingly complex societies in Northern Mesopotamia. This project has the support of the support of the General Directorate of Antiquities of Kurdistan and the General Directorate of Antiquities of the Erbil Region.

The project has centred its attention onobtaining a diachronic view of the social, economic and cultural characteristics of the human groups that settled in this area of Northern Mesopotamia between the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Gird Banahilk and Gird Lashkir are the anchor sites of this project. Gird Banahilk provides new data about the transition between the Halaf period to the Early Bronze Age in the Upper Zagros Region, while Gird Lashkir is an example of the expansion of small sites in Northern Mesopotamia during the Bronze Age. The project has also developed a surveying program, documenting new archaeological sites that will contribute to a better understanding of the models of occupation of the territory. Examples of that are the Cave sites of Galin Char and Ashkwtiplng.

The presentation will focus on presenting the results of the ongoing archaeozoological analysis of the remains recovered in the excavated areas while paying attention to diachronic and geographical differences between the sites. In general terms, Gird Banahilk presents a consolidated domestic economy based on the exploitation of the main four domesticates: Capra hircus, Ovis aries, Sus domesticus and Bos taurus. Hunting practices played a more marginal role, although previous reports ascertained a fairly wide range of wild species. Preliminary isotopic data contributes to a better understanding of the management practices at the site. In Gird Lashkir, the excavations of the Ninevite V areas of the site provided a fairly comprehensive assemblage that describes a fully domestic economy with the addition of equids into the equation.

Results so far contribute new information to the evolution of consolidated domestic animal management practices and the adoption of new domestic species. The elements observed could be the driving force and the consequence of the major social and cultural changes that characterise the Bronze Age of Mesopotamia.

2 Sumerian Swine: The Place of Pigs in Southern Mesopotamian Cultures from the Uruk through Old Babylonian Periods

Max Price¹

¹ Durham University, UK

Despite being virtually ignored in scholarship, pigs were among the most important sources of meat in ancient Mesopotamian cities in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages. No understanding of ancient Mesopotamian diet and economics is complete without reference to pigs and pork. In an effort to put pigs back into the tableau of Mesopotamian cities, in this talk I shed light on pigs and pig husbandry in Bronze Age Mesopotamia, principally using zooarchaeological data collected from southern Mesopotamia and the Khabur Basin. The data are compared to the scattered textual references to pig husbandry. The data indicate variable forms of pig husbandry, including free-ranging of pigs in city streets and intensive husbandry. I also reflect on why pigs were under-represented in ancient texts and art, connecting this relative absence to the broader political economic significance of pig husbandry.

3 Feeding a City, and Keeping It Clean: Meat at Ur

Katheryn C. Twiss¹, Anastasia Iorga¹, Sara Jaramillo², Nick Gonzalez³, Svenya Drees¹, Samuel Disotell¹, E. Troy Rasbury¹, Kathleen M. Wooton¹, Carrie C. Wright¹

¹ Stony Brook University New York, USA

² University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA

³ University of Connecticut, USA

Recent excavations at Tell al-Muqayyar (تلٱلْمُقَيَّر), ancient Ur, have yielded faunal remains dating primarily to the early 2^nd millennium BCE. These remains derive from households located in different areas of the site, allowing us to compare animal consumption and discard in different neighborhoods. The animal bones clearly represent food remains; they do not reflect all of the animal life in and around the ancient city. Most specimens are from sheep and goats. Domesticated pigs and cattle are present in smaller numbers. A few bones derive from hunted wild animals, including gazelle and probably wild boar. Dog bones are rare, and we have virtually no remains from working animals.

Animal age and sex data suggest that households got most of their meat from herds that were managed either for meat, or for generalized production of varied animal resources (meat, milk, wool, dung, etc.). Both meaty and non-meaty parts of the animals’ bodies are present, which suggests that livestock may have been brought into the residential neighborhoods for slaughter. There is no evidence that different households were eating different kinds of meat.

Animal bones are excellent sources of information about the character of deposits: bone fragmentation and surface conditions can effectively reveal the nature of the units they are in. The bones from Tell al-Muqayyar suggest that in Ur, food garbage was buried quickly and then left undisturbed. It was not simply thrown in the streets, it was not burned, and dogs and rodents did not have opportunities to gnaw on the bones. We very much welcome conference participants’ thoughts about how garbage may have been managed inside this ancient city.

