Pottery-Making Practices between the Ubaid and the Late Chalcolithic 1 and 2

Abstract

Abstract. Ceramic traditions are a crucial element to interpret socio-economic change. Traditionally, this has been done through typological studies. Yet, to understand the transformations and spread of ceramic traditions in terms of social and economic processes and interactions between communities of northern Mesopotamia between the Ubaid and the Late Chalcolithic 1 and 2, we should look at how pottery was made. In this paper, I present the preliminary results of a technological study of ceramics from the Balikh valley in modern northern Syria. Building upon practice theory, I apply the chaîne opératoire approach to the analysis of assemblages from the sites of Tell Hammam et-Turkman, Tell Sawwan, and Tell Zeidan, and provide a detailed reconstruction of their manufacturing process. Based on these results, it appears that five different traditions were present at these sites in the period under analysis. The trajectories of development of these traditions raise intriguing questions with regard to the socio-economic context and emerging specialization in the Balikh valley.