Plant remains from Tell Ashara (Terqa) and Tell Masaikh in the Middle Euphrates, south-eastern Syria
Archaeobotanical report (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
p. 423-442
Texte intégral
INTRODUCTION1
1Archaeobotanical studies at Tell Ashara (ancient Terqa) on the western bank of the lower part of the Syrian Middle Euphrates (some 60 km south of Deir-ez-Zor) and at Tell Masaikh on the eastern bank commenced in 2006 as part of a major joint archaeological project with the two sites directed by Olivier Rouault and Maria Grazia Masetti-Rouault respectively. The aim of the archaeobotanical research has been to study the plant remains in order to provide new insights into the understanding of the nature of the agricultural economy and the role of crop production at both sites throughout their extended occupation. Tell Ashara has been identified as the site of Terqa of the third and second millennium BC, while Tell Masaikh is thought to have been occupied from at least the fifth millennium BC onwards, with the most distinct evidence for Neo-Assyrian occupation (9th–7th century BC, when it was called Kar-Ashurnasirpal) and Roman settlements. This report presents some preliminary results from these ongoing archaeobotanical investigations. The material forming the basis for this report was recovered from the 2006 and 2007 seasons of excavation at both sites.2
2Today, Terqa and Tell Masaikh are located well below the 250 mm rainfall isohyet, which is considered as the lower limit for rain-fed agriculture. Both sites actually lie close to the 155 mm isohyet, which is the present mean annual precipitation recorded for the area of Deir-ez-Zor.3 It has been widely regarded that in prehistory in order to guarantee a satisfactory crop yield, this part of northern Mesopotamia, the lower Middle Euphrates, would have had to be dependent on irrigation agriculture.4 The role of the irrigation system in the Middle Euphrates economy, its actual function, scale, maintenance and chronology have been the subject of an active archaeological debate which is by no means concluded.5
3For a long time ancient northern Mesopotamia in the fifth-fourth millennia BC was considered a backward rural periphery concerning the developments in urbanism, and their economic and sociopolitical implications, in southern Mesopotamia.6 With more recent investigations, however, it has become increasingly clear that in fourth millennium BC northern Mesopotamia the economic, sociopolitical and urban developments were at least as complex as those in the south and moreover that it is possible that they took place earlier than previously recognised. In the third millennium BC northern Mesopotamia consisted of a network of large cities involved in trade with each other and with the neighbouring regions.7 From textual sources ancient Terqa is known to have been one of the first urban settlements in the Middle Euphrates at this time, and that later on, after the destruction of Mari by Hammurabi of Babylon, Terqa became a new political centre of the region.8 It seems that the contacts with the south resulted not only in the importing of goods into the Middle Euphrates region but also in the adaptation of the knowledge of hydrological techniques already well developed in southern Mesopotamia. Despite the obvious importance of irrigated agriculture in the Middle Euphrates economy, its actual nature, especially with regards to crop production and animal husbandry, as well as its response to the changes in sociopolitical organisation and the increase of food demand in the third millennium BC has remained somewhat enigmatic. Therefore, one of the major questions addressed to archaeobotanical studies is whether the plant macrofossil assemblages can provide critical clues to food production at both sites, Terqa and Tell Masaikh, and improve our understanding of the agrarian system (e.g. subsistence economy versus surplus economy, agricultural versus pastoral economy) in the Middle Euphrates through early history.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
4A total of 64 samples from Terqa and 63 samples from Tell Masaikh were examined; these are listed in Table 1 and 2, respectively. The tables give also a breakdown of the numbers of samples by stratigraphic (occupation) periods/levels and context classes (i.e. type of archaeological feature).
5In Terqa, botanical samples were collected from various occupation periods, including Terqa V, Early Bronze I/II, ca. 2800-2650 BC; Terqa IV. 0/1/2, Early Bronze II, ca. 2650-2450 BC; Terqa III. 3, Early Bronze III, ca. 2450-2350 BC; Terqa III. 2, Akkad 2350-2200 BC; Terqa III. 1, Ancient Shakkanakku, 2200-1900 BC; and Terqa 0.2, Ancient Islamic, around 1200 AD and Terqa 0.1, Modern Islamic (information supplied by Olivier Rouault). Diverse archaeological contexts were sampled, including fireplaces (tannurs), open hearths, fills of jars, occupation horizons and burnt kitchen floors.
6In Tell Masaikh, the samples were also collected from a range of occupation periods, including Late Halaf and the Halaf-Ubaid Transition of late 5th millennium date (the late Chalcolithic); Old Babylonian (= Middle Bronze II-III) spanning from the 19th to the 18th century BC; Neo-Assyrian, which in Tell Masaikh spans from the 8th to the 7th century BC; Late Roman (= Byzantine) with finds ranging in date from the 2nd to the 4th century AD; and Islamic of the 10th century date (information supplied by Maria Grazia Masetti-Rouault). Unfortunately none of the early periods, neither Late Halaf nor Old Babylonian, yielded plant material other than charcoal. Here too samples were collected from a diversity of contexts, including fills of jars, occupation horizons/floors, fills of pits and fireplaces (tannurs).