PANEL B DISCUSSION:

Archaeozoology, Animal Husbandry, Wildlife and Ancient Diet from the Perspective of an Assyriologist

Magnus Widell¹

¹University of Liverpool, UK

This presentation is divided into two parts. Firstly, it will explore the synergies between the analysis of cuneiform texts from Mesopotamia and the disciplines of archaeozoology and the examination of animal remains in archaeological sites. Archaeozoology emphasizes not only the identification of diverse animals in archaeological findings, but also attempts to depict the dynamic interplay between animals and humans within ancient communities. The examination of cuneiform texts, particularly those related to administration and economics, also reveals important insights into the complex interactions between animals and humans. However, the representations derived from the fields of archaeozoologyand cuneiform text analysis commonly exhibit disparities, presenting contrasting perspectives and insights. The presentation attempts to clarify these disparities—the reasons behind their occurrence and, perhaps more significantly, how archaeozoology and cuneiform texts can mutually contribute and complement each other to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of aspects such as ancient diet, animal domestication, wildlife, hunting, and related subjects.

Secondly, the presentation will offer a few examples illustrating how the administrative and economic texts from the extensive archives of the Ur III period in southern Mesopotamia can enhance our understanding of animal management practices, wildlife, and diet during the late third millennium. The Ur III cuneiform texts are written in Sumerian, which is alanguage isolate with no demonstrable relationship to any other known language. One of the main challenges in studying these texts is our imprecise understanding of the Sumerian morphology and technical terminology. For example, we might ascertain that a specific word refers to a fish because is preceded by the Sumerian determinative used for all fish. We may possess detailed information regarding the method and time of its preparation, as well as details about the individual(s) who consumed it. We may even know its significance in relation to other sources of foodwithin specific groups of the Ur III society. However, we remain unable to definitively determine the specific type of fish the word represents. Utilizing textual data to illuminate late third-millennium aspects of animal husbandry, wildlife, and diet requires the development of a more accurate understanding of the Ur III terminology. Additionally, it necessitates the reliable identification of the diverse range of animals mentioned in the texts.

PANEL C BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY)

1 An osteobiography of ancient Sumer. Skeletal evidence of health, diet and mobility at Abu Tbeirah (Dhi Qar, Iraq)

Mary Anne Tafuri¹, Matteo Giaccari¹, Licia Romano¹, Franco D’Agostino¹

¹ Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

What we know about ancient Sumerians is the result of over a century of extensive excavations, which produced a remarkable archaeological and epigraphic record. Material culture is outstanding, with written sources reporting, with great detail, on social structure and past beliefs. The imaginary of the Sumerians is mostly connected with the élite, however life in the religious and “palatine”/more “secular” households is always grand, collective and non individualized. Little we know about individual histories and even less we know about everyday life. This can be attained through exploring skeletal evidence as indicative of life narratives, producing an osteobiography of past people. With limited skeletal studies available for southern Mesopotamia, this becomes even more imperative. We present here the skeletal investigation of the Sumerian medium sized settlement of Abu Tbeirah, on the outskirts of Ur, reporting on past health, diet and mobility, in the attempt to reconstruct daily life in ancient Mesopotamia.

2 Under the dust of Tell Mozan: Bioanthropological analysis

Arwa Kharobi¹

¹ Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

More than 100 graves have been excavated in Tell Mozan (ancient city of Urkesh) and were the focus of an archaeo-anthropological analysis. This study is based, firstly, on biological data (age, sex of the dead), and, secondly, on archeothanatological one (nature of deposits, environmental analysis of the grave and taphonomy) together with the archaeological field data (location and type of burial, grave goods) since burial is about more than social structure or religion; it is a complex interplay of dozens of factors.

The results obtained provided insights into a diverse range of funerary practices, enabling conclusions to be drawn about the social positions of various sex-age groups within the ancient society of Urkesh. While some funeral practices aligned with the Middle Bronze Mesopotamian characteristic norms, others were uncommon.

