Preliminary Results from the Bio-archaeological Research at Tell Helawa, South-West Erbil Plain, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (2016-2018)

This paper presents the first results from the bio-archaeological investigations currently ongoing at Tell Helawa, an irregular mound of ca. 10 ha located in the Erbil Plain (Kurdistan Region of Iraq). The field surveys, carried out since 2013, and the archaeological excavations so far indicate an occupation spanning from the late Halaf to the Late Chalcolithic 3, with a later re-occupation of the site in the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. Almost 900 animal remains were collected from several features and refuse pits dating from the Ubaid to the Late Bronze Age and investigated between 2016 and 2018. They provide information on the animal exploitation at the site and changes in subsistence economy through time. At the same time, samples for archaeobotanical analysis were collected from different domestic archaeological contexts (tannur, silos, occupation layers, and collapsed structures), along all the thick stratified sequence. The recovered plant remains (fruits and seeds) provide information on changes of plant economy, natural resource exploitation, and insight on synanthropic and semi-natural open ecosystems along all the occupation periods of the site.