7The sample size varied between 0.25 and 8 litres (occasionally 15 litres), depending on the size of the excavated deposit. Samples were mainly processed using bucket-flotation (the smallest mesh size used was 0.5 mm), although some samples were dry-sieved. During the flotation procedure the flots were divided into two fractions by size,> 1 mm and <1 mm, and then dried. In all cases the entire volume of both fractions was sorted. All identifiable (and potentially identifiable) plant remains, except charcoal, were extracted from the flots in the process of sorting in the field-lab. The analyses of seeds, fruits, etc. were carried out at BIAX Consult, which is Research and Consultancy Service for Biological Archaeology laboratory, by the author under a binocular incident light microscope at a magnification of x6 to x50. The majority of plant remains were charred and there were only a few mineralised seeds from Tell Masaikh. The results of analysis are presented in table 3 (for Terqa) and in table 4 (for Tell Masaikh).
8It should be emphasized that the composition of plant material in terms of diversity of species/taxa and abundance of remains has been determined by different factors. In any archaeological context, and hence also that of Terqa and Tell Masaikh, every botanical sample will have been influenced by man. The influence may have been either: (1) direct— many plants will have found their way into the sites having been collected for food, fuel, bedding or construction material, etc., and/or as contaminants with harvested crops or (2) indirect— via diverse activities related to animal husbandry, e.g. trampling, grazing, or using dung for fuel.
PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Terqa
Bronze Age
9There were only two samples recovered from Terqa associated with the earliest Bronze Age occupation period on the tell (i. e. Terqa V). They yielded a few grains of hulled, two-rowed type barley (Hordeum distichum) and fragments of barley grain assigned to Hordeum sp. In addition to barley, a single seed of lentil (Lens culinaris) was found in one of the samples (see fig. 1 and table 3). There were three species of weed flora represented by their charred seeds, Trigonella astroites-type, Stipa cf. holoserica (both members of steppe vegetation) and Polygonum corrigioloides (conspicuous member of the valley-bottom flora). The presence of Trigonella astroites-type (small-seeded wild pulses) is of some interest, especially with respect to the issue of crop cultivation. Zeist in his extended work on two Bronze Age sites along the Khabur9 (Tell al-Raqa’i and Tell Bderi) in northeastern Syria has mentioned high proportions of Trigonella astroites-type seeds in the archaeobotanical record there, often in combination with large amounts of barley.10 He assumed that the Trigonella astroites seed type is indicative of farming on dry soil, and that the species which produced this seed type was well adopted to dry arable fields. Altogether this would mean that from the beginning of occupation at Tell al-Raqa’i, the upland (plateau) steppe, outside the narrow valley of the Khabur, was utilized for the cultivation of cereals (or at least barley). Tell al-Raqa’i however, lies slightly south of the 250 mm rainfall isohyet, so on the edge of the southern limit for dry-land cultivation. To increase the moisture content of the soil, the rain-fed fields may have been left fallow every other year; in this way the moisture of the previous winter can be held over to form a supplement for the next season’s crop.
10How can we apply all this to Terqa? Here the combination of Trigonella astroites and Stipa cf. holoserica, which is one of the perennial, tussocked feather-grasses, common mainly in the moist zones of steppe, at least suggests that the plateau (outside the Euphrates valley) was utilized either for agrarian practise or animal husbandry, or perhaps both. On the other hand, there is not much botanical evidence for exploitation of the river valley other than a single seed of Euphrates knotgrass, Polygonum corrigioides (not a single seed of sea club-rush, Bolboschoenus maritimus or any other members of sedge family was found in the macrofossil record). Could it be then that the exploitation of the steppe played a more significant role in the economy of the site in the early occupation period (namely in Terqa V)? Admittedly, whether species like Trogonella and Stipa found their way into the settlement along with the harvested barley or were brought in together with animal dung collected for fuel is a question which, for the moment, cannot be satisfactorily answered. And yet the exclusive presence of barley (which is the most drought-resistant among the cereals) is somehow suspicious.