Consequently, the study concludes that these burial practices reflect the deliberate choice of Urkesh’s inhabitants to distinguish the funerary treatment of certain individuals. In specific cases, the rationale behind such distinctions was found to be linked to the biological identity of the deceased (e.g., jar burials reserved only for subadults less than 6 years old). In other instances, considerations of social status and/or ideological dimensions were evident. This presentation will delve deeper into the latter aspects, seeking to understand the social and ideological differentiation within ancient societies backed by preliminary data, employing multiple approaches (isotopes, aDNA and SEM imaging) on teeth, and illuminating the dietary habits and mobility patterns of this group.

3 Subsistence at Bakr Awa: Integration of Bioarchaeological Evidence on Diet

Rafał Fetner¹

¹ University of Warsaw, Poland

The Bakr Awa archaeological site, situated in the Shahrizor Plain within the Zagros foothill area, offers a unique opportunity to study subsistence practices over the past 5000 years. This presentation attempts to integrate data from various bioarchaeological analysis with written, environmental, and geomorphological analyses to highlight the relationships between subsistence practices, environmental changes, and societal dynamics in Bakr Awa over millennia.

People of Bakr Awa cultivate plants in the alluvial plain. The main source of calcium has not changed throughout millennia (as indicated by the strontium isotope analysis). Moreover, geomorphological studies suggest the presence of an irrigation system in the centre of the alluvial plain, although dating remains challenging. The written evidence from the Late Bronze Age shows the oversight of the process by Bakr Awa’s officials. Botanical analyses, including macroremains and phytoliths, indicate a typical Mesopotamian cultivation featuring wheat, barley, and legumes. Notably, millet, absent in Bakr Awa, was found in the neighbouring Gurga Chiya.

Livestock, primarily grazing on nearby hills, exhibited a diet dominated by C₃ plants. No evidence of millet additions to ovicaprid nutrition differ from findings in the Diyala Valley. Differences in diet were noted between ovicaprids and cattle, and while the diet of ovicaprids remains similar throughout millennia, the carbon values for cattle decrease despite the general aridification, suggesting alternation in cattle herding routes and utilization.

Furthermore, an examination of human diets reveals a reliance on C₃ plants, complemented by a minor addition of animal proteins. Access to animal protein appears linked to social status, as noticed in the Middle Bronze Age, with a trend toward increased egalitarianism in the Iron Age. The isotope value of human carbon apatite increases with time, following the trend of observed aridification.

PANEL C DISCUSSION:

A textual view of anatomy

Markham Geller¹

¹Free University of Berlin, Germany

With rare exception, ancient physicians from Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean did not perform autopsies or dissect human bodies to acquire more advanced medical knowledge, nor does it seem likely that funerary workers who mummified Egyptian cadavers left any enduring record of advanced knowledge of anatomy. There may be good reasons to justify this lack of interest in autopsy, since without the aid of medical instruments, dissection would have hardly served to enlighten a physician regarding the functions of internal organs or causes of disease. In any case, general analogies derived from animal physiology were applied to human anatomy. Nevertheless, cuneiform tablets record data indicating both a scholarly and medical interest in internal anatomy and physiology, in the form of lists of human organs (both external and internal), lists of diseases, and a lengthy handbook of prognosis and diagnosis which associated symptoms with various regions of human anatomy; medical prescriptions also mention parts of the body affected by symptoms. When taken together as an aggregate, we can derive a rudimentary assessment of the extent of knowledge of human physiology in cuneiform texts, which might provide useful comparative data for bioarchaeology.

PANEL D ISOTOPE GEOCHEMISTRY

1 Review of stable isotopic research on human diet, subsistence and mobility in Mesopotamia

Arkadiusz Sołtysiak¹

¹ Department of Bioarchaeology, Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Poland

Since 40 years, research on stable isotopes has become a very important tool in bioarchaeology, increasing our potential to reconstruct ancient economies and social complexities. So far, it was rarely used in research on human remains from ancient Mesopotamia and especially the southern alluvium is still almost a blank page in this respect. However, during recent decade a series of studies on populations living in northern Mesopotamia has been published, covering δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in human and animal collagen, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ¹⁸O values in enamel bioapatite, sometimes combined with other bioarchaeological proxies of diet and mobility. Therefore we have now insight into diet, subsistence, mobility, food import, patterns of land use, weaning time, short time climate change etc. for a few archaeological sites, including Tell Arbid, Tell Brak, Tell Barri, Bakr Awa, Tell Masaikh, Tell Ashara, Tell Seh Hamad and Tell Bi’a. Although this dataset is still relatively limited, some general observations on temporal changes in economy between the Late Chalcolithic and the historical periods may be based on available evidence.

