Broadening Horizons 3. Conference of Young Researchers - Khalili ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

F. Borrell, M. Bouso, A. Gómez, C. Tornero & O. Vicente (eds.), Broadening Horizons 3. Conference of Young Researchers Working in the Ancient Near East. Congressos 8. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Servei de Publicacions. Bellaterra (2012). Sourcing the flint raw materials found at the Neolithic complex of Mamarrul Nasr (Douara Basin, Syria) Ferran Borrell School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, University of Manchester. SAPPO. Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Oriol Vicente SAPPO. Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Abstract This paper aims to establish the origins of the flint raw materials used in the newly discovered Neolithic complex at Mamarrul Nasr 2. Flint artefacts from Mamarrul Nasr 2 and the nearby flint outcrops have been sampled and the results compared using petrographic techniques. Thin sections from both the archaeological and geological samples showed no significant differences in their mineral and fossil content. All the features observed were very similar and it can be stated with confidence that Eocene flint (Arak Flint horizon) was the only raw material used at Mamarrul Nasr. 1. Introduction The .area .under .investigation .has .not .been .reviewed .since .the .late .1980s .and .the .beginning .of .1990s, .when .a .model .was .designed .to .account .for .the .Neolithisation .of .the . region .within .the .broader .context .of .the .Northern .Levant .(Cauvin .1981; .1987-88; . Stordeur .1993; .2000) . .The .vast .semi-desert .central .Syrian .steppe .is .a .region .where . the .Neolithisation .process .was .not .documented .until .a .later .stage, .compared .with . other .regions, .from .the .Neolithic .period . .It .is .also .considered .to .have .been .sparsely . inhabited .from .the .end .of .the .9 th .millennium .cal . .BC .until .the .very .end .of .the .8 th .millennium .(Akazawa .1979a; .1979b; .Cauvin .1981; .1987-88; .Stordeur .1993; .2000) . . However, .after .7000 .cal . .BC, .archaeological .evidence .of .occupation .was .abundant, . especially .in .the .El .Kowm .region, .where .a .series .of .well .stratified .sites .(Qdeir .1, .El . Kowm .2 .and .Umm .el .Tlel), .dating .to .the .first .half .of .the .7 th .millennium .cal . .BC .(Fi- 001-352 Broadening horizons.indd 85 17/07/2012 16:38:45 85
86 Ferran Borrell and Oriol Vicente Sourcing the flint raw materials found at the Neolithic complex of Mamarrul Nasr (Douara Basin, Syria) nal .PPNB), .were .excavated . .Furthermore, .a .high .number .of .Neolithic .flint .factory . sites .were .discovered .by .the .University .of .Tokyo .during .the .1960s .and .1970s .in .the . Douara .and .Palmyra .basins .(Akazawa .1979b) .which .were .dated .to .the .first .half .of .the . 7 th .millennium .cal . .BC . .Although .some .researchers .had .previously .proposed .that .the . Douara .area .may .have .been .densely .occupied .during .the .PPNB .(Akazawa .1979b, . 216; .Fujii .1986; .Fujii .et .al . .1987; .Nishiaki .2000, .94) . Four .seasons .of .fieldwork .including .field .survey, .topographic .studies, .excavation . and .a .study .season .have .been .undertaken .since .2006 .by .the .Universitat .Autònoma . de .Barcelona, .Paris .Ouest .Nanterre .la .Défense .and .the .General .Directorate .of .Museums .and .Antiquities .of .Syria .in .the .Douara .Basin .(Central .Syrian .Desert) .(fig . .1) . . The .project .focused .on .gaining .new .insights .into .the .Neolithic .period .of .the .central . Syrian .Desert, .where .there .was .an .evolution .that .differed .from .the .mainstream .processes .of .Neolithisation .observed .in .the .Euphrates .and .Tigris .valleys . .In .conducting . fieldwork .in .the .Douara .Basin, .a .better .understanding .of .the .Neolithic .period .of . that .region .has .been .obtained, .which .has .contributed .to .an .appreciation .of .the .heterogeneity . and . complexity . of . the . Neolithisation . process . in . the . Northern . Levant . (Borrell .2011; .Borrell .et .al . .2011; .in .press) . .This .paper .summarises, .by .way .of .background, .the .recent .discovery .of .a .concentration .of .Neolithic .sites .in .the .Mamarrul . Nasr .passage .(Douara .Basin); .it .then .goes .on .to .describe .the .flint .deposits .identified . Figure 1: Location of Mamarrul Nasr and other major Neolithic sites of the Northern Levant. N Ceyhan River Ras Shamra TURKEY el-Kerkh 2 Orontes River Aleppo Nebi Mend SYRIA Gürcütepe Mezraa Teleilat Akarçay Tepe Halula Mureybet Balikh River Abu Hureyra Seker al-Aheimar Assouad Damishliyya Sabi Abyad Qdeir 1 Umm el Tlel El Kowm 2 MAMARRUL NASR Palmyra Douara Cave II Thaniyyet Wuker Euphrates River 200 km Khabour River Tell Es-Sinn Bouqras 001-352 Broadening horizons.indd 86 17/07/2012 16:38:45
Page 1 and 2: Ferran Borrell Tena, Mònica Bouso
Page 3 and 4: Summary Broadening Horizons 3 F. Bo
Page 5: Broadening Horizons 3 F. Borrell, M
Page 9 and 10: 88 Ferran Borrell and Oriol Vicente
Page 21: 100 Ferran Borrell and Oriol Vicent

Broadening Horizons 3. Conference of Young Researchers - Khalili ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?