Petrography-based discrimination of production areas within southern MesopotamiA. New data on the Ubaid pottery from Tell Zurghul (Dhi Qar, Iraq)

This article presents new results on the Ubaid pottery production from Tell Zurghul/Nigin (Dhi Qar, Iraq). Through thin-section petrography and comparison with edited data we identi-fied intra- and inter-site differences in the raw material procurement patterns and paste preparation modes employed to produce Ubaid vessels across South Mesopotamia. At Tell Zurghul, these varia-tions do not specifically correlate with distinct vessel shapes, suggesting a household organisation of the pottery production. At an inter-site level, these variations are powerful tools to discriminate possible pottery production zones within the Mesopotamian alluvium. These production zones can be distinguished by the proportion of heavy minerals and especially of epidotes and amphiboles, which appear in increased amounts in the Tigris sedimentological zones of influence.