2 Isotope geochemistry in Mesopotamia

Julian Henderson¹

¹ University of Nottingham, UK

This presentation will begin by discussing the kinds of information that isotope geochemistry can provide under ideal circumstances and the kinds of questions that can be addressed, especially in Mesopotamia. Then the principles behind the use of isotope geochemistry applied to archaeology will be discussed briefly, especially the use of neodymium and strontium isotopes. Following on from this a brief discussion of isotopes applied to Late Bronze Age glasses will summarise the state of the art. This will then lead into a detailed presentation of isotopic zones across Mesopotamia and central Asia based on a recent study, which used a combination of geological and archaeological results (Lü et al., 2023). The implications of such isotope zones for the study of Late Bronze Age glass will then be considered. The talk will finish with a discussion of the limitations involved in using isotopes to provenance biological and inorganic materials with the latter potentially leading to the construction of trade and exchange patterns across Mesopotamia.

References:

Lü, Qin-Qin, Chen, Yi-Xiang ; Henderson, Julian ; Bayon, Germain 2023. A Large-Scale Sr and Nd Isotope Baseline for Archaeological Provenance in Silk Road Regions and Its Application to Plant-Ash Glass. Journal of archaeological science 149: 105695.

3 Mapping Mesopotamia: Collaborating to Advance Isotope Science in Southern Iraq

Anastasia Iorga¹, Carrie C. Wright¹, Katheryn C. Twiss¹, Andrea Goehring², E. Troy Rasbury¹, Kathleen M. Wooton¹, Jaafar Jotheri³, Zaid Alrawi⁴, Stephanie Rost⁵, Emily Hammer⁴

¹ Stony Brooks University, New York, USA

² Christian Albrecht University, Kiel, Germany

³ University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al Diwaniyah, Iraq

⁴ University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

⁵ City University of New York, Queensborough Community College, New York, USA

Analyses of stable isotope ratios provide researchers with direct evidence of past and present environments, ecologies, diets, and more. In order for isotope analyses to be maximally effective, however, multiple forms of baseline knowledge need to be gathered. At present, there are gaps in our baseline knowledge of isotope systematics in southern Iraq. Iraqis, Europeans, and Americans are currently collaborating to fill these gaps, with the goal being to create analytic resources that will be of value to scientists around the globe. This paper provides brief overviews of two aspects of work currently being done to advance cutting-edge isotope science in Iraq.

The first involves testing the extent to which the chemical makeup of archaeological bone has been altered via interaction with surrounding soil and groundwater (bone diagenesis). Recent excavations at Tell al-Muqayyar (تل ٱلْمُقَيَّر), ancient Ur, have recovered animal bones from different areas of the site. Strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) isotope analysis of selected bone samples and their associated soils reveals that some –but not all– bones have values distinct from the soil. This indicates that diagenesis does not preclude isotope analysis of bones from southern Iraq.

The second involves mapping isotope values across southern Iraq, in order to improve our ability to interpret isotope values collected from archaeological materials. The mapping will provide researchers with baseline information that takes geological and hydrological processes into account, which will maximize the precision and the informative power of archaeological isotope science done in southern Mesopotamia. We know that such processes are important: they presumably explain why isotope values can vary even within individual sites. Indeed, initial findings reveal a range of Sr isotope values across Ur.

PANEL D DISCUSSION: 

Sergio Alivernini¹, Magnus Widell²

¹ Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

² University of Liverpool, UK

PANEL E PALAEOENVIRONEMNT/LANDSCAPE

1 Where east meets west: The historical relevance of the springs on the Abu-Jir lineament

Jaafar Jotheri^1,2, Rajwan Almayali¹, Kristen A. Hopper², Daniel E. Lawrence², Abdullah Al-Khrayfawee¹, Abbas Hadrawi¹, Raheem Alabdan³, John Webb⁴, Rod J. Fensham^5,6

¹ Department of Archaeology, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Diwaniyah, Iraq

² Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UK

³ Department of Geography, University of Thi-Qar, Nasiriayh, Iraq

⁴ Environmental Geoscience, Discipline of Ecology and Environment, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia

⁵ Queensland Herbarium, Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, Queensland, Australia

⁶ School of the Environment, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia

