IDENTITY, NETWORKS AND PRODUCTION IN UPPER MESOPOTAMIAN SOCIETIES UNDER HIERARCHIZATION PROCESS

THIS RESEARCH AIMS TO DEEPEN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROCESS OF HIERARCHIZATION IN THE NORTH-EASTERN REGIONS OF THE NEAR EAST. THIS REGION SUFFERS FROM A DEFICIT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANALYTICAL RECORDS FOR THIS HORIZON, DUE TO THE TUMULTUOUS GEOPOLITICAL HISTORY IT HAS SUFFERED IN RECENT DECADES. THE WORK CARRIED OUT SINCE 1991 BY A TEAM IN SYRIA AND TURKEY, AND THE POLITICAL STABILITY IN THE REGION OF IRAQI KURDISTAN, HAS ALLOWED THE INITIATION OF PROJECTS THAT COMBINE NEW OBJECTIVES AND AN INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT FOR AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL APPROACH TO PHENOMENA SUCH AS THE CONSOLIDATION OF AGRICULTURAL AND LIVESTOCK PRACTICES LINKED TO SUBSISTENCE PRODUCTION AND EVIDENCE OF HIERARCHIZATION OF THESE COMMUNITIES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BRONZE AGE, IN THE FORMATION OF STATE STRUCTURES. THIS PROJECT ALSO WANTS TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONTINUITY AND CONSOLIDATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC WORK THAT THE RESEARCH TEAM HAS BEEN DEVELOPING IN THIS AREA OF NORTHERN MESOPOTAMIA SINCE 2015. IN THIS CHRONOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK, SETTLEMENTS BECOME CENTRES OF PRODUCTION, STORAGE, EXCHANGE, AND DISTRIBUTION, AND SCENARIOS FOR ALL TYPES OF SOCIAL COMMITMENTS MANAGED BY SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS OF INDIVIDUALS. IN THIS CONTEXT, DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS HAVE ALLOWED FOR ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING DIACHRONIC STUDIES, SHOWING THE EXISTENCE OF ITINERANT CAMPS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE NEOLITHIC TO THE ADVANCED BRONZE AGE. THERE ARE ALSO SIGNIFICANT ADJUSTMENTS IN THE SUBSISTENCE ECONOMY, WHICH INVOLVE AN INCREASE IN LIVESTOCK, TRANSHUMANCE, AND MOBILITY. THESE AND OTHER STUDIES SHOW THAT ECONOMIC DYNAMICS AND RAW MATERIAL EXCHANGE AS WELL AS OTHER POPULATION MOBILITY PROCESSES SUCH AS THE UBAID OR URUK EXPANSION TAKE PLACE. THE STUDY FOCUSES ON THE INTERDISCIPLINARY ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF TWO COMPLEMENTARY GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS, THE TERRACES AND PLAINS SURROUNDING THE TIGRIS AND ITS TRIBUTARIES, THE ZABS, AND THE FOOTHILLS OF THE ZAGROS MOUNTAINS IN THE NORTH-EASTERN MESOPOTAMIAN PLAIN. THE CONTINUITY OF ONGOING FIELD PROJECTS (EXCAVATIONS AT GIRD LASKHIR AND BANAHILK) ALONG WITH THE DOCUMENTATION ALREADY PROVIDED BY THE SAME SITES AND THE COLLABORATION WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS (UNIVERSITY OF UDINE, UNIVERSITY OF LYON, AND UNIVERSITY OF SALAHADDIN) OR REVIEW OF MUSEUM MATERIALS (MUSEUMS OF ERBIL, SULEIMANIA, AND DUHOK) WILL HELP ACCESS AND ANALYSE NEW RECORDS, MAINLY OF BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL ORIGIN, WHICH WILL FACILITATE THE RENEWAL OF KNOWLEDGE IN ASPECTS ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD-WAYS AND INTERACTIONS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT. THE APPLICANT TEAM IS COMPOSED OF RESEARCHERS WITH EXPERIENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND WITH A TEAM IN TRAINING IN THE MAIN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCIPLINES THAT WILL HELP OBTAIN AND PROCESS RESULTS, AS WELL AS THE DISSEMINATE PROJECT OUTCOMES THROUGH PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCES. EL EQUIPO SOLICITANTE ESTA COMPUESTO POR INVESTIGADORES CON EXPERIENCIA EN ORIENTE MEDIO Y CON UN EQUIPO EN FORMACION EN LAS PRINCIPALES DISCIPLINAS ARQUEOLOGICAS QUE AYUDARAN A OBTENER Y PROCESAR RESULTADOS, ASI COMO A DIFUNDIR LOS RESULTADOS DEL PROYECTO A TRAVES DE PUBLICACIONES Y CONGRESOS.