essay

Cultural action in the Uruk world

uruk mesopotamia & its neighbors : cross-cultural interactions in the era of state formationSante Fe, Nm • Published In 2001 • Pages: 123-147

By: Wright, Henry T. (Henry Tutwiler).

Abstract
Wright in this essay on the Uruk world believes that the Uruk expansion period lasted hundreds of years longer than earlier scholars had thought; more than a thousand years in his estimate. He describes the size and diversity of the region surveyed and discusses how travel time had shrunk to some degree in the area because of the better use of the rivers as routes of communication and because of the domestication of the donkey used in transportation. In the basic use of raw materials Wright contradicts Algaze's model by showing that the resources of the alluvium were greater than Algaze implies. The author then reviews some areas that need further study in regard to the material record, these being food production, craft organization, tribute, and control. He concludes this essay with a sketch of the long transition from small, scattered agricultural villages to cities, and increasing political and economic elaboration and competition (Rothman, 2001, no. 18, p. 15).
Subjects
Ceramic technology
Chronologies and culture sequences
Diet
Population
Exploitative activities
Exchange transactions
Sociocultural trends
tradition
Late Chalcolithic Mesopotamia
HRAF PubDate
2000
Region
Middle East
Sub Region
Middle East
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Archaeologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
John Beierle; 2006
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
6000-5000 BP (4000-3000 BC)
Coverage Place
Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey
Notes
Henry T. Wright
For bibliographical references see document 17:Rothman
LCCN
2001049321
LCSH
Middle East--Civilization--To 622/Erech (Extinct city)