Resource Exploitation of the Upper Khabur Basin (NE Syria) during the 3rd Millennium BC

Abstract

A dataset of 908 tells, 1823 radial lines and streams in the Upper Khabur Basin was produced by digitizing CORONA satellite images. Several analyses are applied to this database in order to understand the hydrological and agrarian contexts of tells that were occupied mainly in the mid 3rd millennium BC. A strong alignment of tell sites along wadis is observed, which may explain the building of settlements upwards. The analysis of radial lines with exaggerated 3D-SRTM data indicates that, in most cases, they are unlikely to have been used as an irrigation system, but rather may be hollow ways with sometimes fade-out points delineating the end of cultivation zones. This is supported by a comparison between cultivation zones based on hollow ways and calculations of the necessary amount of land starting from the tell sizes. Resource exploitation calculations indicate that the area was not overexploited during the mid 3rd millennium BC and that tribute ca 2300 BC may have been a reason for land overexploitation, perhaps playing a role in settlement disruptions between 2200 and 1900 BC.