11A change towards the diversification of both crop and weed species was noted throughout the samples associated with the Terqa IV and Terqa III occupation levels, even though barley grains were present in nearly all the samples recovered from both levels and they clearly dominated the crop assemblage. Both symmetrical and asymmetrical grains have been identified, suggesting that both forms, two-rowed barley (Hordeum distichum) and six-rowed barley (Hordeum vulgare) were cultivated; yet the two-rowed form was probably the dominant one. A few rachis segments characteristic of a two-rowed form of barley have also been found. In addition to barley, there was both grain and chaff (including glume base and spikelet/forks) of emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccon) present, but in small numbers and low frequencies. One grain and one grain fragment were identified as einkorn (Triticum monococcum); supposedly they represent weed contamination rather than a crop plant. Archaeobotanical evidence demonstrates that in addition to glume wheat (i. e. emmer and einkorn), free-threshing wheat was also present in the Terqa IV phase of the settlement (fig. 2), even though represented only by one grain of hard wheat/bread wheat (Triticum durum/aestivum). Other crop plants represented in the Terqa IV assemblage are pulses, including lentil (Lens culinaris) and pea (Pisum sativum). Even though only single seeds of lentil and pea were recovered, they offer clear evidence for local cultivation of both species. In addition to cereals and pulses, there were also charred seeds of caper (Capparis cf. spinosa) found in one sample from Terqa IV level, suggesting that the fruits and/or young pods of caper may have been used for food and/or as a condiment.
12The presence of one charred pip of grape (Vitis vinifera) found in sample no. 112 (Terqa IV. 0/1) is somewhat puzzling, mainly because the morphological differences between the pips of the wild subspecies (Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris) and of the cultivated grapes (Vitis vinifera ssp. vinifera) are not very consistent and cannot be used as convincing evidence to distinguish between wild and cultivated Vitis in archaeological remains.11 Grapes, together with pomegranate, date palm, sycamore fig and olive are among the first fruits to be cultivated in the Old World. The earliest evidence for grape cultivation comes from Early Bronze Age sites in the Levant and is dated to the second half of the 4th millennium BC.12 In Terqa, grapes could have been grown only under irrigation conditions, though they could also have been obtained through trade as dried fruits or raisins; wild grapes on the other hand might have grown in the riverine woodlands along the Euphrates. At the present stage of research we can say no more than that the recovered remains of grape must be interpreted as either the cultivated or the wild form. The presence of charcoal from grape vine twigs as a by-product of pruning, if it were found in future studies, would be convincing evidence for local cultivation.
13The evidence provided by the weed flora is very important for the interpretation of crop production, local conditions for cereal cultivation, etc. In the Terqa IV and Terqa III assemblages, a diverse range of field weeds13 were present, although only in small numbers. The most frequently noted in the samples were the wild grasses, such as Phalaris, Lolium perenne/rigidum, Aegilops, wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum), accompanied by single occurrences of Digitaria and Setaria. Much of the rest of the arable weed flora consisted of wild legumes, including Astrogalus type, Coronilla, Medicago, Vicia, Trigonella and other small-seeded legumes (identification in progress). A few other species may also be considered as field weeds, including Malva, Galium, Atriplex and one species of the Boraginaceae (Arnebia/Buglossoides). Seeds of arable weeds may have been brought into the settlement together with harvested cereals. Weeds and chaff were separated from grain during the crop processing (threshing and subsequent cleaning). The occurrence of dung in the samples, however, suggests that some of the seed remains derived from intentional burning of dung as fuel. It is likely that animals (including goat and/or sheep, archaeozoological report 2004, Kathleen Faye Galvin) grazed in the steppe, but possibly also in the fields after the harvest.
14Both crop cultivation and animal husbandry were clearly major economic activities during the Bronze Age at Terqa (Terqa IV and III). One of the most intriguing questions concerning the site’s economy is: where and under what conditions did the people of Terqa grow their cereals and other crops? If irrigation was used, then the next question is, to what extent does irrigated agriculture find expression in the archaeobotanical record?
15Several species found in the assemblage are common arable weeds in fields with reasonably good moisture content during the growing season, especially Phalaris, Lolium (perenne/rigidum), Digitaria and Setaria. Marsh plants characteristic of shallow water and mud flats, such as sea club-rush (Bolboschoenus maritimus) and some other members of sedge family (Cyperaceae) are often regarded as crop weeds in lowlying areas under arid cultivation.14 The presence of Bolboschoenus maritimus in samples dated to Terqa IV (in addition to the above mentioned arable weeds of moist soils) suggests that at that time alluvial soils were used for agriculture. Nevertheless it is unimaginable to think that the Euphrates valley floor would have been used for cultivation. The Euphrates receives most of its waters from winter snow and rain in the mountains of eastern Anatolia, which gives the river a distinctive seasonal pattern of rise and fall.15 The rise in water level comes in April and stays high through May, which is too late in the growing season to be of any use for irrigating crops. At that time winter (autumn-sown) crops would have been almost ready for harvest and inundation of the fields would have had a damaging effect on the yield. The people of Bronze Age Terqa (Terqa IV and III) must have located their fields either on the higher-lying parts of the Euphrates valley or even outside the valley (on the plateau?). Even so they would still need to provide water for the fields. It is quite possible that limited irrigation techniques, such as small canals and dams, were used to capture the water and to direct it through the fields. The Euphrates, however, does not provide the easy access along its entire length. The left (eastern) bank slopes gently down to the floodplain, but the right bank of the river has cliffs all along its middle course, also near Terqa. This suggests that arable fields might have been located on the left side of the river, yet still away from the valley-bottom. Plants such as sea club-rush (Bolboschoenus maritimus) but also other species from the river valley—Euphrates knotgrass, Polygonum corrigioloides (both found in the samples dated to Terqa IV) could have found favourable habitats along the irrigation canals and at the same time expand up to the edges of the arable fields. Whether this was the way the people of Bronze Age Terqa used the Euphrates to irrigate their fields or was altogether beyond their capacity or even needs is a question which requires more evidence from other studies (e. g. palynology, geomorphology, pedology) in order to be fully answered.
