THE HALAF AND THE UBAID PERIODS IN THE EASTERN TIGRIS REGION: A MULTI-SCALAR APPROACH FOR DOCUMENTING CULTURAL CHANGE

The period between the 6th and the 5th millennia BCE was a time of profound transformations in northern Mesopotamia. This thesis explores these dynamics at the site of Helawa in the Erbil Plain, where phases dated to the Halaf and the Late Ubaid periods have been recovered in stratigraphic succession. Through the combination of architectural, spatial, and ceramic analyses, changes in the structuring of space and in pottery production are identified. Technological observations on the ceramic assemblage from Helawa suggest new trends in the manufacturing process during the 5th millennium, while modifications in vessel shapes are detected through a chrono-typological seriation. Similarly, the adoption of the modular mud brick and the emphasis on rectangular spaces point towards a growing regularity in spatial planning. The dynamics seen at Helawa are then linked to contemporary sequences in the Mosul, Qara Dagh, Shahrizor and Hamrin areas. While the final outcomes of the Halaf-Ubaid transformation are in many cases similar across the Eastern Tigris, a comparative analysis indicates that the process of change was localized and unfolded through a variety of trajectories. This trend reinforces the idea that the shift from the Halaf to the Ubaid was complex and diversified both in terms of dynamics and chronology across northeastern Mesopotamia.