essay
The ceramic evidence for sociopolitical organization in 'Ubaid southwestern Iran
chiefdoms and early states in the near east : the organizational dynamics of complexity • (18) • Published In 1994 • Pages: 23-33
By: Berman, Judith C..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Berman's article investigates the organizational or broadly cultural meaning of the remarkable homogenity of pottery styles during the 'Ubaid period and their surprisingly long duration. In her article she examines the loci of manufacture, the process of distribution, and the modes of manufacture of ceramics as an indication of societal functioning and dynamics during the 'Ubaid. In particular, Berman asks whether 'Ubaid pottery is locally produced or centrally manufactured and then supplied some distance to a variety of consumers. If high status ceramics were centrally produced by chiefs and then redistributed to local elites as badges of rank, then one would expect to find a single chemical composition for all such ceramics buried with the Suse phase elites. Instead, however, Berman's neutron activation analysis shows great heterogeneity in these elite wares, implying that chiefly centers did not control pottery production in the surrounding countryside. This combination of stylistic uniformity and compositional variability suggests that the social landscape of the terminal 'Ubaid consisted of numerous politically independent groupings unified by a shared ideological system (p, 23).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Ceramic technology
- Dating methods in archaeology
- Functional specialization areas
- Cultural participation
- Chronologies and culture sequences
- traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Ubaid
- 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
- essay
- 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.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 2006
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- no date
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 7500-6000 BP (5500-4000 BC)
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- southwestern Iran
- NotesAdditional notes
- Judith Berman
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 30-33)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 94010284
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Ubaid culture