Ubaid period

The excavators of Eridu and Tell al-'Ubaid found Ubaid pottery for the first time in the 1910–1920s. In 1930, the attendees at a conference in Baghdad defined the concept of an "Ubaid pottery style". This characteristic pottery of this style was a black-on-buff painted ware. This conference also defined the Eridu and Hajji Muhammed styles. Scholars at this conference mistakenly thought that these pottery styles were so different that "[...] they could not have developed out of the old, as is the case with the Uruk ware after the al-'Ubaid ware [...]". For many attendants of the conference, "this sequence based largely on pottery represented a series of different 'ethnic elements' in the occupation of southern Mesopotamia." These ideas about the nature of the Ubaid style phenomenon did not last. The term "Ubaid" is still used, but its meaning has changed over time. Joan Oates demonstrated in 1960 that the Eridu and Hajji Muhammed styles were not distinct at all. Instead, they were part of the greater Ubaid phenomenon. She proposed a chronological framework that divides the Ubaid period in four phases. Other scholars later proposed two more phases, zero and five. Scholars in the 1930s only knew a few Ubaid sites. These included the type site of Tell al-'Ubaid, Ur, and in the north, Tepe Gawra. Since then, archaeologists have discovered Ubaid material culture throughout the ancient Near East. There are now Ubaid sites in the Amuq Valley in the northwest and all the way to the Persian Gulf coast in the southeast. The excavation at Tell el-'Oueili in the 1980s revealed occupation layers that were older than those from Eridu. This discovery pushed back the date for the earliest human occupation of Lower Mesopotamia. Excavations along southern coast of the Persian Gulf provided a great deal of evidence for contacts with Mesopotamia. The site of H3 in Kuwait, for example, provided the earliest evidence in the world for seafaring. The explosion of archaeological research in Iraqi Kurdistan since the 2010s also led to discovery of even more new data on the Ubaid. For example, this research demonstrated that cultural links between the Shahrizor Plain and the Hamrin area farther south were stronger than those with the north. == Climate and environment ==

Mesopotamia lacks local, high-resolution climate proxy records such as those found at the Soreq Cave in Israel, making it difficult to reconstruct the region's past climate. Even so, it is known that the environment during the sixth and fifth millennium BC differed from today's. A more temperate climate settled in around 10,000 BC. Marshy and riverine areas transformed into floodplains, and eventually river banks with trees. The area south of Baghdad may have been habitable by humans in the eleventh millennium BC, but current evidence places the earliest settlements south of Uruk during the eighth millennium BC, though previous scholarship had believed it to be much later. Archaeobotanical research in the Ubaid 0 levels at 'Oueili (6500-6000 BC) has indicated the presence of Euphrates poplar and sea clubrush, both indicating a wetland environment. Changes in sea-level shaped the shoreline of the Persian Gulf: at the beginning of the Ubaid, around 6500 BC, the shoreline at Kuwait may have run slightly farther south. During the subsequent 2.5 millennia, the shoreline moved farther northward, up to the ancient city of Ur around 4000 BC. Date palms were present in southern Mesopotamia since at least the eleventh millennium BC, predating the earliest evidence for domesticated dates from Eridu by several millennia. Date palms require a perennial water source, again indicating that this period may have been wetter than today. Similarly, oak was present from the eighth millennium, but disappeared at around the same time that Ubaid material culture spread outward from southern Mesopotamia during the sixth millennium BC. It has been suggested that acquisition of high-quality wood may have played a role in this expansion. The available evidence in northern Mesopotamia points to a cooler and drier climate during the Hassuna and Halaf periods. From the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional (HUT) to early Uruk periods, this developed into a climate characterised by stronger seasonal variation, heavy torrential rains, and dry summers. == Dating and geographical distribution ==

Ubaid and Ubaid-like material culture has been discovered over an immense area. Ubaid ceramics have been found from Mersin in the west to Tepe Ghabristan in the east, and from Norşuntepe and Arslantepe in the north to Dosariyah in the south along the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. In this area, researchers have discerned considerable regional variation, indicating that the Ubaid was not a monolithic culture through time and space. In Northern Syria and southeastern Turkey, the Ubaid follows upon the Halaf period, and a relatively short Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period (HUT) dating to c. 5500-5200 BC has been proposed as well. The relationships between these cultural periods is complex and not yet fully understood, including how and when the Ubaid began to appear in Northern Mesopotamia. To resolve these issues, modern scholarship tends to focus more on regional trajectories of change where different cultural elements from the Halaf, Samarra, or Ubaid – pottery, architecture, and so forth – could co-exist. This makes it increasingly difficult to define an occupation phase at a site as, for example, purely Ubaid or purely Halaf. In Northern Mesopotamia, Ubaid characteristics only begin to appear in Ubaid 2-3, i.e. toward the end of the sixth millennium BC, so that the entire Ubaid period there would be much shorter. For Syria, a range of 5300–4300 BC has been suggested. However, some scholars have argued that the interaction between the originally southern Mesopotamian Ubaid and the north had begun during Ubaid 1–2. Small objects such as labrets, tokens, clay nails, and small tools that may have had cosmetic use, and that are known from southern Mesopotamian sites also occur on sites along the Gulf coast, notably the sites in Kuwait. Conversely, evidence exists for Arabian Neolithic material in Southern Mesopotamia. It has been noted that certain types of flint arrowheads found at Ur show clear resemblance with the Arabian Bifacial Tradition. Arabian Coarse Ware has been found at the sites of 'Oueili and Eridu. As at the sites in Kuwait, it may be possible that Arabian Neolithic groups also lived in Southern Mesopotamia. == Material culture ==

