A radiocarbon chronology for the middle Khabur, Syria

Following several seasons of survey and sampling of prehistoric sites in the middle and western Khabur drainage, we have secured more than fifty radiocarbon dates that provide an internally consistent, accurate and detailed chronology for this region. In this paper we provide a short synopsis of each sampled site by archaeological period (Table 1), accompanied by drawings of diagnostic ceramics. A complete presentation of the archaeological, artifactual, botanical and zoological records will be published as a monograph. The Yale University teams have conducted a series of excavations, surveys and sampling projects in the middle Khabur region over the past thirteen years (Fig. 1). The principal goals of these efforts have been to document the prehistoric periods and to relate the distribution and density of sites to the natural environment and its changes, as well as to changes in the social, economic and political contexts prevailing locally and in northern Mesopotamia. In order to carry out intra-regional and inter-regional comparisons and interpretations, it is essential to have a solid chronological foundation. Unfortunately, accurate, calibrated radiocarbon dates based on modern techniques have been few and scattered, thus giving rise to unwarranted dependence on cross-comparisons with ceramics, or on isolated dates. Moreover, with calibration it is apparent that the commonly accepted definition of a “millennium” to encompass only a thousand years is not always accurate. This means that to use “conventional” radiocarbon dates often results in a very biased view of rates of change and of relations between regions.