There are more than 200 springs spanning more than 500 km forming a slightly arced line between the floodplain of Mesopotamia and the Arabian Desert in Iraq. The springs are fed by recharge infiltrating carbonate sediments that dip from the south-west. The springs are mostly discharging due to the pressure resulting from the impediment to groundwater flow resulting from the confinement of the clay-rich alluvium in the floodplain. Surface faulting is not evident but sub-surface faulting may influence the springs in the northern section where the springs are saline, sulphurous and impregnated with bitumen through conduits to deeper oil-bearing sediments. The springs probably sustained palaeolithic humans and have been a focus for human settlement ever since. A linear series of fortresses are associated with the springs and date back to the Sasanian period at least. They have been used variously as fortresses, habitation, and worship. The springs also sustained agriculture through networks of canals and were mapped and described by Alois Musil who travelled through the area in 1912. In recent times the springs have become imperilled by groundwater extraction for industrial agriculture. The springs of Abu-Jir may be the longest chain of springs in the world and mark a boundary of immense cultural significance. In this paper we outline a proposal for research to further understand the springs in the context of their important location and imminent decline.

2 Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction from archaeological contexts in Southern Mesopotamia: challenges and advances from a case study at Eridu

Claire Rambeau¹, Ferréol Salomon¹, Philippe Quenet¹, Franco D’Agostino², Jaafar Jotheri³

¹ University of Strasbourg, France

² Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

³ University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al Diwaniyah, Iraq

Eridu is a cluster of archaeological sites in Southern Mesopotamia and is referred to, in Mesopotamian historiography, as the oldest city in the world. Its temple was dedicated to the god Enki, patron of subterraneous waters, wisdom, magic, and crafts. Taken all together, the seven mounds of Eridu are occupied since the 6th millenium BCE and seem to have been abandoned, for unclear reasons, during the 1st millenium BCE. Little is known precisely about the palaeoenvironmental conditions of Eridu during its occupation history. Currently situated in an arid setting, protected from occasional flooding by a dike constructed in the 1990’s, the site is threatened by erosional processes and its direct surroundings are partly covered by recently mobilized sediments. Satellite images, however, suggest the presence of canals and natural river channels in the site’s vicinity. Regional studies also highlights the potential location of Eridu close to the Persian Gulf edge, and/or a branch of the Euphrates.

This contribution is based on the ongoing analyses of samples collected during a two-week field trip to Eridu in spring 2022. It explores the following questions related to palaeoenvironmental conditions at Eridu and its surroundings:

– Can we find traces at Eridu of the marine/bracking sediments (Hammār formation) related to the mid-Holocene marine transgression and on which the site may be originally built?

– What differentiates samples from canal deposits, palaeochannels, marshes and floodplain ?

– Can we establish parallels between the samples collected at Eridu and other (palaeo)environments recorded in the region ? In particular, can we identify ancient marshes (fresh-water or brackish) at Eridu, as well as river (Euphrates) or delta sediments ?

– Can we improve the chronological framework of the joint environmental and societal history at Eridu, especially through absolute dating (e.g., by radiocarbon), and place it in a wider (environmental/climatic) context?

First results from samples collected at different site areas (archaeological settings: cemetery area and surroundings; palaeoriver channel; canal trench ; deep soundings in the floodplain) and currently tested for magnetic susceptibility; grain-size; estimations of organic matter, carbonates and salt contents; quartz morphoscopy; charcoal, malacofauna, and plant macrofossils, will be presented, as well as an outlook.

3 Reconstructing landscape evolution and palaeoenvironment in the hinterland of Charax Spasinou, southern Mesopotamia

Jan Walstra^1,2

¹ Geological Survey of Belgium, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium

² Archaeology of Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Cultures, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

From its foundation to its heydays as trading hub and to its final abandonment, the history of Charax Spasinou has always been intimately connected with the evolution of the river systems of the southernmost part of the Mesopotamian plain and the shoreline of the Persian Gulf.

This ongoing research, which is part of the Charax Spasinou Project of the Universities of Konstanz and Manchester supported by the German Research Foundation and the Culture Protection Fund of the British Council, aims to reconstruct the evolution of the landscape and palaeoenvironment around the capital of Mesene, by combining evidence from remote sensing and geological field data.