Figurines The majority of Ubaid figurines represented various animals, including sheep, cattle, and dogs. Those from the early Ubaid reflect a continuation of earlier traditions. File:Female clay figurine - Ubaid period - Ur - ME 122872.jpg|Figurine of a woman; clay; ; Tell el-Muqayyar File:Two female figurines with bitumen headdresses ceramic Ur Iraq Ubaid 4 period 4500-4000 BCE.jpg|alt=Photograph of two ceramic figurines with breasts arms and incised eyes|Ophidian figurines of women from Ur (Ubaid 4) File:Female figurines Ubaid IV Tello ancient Girsu 4700-4200 BC Louvre Museum.jpg|Ubaid IV; two figurines of women; ; Tell Tello; Louvre Museum AO 15327 Stamp seals motif from Girsu, currently in the Louvre Museum (AO14165) Stamp seals had been in use in Upper Mesopotamia since the seventh millennium BC. By the time of the Ubaid period, a wide range of motifs had developed, including geometric patterns and depictions of animals and occasionally, humans. The Ubaid period saw the first depictions of ibex-headed and bird-headed humans. File:Drop-shaped_(tanged)_pendant_seal_and_modern_impression._Quadrupeds,_ca._4500–3500_B.C._Late_Ubaid_-_Middle_Gawra._Northern_Mesopotamia.jpg|alt=|Late Ubaid – Middle Gawra (c. 4500–3500 BC) pendant seal and modern impression with quadrupeds motif from northern Mesopotamia, currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art ( 93.17.122) File:Stamp_seal_and_modern_impression._Horned_animal_and_bird,6th–5th_millennium_B.C._Northern_Syria_or_Southeastern_Anatolia._Ubaid_Period._Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art.jpg|alt=|Ubaid (6th–5th millennium BC) stamp seal and modern impression with horned animal and bird motif from northern Syria or southeastern Anatolia, currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1984.175.13) Pottery The Ubaid period was first distinguished on the basis of its painted pottery. Ceramics continue to be a main characteristic to determine the chronology and geographical distribution of the period. The paint varies from black to brown, purple, and dark green and the pottery fabric usually has a buff to red-green brown color. Obsidian was also in use during the Ubaid, although the percentage of obsidian tools that was found at archaeological sites fluctuates widely across Mesopotamia. At sites along the middle Euphrates, only few pieces were usually found, and the number of obsidian artefacts was also limited in southern Mesopotamian sites. At sites along the Khabur and the upper Tigris, obsidian was more common. Also, obsidian seems to have been less common during the Ubaid than during the preceding Halaf period and the subsequent Uruk period. The Ubaid may have witnessed a shift in the production of flint tools from being carried out as a domestic activity to a more specialized activity carried out by dedicated craftspeople. This may have been associated with the introduction of Canaanean blade technology, which became common in the fourth millennium BC that may have been linked to increased mass-production and intensification of agricultural strategies. Metallurgy Evidence for metallurgy comes from several sites in Upper Mesopotamia, all dating to the final stages of the Ubaid period. At Mersin, Level XVI (5000–4900 BC), unalloyed copper pins and chisels were found. At southeastern Anatolian sites such as Değirmentepe and Norşuntepe, metallurgical production was practiced during the Ubaid 3, as evidenced by furnaces and related finds. At late fifth millennium , northern Iraq, kilns were excavated that may have been used for the production of both pottery and metal. Copper objects are also known from the Ubaid levels at Tepe Gawra (XVII–XII) and Tell Arpachiyah. Copper objects were absent in the Ubaid levels at Eridu and 'Oueili, possibly indicating that copper use spread southward from the north. However, copper may have been traded, as it was present in elite burials of the Susa I (terminal Ubaid) necropolis at Susa east of the Tigris. In general, copper objects seem to be very rare and gold has not been found at Ubaid sites. Boats and boat models The Ubaid period provides the first evidence for boating in the ancient Near East. Ceramic boat models have been recovered from numerous sites across Mesopotamia, from Zeidan and Tell Mashnaqa in modern-day northern Syria to Eridu and 'Oueili in the south and Abada in the Hamrin. These models date from Ubaid 1–4, but become more common from Ubaid 3 onward. The models indicate that different boat types may have been in use, including reed boats, and boats with masts. It has been noted that no evidence for boats has been recovered from Halaf sites in northern Mesopotamia, and that Ubaid 3, from which more boat models have been recovered, coincides with the expansion of the Ubaid toward the north and into the Persian Gulf. At (Iraqi Kurdistan), evidence from animal bones also suggests that wool production may have been important. Burials The most common burial practice during the Ubaid seems to have been primary inhumation; i.e. burial of the complete body. During Ubaid 4, some 80% (adults) and 94% (infants) of the burials consisted of primary inhumations. The dead were often accompanied by personal adornments such as beads, necklaces, and headdresses. Pots (presumably) containing foodstuffs were also common. By the fifth millennium BC, children and adults were given differing treatments in death. The available evidence indicates that infants were primarily buried inside the settlement, often near larger, presumably more important dwellings, and often in pots. The association of child burials with larger buildings is well-illustrated at the sites of Tell Abada and Tepe Gawra. It has been suggested that this pattern of child burials near larger dwellings was related to increasing social differentiation between kin groups. Labrets and/or ear-spools were likewise recovered from many archaeological Ubaid sites across Mesopotamia and its border regions. In at least one case from southwestern Iran, a labret was found in situ in a burial, located at the mandible of the buried individual and with associated tooth wear indicating that it had been worn. == Subsistence economy ==

