Sub-Project MC 8.1 Society and Economy in Uruk-Period Northern Mesopotamia: Innovation and Alteration in Cross-Cultural Interaction Zones

Project Leader: Kristina Sauer

The PhD-project studied the mechanisms of cross-cultural and trans-regional innovation exchange and its influence on the differentiation of societies in Uruk period Mesopotamia (4th Mill. BC). Previous work on the innovative horizon of the Uruk period has mainly focused on individual considerations on sites and artefact groups. However, in order to understand processes of intercultural interactions in the Uruk period the trans-regional link between the settlements, their find complexes, as well as the environmental conditions must be taken into account. The focus of the project therefore was on the adaptation and transformation of certain elements of the Uruk culture through neighboring societies and vice versa, and aimed at a deeper understanding of the interaction in the early urban societies of the Middle East. The well documented sites of northern Mesopotamia as well as the major sites in the south – Uruk and Susa – constituted the focus of investigation. Their assemblages were examined with regard to differences between the material culture of the local population and the “Urukeans”. In addition, the economic basis and technological level of the settlements, as well as the organization of trade, commerce, and subsistence were analyzed. The project was inspired by Bruno Latour’s Actor-network-theory, but also took into consideration the mechanisms triggering innovations in the Uruk period. The approach was therefore cross-theoretical, as it drew upon aspects originating within the sociology of knowledge. The initial concept of regarding only the key elements of Sherratt’s “Secondary Products Theory” (Sherratt 1981) proved insufficient, due to a scarcity of available data. Therefore, the parameters of the study were extended thematically and chronologically. Characteristic elements of the Uruk Period were also taken into consideration, such as early means of administration; writing, the cylinder seal and associated practices (cf. Sauer and Sürenhagen forthcoming). Chronologically, the study also included the early third millennium BC, the beginning of the Early Bronze Age in Mesopotamia, since it is not until then that many innovative technologies, such as bronze casting or the use of wheel and cart, become fully tangible in the archaeological record.