Declassified and modern satellite imagery were used to identify and map geomorphological and archaeological landscape elements, in particular palaeoriver channels, ancient irrigation canals and field systems, and archaeological sites. High-resolution digital elevation models revealed the subtle topography patterns created by former courses of the Tigris and Karun rivers.

The Holocene deposits of the alluvial plain were investigated by means of facies analysis of sediment successions in undisturbed cores. During field campaigns in 2018 and 2022, a total of 107 hand-operated and one mechanical core were carried out. Organic material and molluscs were sampled for radiocarbon dating. The results show evidence of the early-Holocene marine transgression followed by a prolonged time of estuarine sedimentation and eventually the progradation of river systems in the area. Traces of former Tigris and Karun channels seem to confirm the documentary evidence of a city founded near the confluence of the two rivers.

It is demonstrated that a combined geological and archaeological survey in the wider hinterland of Charax allows an accurate reconstruction of the ancient watercourses and landscape of Mesene, in which the capital was the nodal point for nearly a millennium.

PANEL E DISCUSSION:

Chronicles of the Earth: An Analysis of Third Millennium Mesopotamian Landscapes Through Written Sources

Sergio Alivernini¹

¹ Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

Mesopotamia, often referred to as the “Land Between the Rivers,” stands out as a region renowned for its dynamic landscapes shaped by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This paper undertakes an exploration of the landscapes of Third Millennium Mesopotamia, utilizing a unique lens provided by written sources. The study delves into the intricate tapestry of Mesopotamian civilization during the third millennium BCE, unraveling the detailed brushstrokes that ancient scribes employed to depict their environment.

Drawing upon a diverse array written documents such inscriptions, literary compositions, and administrative texts, the paper seeks to unveil rich and nuanced descriptions of the Mesopotamian landscape, climate, and natural elements as portrayed in the written sources of the time.

The third millennium BCE marked a pivotal period in the development of Mesopotamian society, witnessing the rise of influential city-states such as Ur, Lagash, and Uruk. Through a meticulous examination of textual evidence, this paper aims to reconstruct the environmental backdrop against which these flourishing civilizations emerged. A central focus is placed on the portrayal of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, often described as the lifeblood of Mesopotamia, along with the intricate artificial channels that shaped the landscape. Furthermore, the talk examines the profound impact of urbanization and the expansion of agricultural practices on the Mesopotamian perception of wilderness and untamed landscapes, with particular attention given to marshes.

Synthesizing information from administrative texts, legal documents and literary compositions, the talk offers an understanding of how these ancient people navigated and adapted to their environment. In conclusion, this paper presents a comprehensive exploration of Mesopotamian environmental descriptions in third-millennium written sources, encompassing riverine ecosystems, urban cityscapes, and expansive agricultural territories.

By unraveling the layers of textual evidence, the research strives to reconstruct the experience of the ancient Mesopotamians, highlighting the profound interplay between their civilization and the natural world.

This paper is integrated into Panel E, Paleoenvironment/Landscape, for two significant reasons: it provides a distinctive perspective for the reconstruction of landscapes/environments in Mesopotamia through its focus on a different kind of documentation compared to other papers, and it aligns with the thematic emphasis on “water management,” and its paramount importance in shaping the perception and construction of the landscape in ancient Mesopotamia, as explored in tandem with other contributions in the panel.

PANEL F ANCIENT CITIES, HOUSES, AND FAMILY STRUCTURES

1 Archaeological Geophysics in the Arabic Marshland. Case studies from Fara-Shuruppak, Isin, Uruk-Warka and Ur

Jörg Fassbinder¹

¹ Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Germany

More than 50 years since its first successful application by an Italian team in Seleucia (Iraq) archaeological prospecting and magnetometry in particular, developed to an archaeological science, which has now become an indispensable tool not only for preparing scientific excavations, but especially for the precise classification and non-destructive mapping of archaeological sites. In a short introduction on the physical principles and method of magnetometry I will describe the potential and possible failures of the research field.

Here I will present case studies of a high-resolution and largescale magnetometer prospection in the marshlands of Iraq from the city of Uruk-Warka (Iraq), Ur, Isin, and Fara-Shuruppak where we undertook several campaigns. Although we are long way off to cover the entire area of one of these cities (e.g. since 1999 we surveyed 1.2 of ca. 5 square km of Uruk) we can try understand the organization of these cities. Typical ground plans of houses, workshops, pathways, transport systems, waterways, harbours, gardens and empty spaces combined with archaeological surface survey allows us not only a rough dating but gives an indispensable opportunity to understand the function, organization, operation, urban development and urbanization of these archaeological sites.

