New research in the North-western Kurdistan Region of Iraq allowed investigating, for first time in the area, the process of supply, production and distribution of Canaanean blades during the 5th to 3rd millennia BC. The area was, by far, essentially unknown since the resumption of the archaeological research in 2012. The present project contributed new and significative data to understand the increasing social complexity and landscape exploitation during the later stages of the Prehistory. By combining the lithic technological approach and a multi-parametric protocol of chert characterization – the NM-PCI – the present work investigated the evidence of local production and distribution of large blades departing from the knapping workshops of the Jebel Zawa chert source, that were active from the 4th to the 3rd millennia BC. The discovery of this previously unknown raw material source allowed to trace the circulation of the products following a regional perspective, by analysing the huge dataset of blades, resulting from the LoNAP survey. A specific sampling was performed to build a geological reference collection. The chert samples were studied following a three-step procedure: macroscopic (cortex, structure, colour) and microscopic descriptions (translucence, texture, micropalaeontology), and geochemical analyses (pXRF, Raman micro-spectroscopy). The application of the NM-PCI protocol outlined the compositional variability of the Zawa chert and highlighted the provenance markers which were adopted into the study of the artefacts provenance. The study focused also on the lithic assemblages from Tell Helawa (Erbil Plain), far distant about 150 km from the previous area, which was occupied from 6th to 4th millennia BC. Here, the almost exclusive exploitation of local raw materials (alluvial pebbles and cobbles) became to be integrated by the supply of Canaanean blades, around the half of the 4th millennium BC. The results from the application of the NM-PCI protocol on the archaeological artefacts and data comparison with the geological reference collection highlighted the existence of several regional networks, as well as long-distance circulation of Canaanean blades at Helawa, indicating complex systems of production and distribution, as well as relationships between the settlements established along the Zagros piedmont. This new picture, despite being partial, represents a pilot study and the starting point for future research on the subject, implementing the geological reference collection as a powerful tool to investigate these cultural dynamics.

Applicazione del protocollo NM-PCI allo studio delle produzioni litiche e circolazione delle materie prime alle pendici degli Zagros tra VI-III millennio a.C / Moscone, Daniele. - (2020 Nov 28).

Applicazione del protocollo NM-PCI allo studio delle produzioni litiche e circolazione delle materie prime alle pendici degli Zagros tra VI-III millennio a.C.

MOSCONE, DANIELE
28/11/2020

Abstract

New research in the North-western Kurdistan Region of Iraq allowed investigating, for first time in the area, the process of supply, production and distribution of Canaanean blades during the 5th to 3rd millennia BC. The area was, by far, essentially unknown since the resumption of the archaeological research in 2012. The present project contributed new and significative data to understand the increasing social complexity and landscape exploitation during the later stages of the Prehistory. By combining the lithic technological approach and a multi-parametric protocol of chert characterization – the NM-PCI – the present work investigated the evidence of local production and distribution of large blades departing from the knapping workshops of the Jebel Zawa chert source, that were active from the 4th to the 3rd millennia BC. The discovery of this previously unknown raw material source allowed to trace the circulation of the products following a regional perspective, by analysing the huge dataset of blades, resulting from the LoNAP survey. A specific sampling was performed to build a geological reference collection. The chert samples were studied following a three-step procedure: macroscopic (cortex, structure, colour) and microscopic descriptions (translucence, texture, micropalaeontology), and geochemical analyses (pXRF, Raman micro-spectroscopy). The application of the NM-PCI protocol outlined the compositional variability of the Zawa chert and highlighted the provenance markers which were adopted into the study of the artefacts provenance. The study focused also on the lithic assemblages from Tell Helawa (Erbil Plain), far distant about 150 km from the previous area, which was occupied from 6th to 4th millennia BC. Here, the almost exclusive exploitation of local raw materials (alluvial pebbles and cobbles) became to be integrated by the supply of Canaanean blades, around the half of the 4th millennium BC. The results from the application of the NM-PCI protocol on the archaeological artefacts and data comparison with the geological reference collection highlighted the existence of several regional networks, as well as long-distance circulation of Canaanean blades at Helawa, indicating complex systems of production and distribution, as well as relationships between the settlements established along the Zagros piedmont. This new picture, despite being partial, represents a pilot study and the starting point for future research on the subject, implementing the geological reference collection as a powerful tool to investigate these cultural dynamics.
28-nov-2020
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1461834
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