book chapter

Heartland of cities: surveys of ancient settlement and land use on the central floodplain of the Euphrates

University of Chicago Press • Chicago • Published In 1981 • Pages:

By: Adams, Robert McCormick.

Abstract

Adams describes the Mesopotamian environment, his surface survey, and its results in this pivitol study on the settlement patterns in Mesopotamia and the Diyala region. Adams' book describes settlements and traces some of the ancient canals and river courses from the Ubaid Period up through the Late Islamic Periods. However, only materials that pertain to the Early Dynastic Period were indexed for Outline of Cultural Materials (OCM) codes. Adams' survey results help to show the urbanization of the area during the Early Dynastic Period, settlement hierarchies, other settlement shifts and land use patterns. He also explores the reasons for the instability of irrigation agriculture in this area; such as the need for a stable central government (an idea that some other authors would dispute - see 3: D'iakonov ) and the problems with salinization of the soil. Adams' book also includes a general site catalog. It provides information on the size of the site, the kind of artifacts found at the sites and the sites' probable time period(s).

HRAF PubDate

2003

Region

Middle East

Sub Region

Middle East

Document Type

book chapter

Evaluation

Creator Type

Archaeologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Sarah Berry ; 2001

Field Date

mainly Nov. 1968 to Dec 1975; also 1956-1957, the early 1960's, and a little in 1967

Coverage Date

4900 BP-4334 BP (2900 B.C.-2334 B.C.)

Coverage Place

Mesopotamia; Iraq

Notes

Robert McC. Adams

Includes bibliographical references (p. 353-360) and index

Appendix, pages 295-345, will be found in 11:Wright

LCCN

80013995

LCSH

Iraq--Civilization--To 634