Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age settlement patterns in the Greater Western Jazira : trajectories of sedentism in the semi-arid Syrian steppe
In the well-researched archaeological landscape of Northern Mesopotamia, there exists a large region of little-to-no previous investigation: the Greater Western Jazira (GWJ) of northeastern Syria. This thesis takes a geographically holistic approach to investigating the GWJ, focussed on the crucial time of the late 5th to 3rd millennium BC. This period saw an initial abandonment of sedentism in the steppe during the Late Chalcolithic, and subsequent rapid settlement growth with large urban centres in the Early Bronze Age. These dynamics are examined by collating diverse ground truth data from four excavations, three surveys, and several other investigations. These are integrated with extensive remote sensing research, involving the systematic analysis of all areas of the GWJ using satellite imagery and elevation data, processed through a GIS database. During the course of this research, a refined categorisation of heterogeneous varieties of the large fortified tell settlement type commonly termed ~KranzhĂŒgel~ is developed and implemented. The evidence gathered shows a complex system of sedentary habitation in the steppe, with a total of 302 sites likely dating to the period in question, 160 of which were
Smith, Stefan Lorenz
Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age settlement patterns in the Greater Western Jazira : trajectories of sedentism in the semi-arid Syrian steppe. In the well-researched archaeological landscape of Northern Mesopotamia, there exists a large region of little-to-no previous investigation: the Greater Western Jazira (GWJ) of northeastern Syria. This thesis takes a geographically holistic approach to investigating the GWJ, focussed on the crucial time of the late 5th to 3rd millennium BC. This period saw an initial abandonment of sedentism in the steppe during the Late Chalcolithic, and subsequent rapid settlement growth with large urban centres in the Early Bronze Age. These dynamics are examined by collating diverse ground truth data from four excavations, three surveys, and several other investigations. These are integrated with extensive remote sensing research, involving the systematic analysis of all areas of the GWJ using satellite imagery and elevation data, processed through a GIS database. During the course of this research, a refined categorisation of heterogeneous varieties of the large fortified tell settlement type commonly termed ~KranzhĂŒgel~ is developed and implemented. The evidence gathered shows a complex system of sedentary habitation in the steppe, with a total of 302 sites likely dating to the period in question, 160 of which were
late_chalcolithic early_bronze_age settlement_pattern greater western trajectory sedentism semi_arid syrian steppe well researched archaeological_landscape northern_mesopotamia exist large region little previous investigation greater western northeastern syria take geographically holistic investigate focus crucial time_period saw initial abandonment sedentism steppe late_chalcolithic subsequent rapid settlement growth large_urban centre early_bronze_age dynamic examine collate diverse ground truth data excavation survey several investigation integrate extensive remote involve systematic_analysis area use satellite_imagery elevation data process gis database course refine categorisation heterogeneous variety large fortify tell settlement type commonly term develop implement evidence_gather show complex_system sedentary habitation steppe total site likely date_period question