Book
Villages in the steppe: later Neolithic settlement and subsistence in the Balikh Valley, northern Syria
International Monographs in Prehistory • Ann Arbor, Mich. • Published In 1993 • Pages: xv, 351
By: Akkermans, Peter M. M. G..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Akkermans describes his survey and excavation work in the Balikh river valley. The sites described date from the Balikh I (Pre-Pottery Neolithic circa 7500 BC) to the Balikh V (late Chalcolithic period 3500-3000 BC). Several of the sites have occupations which date to the Halaf period (Sabi Abyad, Damishliyya, and Khirbet esh-Shenef). Akkermans dates the Halaf period from around 5200 BC to around 4500 BC (or 7200 BP to 6500 BP) mostly because he follows the convention of using uncorrected radiocarbon dates. In examining the Halaf period Akkermans was able to excavate several sites (or tells) and surface collect artifacts from dozens of other Neollithic sites within the valley. This allows Akkermans to discuss the settlement system, the subsistence economy and strategies, production, exchange (mostly of ceramics), and social organization in the valley and compare these findings to Halafian sites elsewhere in Turkey, Syria, and Iran. Akkermans emphasizes the excavation data from Sabi Abyad more than the other sites as this site produced better data from the Halafian period.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Settlement patterns
- Cultural participation
- Exchange and transfers
- Identification
- Chronologies and culture sequences
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Halafian
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Middle East
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Middle East
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- Book
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Sarah Berry; 2006
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- survey 1983; fieldwork 1984-1986 and 1988
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- Halaf period; 7200 BP-6500 BP uncalibrated (5200 BC-4500 BC uncalibrated)
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Balikh valley, northern Syria
- NotesAdditional notes
- by Peter M.M.G. Akkermans
- Originally published: Amsterdam : Universiteit van Amsterdam, Faculteit der Ruimtelijke Wetenschappen, 1990
- Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Amsterdam, 1990
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 325-351)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 93040086
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Halaf culture--Balikh River Valley (Turkey and Syria)/Subsistence economy--Balikh River Valley (Turkey and Syria)/Commerce, Prehistoric--Balikh River Valley (Turkey and Syria)/Land settlement patterns, Prehistoric--Balikh River Valley (Turkey and Syria)/Social archaeology--Balikh River Valley (Turkey and Syria)/Balikh River Valley (Turkey and Syria)--Antiquities/Syria--Antiquities