Beyond subsistence? Settlement strategies of the Late Chalcolithic period in the Selevani Plain (Upper Iraqi Tigris)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide an integrated overview of the settlement and social dynamics present in the upper sector of the Iraqi Tigris River Valley and its immediate hinterland during the Late Chalcolithic period. This has been achieved by processing and interpreting the results of two extensive regional survey projects, namely the Eastern Ḫabur Archaeological Survey (EHAS) and the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project (LoNAP), recently undertaken along the eastern bank of the river. These results mark a significant advancement in the study of settlement patterns and cultural history compared to what was previously known of this region, which was mostly terra incognita prior to the current opening of Iraqi Kurdistan to a new era of archaeological field exploration.