article

The genesis and collapse of third millennium north Mesopotamian civilization

Science261Published In 1993 • Pages: 995-1004

By: Weiss, Harvey, Courty, Marie-Agnès, Wetterstrom, Wilma, Guichard, François, Senior, Louise M., Meadow, Richard H., Curnow, Anna.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Weiss et al. describe the stratigraphy from excavations at Tell Leilan and Abu Hgeira in the Habur Plains in northeast Syria. They found evidence of a marked increase in aridity and wind circulation subseqeunt to a volcanic eruption, probably in Anatolia. The abrupt climate change led to the collapse of the Akkadian empire. Climatic disruption and collapses also occurred in the Aegean, Egypt, and the Indus. The climatic disruption lasted for 300 years so it may not have been soley a response to the volcanic eruption.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Climate
Sociocultural trends
Settlement patterns
Cultural stratigraphy
Soil
traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Akkadian
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2009
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
article
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; 2008
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1989
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
4600 BP-3900 BP(2600 BC-1900 BC)
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Habur Plain, Syria
NotesAdditional notes
H. Weiss, M.-A. Courty, W. Wetterstrom, F. Guichard, L. Senior, R. Meadow, A. Curnow
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
17024346
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Akkadians