Of storage and nomads. The sealings from Late Neolithic, Sabi Abyad, Syria.

Abstract

Recent excavations at the lute Neolithic site of Tell Saht Ahvml in northern Svnn /une \ichletl hundreds of cla\ sealings in well-defined contexts. It is argued that these settlings facilitated the communal storage tit the site of all kinds t>f products tmtl claims h\ n nomadic ptipulatitm of considerable .si:c. In this respect, the settlings are indicative of the s\mhiosis hci\\ccn the sctlenltin tint! nomadic populations in the Late Ncolillm Résumé : It's fouilles récentes sur le .site néolithique ret fin tie Teil Saht Ahvtitl. Svrie du nord, ont revele tics centaines tic siellcmcnts en argile. Nous argumentons que tes scellements ont facilite n Saht Ah\iitl le stut (âge t oinmunal par une population nomade très étendue île toute sorte de produits et île créances. Aussi considérons nous t/i«' les scellements sont les témoins tie la symbiose entre les populations sédentaires et nomades du Néolithique Récent.

From a subsistence economy to the production of wealth in ancient formative societies: a political economy perspective

“…Dozens of seal impressions have been found in these storerooms, which were probably kept there for a time as documentary evidence of the transactions performed there. The decision to share the harvested produce may have been due to the fact that some or all the members of the community would be away on a seasonal basis, probably to engage in pastoralism, making it necessary to appoint someone to ensure the safekeeping of the harvest and guarantee fair and regulated access to the stored commodities (Akkermans and Duistermaat 1996). All this formed part of a mixed economy based on agriculture, livestock and hunting, managed by groups dedicated on a seasonal basis to some of these activities, who then put the goods into circulation around the region which was an ecologically varied environment with areas suitable for exploiting different kinds of resources.…”

Halaf Ve Obeyd Dönemleri̇ni̇n Toplumsal Örgütlenme Geli̇şkenli̇ği̇ Açisindan Karşilaştirilmasi Ve Tell Kurdu Örneği̇

“…The growing evidence for (semi) nomadic habi tation during the sixth millennium BC evokes a completely different lifestyle and presumably a different level of social complexity (Flannery 1999). Especially Syrian sites like Sabi Abyad, Khirbet esh-Shenef, Damishliyya and Umm Qseir (Akkermans 1993;Akkermans and Duistermaat 1997;Akkermans and Schwartz 2003: 117-121;Akkermans and Wittmann 1993) and a few locat ed in modern-day Turkey like Fıstıklı Höyük and Nevalı Çori (Bernbeck et al 2003;Pollock 2009) may fall within this framework. A semi-nomadic lifestyle in no way precludes socio-political com plexity, but it undoubtedly makes complex social formations, as Flannery frankly states, "hard to identify " (Flannery 1999: 44).…”

“…However, the associated archaeological correlates are subtle and can be read in several interpretative ways. For example, silos for the collective storage of grain and storage rooms for other surpluses already existed in the Late Neolithic Phases in northern Mesopotamia at sites like Sabi Abyad (Akkermans and Duistermaat 1997;Akkermans and Verhoeven 1995), Tell el-Kerkh (Tsuneki et al 1998:11-12, fig. 11), Umm Dabaghiyah (Kirkbride 1975), Yarim Tepe I (Merpert and Munchaev 1993a: fig.…”

Early Mesopotamian urbanism: a new view from the north

“…3400 BC). Yet this important administrative practice had its origins in central and northern Mesopotamia as early as 7000 BC (Akkermans & Duistermaat 1997;also Ferioli et al 1994;Oates 1996) and by the Late 'Ubaid period had become a well-developed practice on northern sites, unrepresented in the south (e.g. Tepe Gawra; and Deǧirmentepe in south-eastern Turkey, Esin 1994).…”