2 aDNA analysis on human skeletal remains from Nimrud

Mark Altaweel¹

¹ University College London, UK

This presentation investigates recent aDNA work from skeletal remains from Nimrud dated to the final days of the Neo-Assyrian period. This work represents one of the largest aDNA projects for ancient Iraq, with 109 individuals studied from an ancient well in the Northwest Palace. Overall results show all the individuals were females having haplogroups common from various parts of N. Africa, Europe and even eastern parts of Asia. These results suggest the diversity of individuals in the Neo-Assyrian period and help support the likely increased pace of migration during that time. Possible reasons for this genetic diversity are discussed. The individuals may have been palace servants, slaves, or even high elite individuals. Recent work on dietary reconstruction for these individuals may reveal the ancient status of the recovered individuals as well as help further elaborate on their origins.

PANEL F DISCUSSION:

The Production of Bronze in Late Third-Millennium Babylonia (ca. 2100-2000 BCE)

Piotr Steinkeller¹

¹ Harvard University, USA

This communication studies the production of bronze in Babylonia during the last century of the third millennium BCE. The choice of this particular time frame is dictated by the fact that the period in question, which is otherwise known as the time of the Third Dynasty of Ur, has left to us by far the most extensive textual information on bronze manufacture that survives from ancient Mesopotamia. Bronze proper, called in Sumerian zabar, is comparatively rare in the relevant documentation. It is clear that it was produced, as expected, through the alloying of copper (Sumerian zabar) with tin (Sumerian nagga). Otherwise, metal objects—and here I exclude those of silver and gold—are invariably said to be made of copper.

However, this situation is directly contradicted by the archaeological data. As the recent studies of early Mesopotamian and Iranian metallurgy have conclusively demonstrated, during the late fourth and the third millennia BCE the only type of bronze practically known was the arsenical bronze, with the tin bronze (or the true bronze) having been used only sporadically. It was only at the beginning of the second millennium BC that tin bronzes began to appear in force, eventually replacing the arsenical variety completely. This finding rests on the fact that the overwhelming majority of the analyzed “bronze” objects from Mesopotamia and Iran are made of arsenical bronze.

A solution to this problem is provided by the Ur III sources dealing with the production of copper tools, weapons, and various other utilitarian objects. Although such objects are invariably described as made of copper (uruda), the production of them very often involved the addition of a substance called su/su3-GAN. With very exceptions, this material is mentioned only in the sources dating to the Ur III period. Writing in 1984, Hartmut Waetzoldt concluded, based on the highly limited evidence that was available at that time, that su/su3-GAN cannot be arsenic. This claim was subsequently used by Ernst Pernicka (1984) to suggest that this material may be borax, which is used as a flux in metallurgy. This issue was subsequently studied by Karin Reiter (1997), who concluded that “eine eindeutige Identifizierung des Metals sù-gan ist derzeit unmöglich.”

Thanks to the rich new textual data that have become available since the appearance of Waetzoldt’s and Pernicka’s discussions, one may confidently conjecture at this point that su/su3-GAN is to be identified as arsenic. It now becomes clear that, during the Ur III period, arsenic was routinely added to copper in metal production, with the objects so obtained being identified as being simply of copper (uruda). This conclusion finds further support in the fact that, in some instances, this alloy is described as uruda su-GAN, “arsenical copper,” in ancient texts. Interestingly, this designation agrees with how the scholars tend to think about this alloy these days, generally preferring to call it “arsenical copper” rather than “arsenical bronze.”

References:

Pernicka, Ernst (1984) (see under Waetzoldt)

Reiter, Karin (1997), Die Metalle im Alten Orient mit besonderer Berücksichtigung altbabylonischer Quellen, AOAT 249. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag.

Waetzoldt, Hartmut (1984), “Zinn- und Arsenbronzen in den Texten aus Ebla und aus dem Mesopotamien des 3. Jahrtausends,” Oriens Antiquus 24: 1-18 (mit H. G. Bachmann u. einem Beitrag von E. Pernicka)