 Halaf culture (in green), next toSamarra,Hassuna andUbaid cultures. | |
| Geographical range | Mesopotamia |
|---|---|
| Period | Neolithic 3 – Pottery Neolithic (PN) |
| Dates | c. 6,100–5,100 BC |
| Type site | Tell Halaf |
| Major sites | Tell Brak |
| Preceded by | Pre-Pottery Neolithic B,Yarmukian culture |
| Followed by | Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period,Hassuna culture,Samarra culture |
TheHalaf culture is aprehistoric period which lasted between about 6100 BC and 5100 BC.[1] The period is a continuous development out of the earlierPottery Neolithic and is located primarily in the fertile valley of theKhabur River (Nahr al-Khabur), of south-easternTurkey,Syria, and northernIraq, although Halaf-influenced material is found throughout GreaterMesopotamia.
While the period is named after the site ofTell Halaf in northSyria, excavated byMax von Oppenheim between 1911 and 1927, the earliest Halaf period material was excavated byJohn Garstang in 1908 at the site ofSakce Gözü.[2] Small amounts of Halaf material were also excavated in 1913 byLeonard Woolley at Carchemish, on the Turkish/Syrian border.[3] However, the most important site for the Halaf tradition was the site ofTell Arpachiyah, now located in the suburbs ofMosul,Iraq.[4]
The Halaf period was succeeded by theHalaf-Ubaid Transitional period, which comprised the late Halaf (c. 5400–5000 BC), and then by theUbaid period.
Previously, the Syrian plains were not considered as the homeland of Halaf culture, and the Halafians were seen either ashill people who descended from the nearby mountains of southeastern Anatolia, or herdsmen from northern Iraq.[5] However, those views changed with the recent archaeology conducted since 1986 byPeter Akkermans, which have produced new insights and perspectives about the rise of Halaf culture.[6] A formerly unknown transitional culture between the pre-HalafNeolithic's era and Halaf's era was uncovered in theBalikh valley, atTell Sabi Abyad (the Mound of the White Boy).
Currently, eleven occupational layers have been unearthed in Sabi Abyad. Levels from 11 to 7 are consideredpre-Halaf; from 6 to 4, transitional; and from 3 to 1,early Halaf. No hiatus in occupation is observed except between levels 11 and 10.[5] The new archaeology demonstrated that Halaf culture was not sudden and was not the result of foreign people, but rather a continuous process of indigenous cultural changes in northern Syria[7] that spread to the other regions.[1]
Halaf pottery has been found in other parts of northern Mesopotamia, such as atNineveh andTepe Gawra,Chagar Bazar,Tell Amarna[8] and at many sites inAnatolia (Turkey) suggesting that it was widely used in the region.
The Halaf culture saw the earliest known appearance ofstamp seals in the Near East.[9] They featured essentially geometric patterns.[9]
Halaf culture ended by 5000 BC after entering the so-calledHalaf-Ubaid Transitional period.[10] Many Halafian settlements were abandoned, and the remaining ones showedUbaidian characters.[11] The new period is named Northern Ubaid to distinguish it from the proper Ubaid in southern Mesopotamia,[12] and two explanations were presented for the transformation. The first maintains an invasion and a replacement of the Halafians by the Ubaidians; however, there is no hiatus between the Halaf and northern Ubaid which exclude the invasion theory.[11][13] The most plausible theory is a Halafian adoption of the Ubaid culture,[11] which is supported by most scholars, includingOates,Breniquet, and Akkermans.[12][13][14]