Agriculture The modern excavations at Tell Zeidan have revealed a wealth of information on the subsistence economy of a large northern Mesopotamian Ubaid settlement. Cultivated species included barley, wheat, lentil, ervil, and flax. There is some evidence that the inhabitants of Zeidan practiced a form of floodwater irrigation on agricultural lands. The excavators have suggested that the unpredictability of this type of irrigation may have been a factor in increasing social complexity. The relative absence of animal dung, and the common presence of charred wood remains, suggests that wood was used as fuel. At Surezha, dung was commonly used for fuel, and there is some evidence that cattle were used as traction animals for plowing fields. Fishing The Ubaid-related sites along the Persian Gulf coast provide evidence for fishing. The range of species recovered at H3, for example, indicates that fishing probably mainly took place in shallow coastal waters. Tuna, which cannot be caught in Kuwait Bay anymore, also was found at the site. Fish may have been a local commodity that was traded for the Mesopotamian pottery that has been found at sites along the Persian Gulf. == Society ==

Ubaid culture is characterized by large unwalled village settlements, multi-roomed rectangular mud-brick houses and the appearance of the first temples of public architecture in Mesopotamia, with a growth of a two-tier settlement hierarchy of centralized large sites of more than ten hectares surrounded by smaller village sites of less than one hectare. Domestic equipment included a distinctive fine quality buff or greenish colored pottery decorated with geometric designs in brown or black paint. Tools such as sickles were often made of hard fired clay in the south, while in the north stone and sometimes metal were used. Villages thus contained specialised craftspeople, potters, weavers, and metalworkers, although the bulk of the population were agricultural labourers, farmers, and seasonal pastoralists. During the Ubaid period (5000–4000 BC), the movement toward urbanization began. "Agriculture and animal husbandry [domestication] were widely practiced in sedentary communities". There were also tribes who practiced domesticating animals as far north as Turkey, and as far south as the Zagros Mountains. There is some evidence of warfare during the Ubaid period although it is extremely rare. The "Burnt Village" at Tell Sabi Abyad could be suggestive of destruction during war, but it could also have been due to other causes, such as wildfire or accident. Ritual burning is also possible since the bodies inside were already dead by the time they were burned. A mass grave at Tepe Gawra contained 24 bodies apparently buried without any funeral rituals, possibly indicating it was a mass grave from violence. Copper weapons were also present in the form of arrow heads and sling bullets, although these could have been used for other purpose; two clay pots recovered from the era have decorations showing arrows used for the purpose of hunting. A copper axe head was made in the late Ubaid period, which could have been a tool or a weapon. More recent discussion has taken a more careful approach, taking pains not to equate pots with people or language with ethnicity. Archaeologists have stressed that a high degree of cultural continuity is evident throughout the Ubaid and Uruk periods, and it seems that there is some agreement that "the relation between three categories, linguistic, racial and ethnic, is exceedingly complex in Mesopotamia and still far from being sufficiently investigated". Scarce DNA analysis of human skeletal material from various archaeological sites in Upper Mesopotamia (none of which dated to the Ubaid period) provides some evidence for genetic links with other regions, but also provides evidence for continuity within Mesopotamia. Most importantly, the dating of genetic influxes that have been detected, has not been refined adequately in order to be assigned to the Ubaid period – or any other period earlier than the one from which the skeletal material came. In other words, this genetic influx could have happened during the Ubaid – or not. == See also ==