Islamic Period

Fig. 1 – Charred grains of two-rowed barley (Hordeum distichum) dated to the Early Bronze II at Terqa (Terqa IV, ca. 2650-2450 BC)

Fig. 2 – Charred grain of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum s. l.) dated to the Early Bronze II at Terqa (Terqa IV, ca. 2650-2450 BC)
16Samples from the Islamic Period at Terqa (Islamic 1 and 1/2) provide remains of various crop plants, including naked wheat (most identifiable rachis internodes were from tetraploid Triticum durum type, but some were characteristic of T. aestivum type), barley (Hordeum vulgare) and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum). Millet, in contrast to wheat and barley, is a summer crop. In addition to cereals, remains of two fruit plants were recovered, fig (Ficus carica) and grapes (Vitis vinifera). Another fruit or rather condiment is caper (Capparis cf. spinosa), the seeds of which were present in one of the samples. The weed assemblage was spare, containing only a few potential arable weeds.
Tell Masaikh
17Unfortunately no plant remains other than charcoal were found in the samples associated with the early occupation in Tell Masaikh, namely Late Halaf and Old Babylonian Periods. This could be due to many factors, such as conditions of preservation; the absence in the excavated sectors of the sort of features or contexts such as fire places, kitchen floors, etc. which usually offer rich archaeobotanical assemblages; the fact that the volume of the collected samples was too small (usually 0.5 litre), etc.
Neo-Assyrian
18The seed assemblage associated with the Neo-Assyrian Period was sparse, containing—as far as the crop plants are concern—only a few grains of possibly six-row barley (Hordeum vulgare), one grain of freethreshing wheat (bread/hard wheat, Triticum aestivum/durum), two seeds of lentil (Lens culinaris) [fig. 3] and a single grain of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum). Plants typical of moist arable fields were represented only by a small number of remains and a low diversity of species, including Lolium perenne/rigidum and Setaria. Other potential crop weeds, and at the same time plants characteristic of the river valley, are sea club-rush, Bolboschoenus maritimus and Euphrates knotgrass, Polygonum corrigioloides. The evidence for plant husbandry in the Neo-Assyrian Period at Tell Masaikh is very sparse, but it is unlikely that only three samples (the number analysed so far) would provide a complete picture of the site economy.

Fig. 3 – Charred seeds of lentil (Lens culinaris) dated to the Neo-Assyrian settlement at Tell Masaikh (8th-7th century BC)
Late Roman Period
19A diverse crop and wild seed assemblage is characteristic of the samples dated to the Late Roman occupation at Tell Masaikh. Cereal grain and chaff were present throughout the sampled deposits (mainly fills of jars and fills of pits). Barley dominated the crop assemblage, with many asymmetrical (more or less twisted) grains pointing to the six-rowed form (Hordeum vulgare). Yet some of the grains in the assemblage were confined to the two-rowed form (Hordeum distichum). The identification of two-rowed barley is confirmed by the presence of chaff remains (i.e. rachis fragments characteristic of H. distichum). Free-threshing wheat grain and rachis internodes were also present throughout the samples, although represented only by very small numbers. The presence of rachis internodes characteristic of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum type) and hard wheat (Tritium durum type) suggests that both types may have been cultivated. Another cereal crop is broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), the grains of which were well represented in the assemblage. Lentil (Lens culinaris) was the only species from the pulses family, and present in only two samples. Grapes (Vitis vinifera) [fig. 4], figs (Ficus carica), caper (Capparis spinosa) and possibly melon (Cucumis melo) represented the fruit assemblage. With the exception of grapes, all the other species were represented by single seeds in individual samples. Interesting about the grape remains is that in one of the samples (number 128, the fill of a jar), some of the specimens had berry flesh attached to the pips. It is unlikely however that they represent the original contents of the jar, not least because they are accompanied by remains derived from various other species. They probably entered the contents together with other remains and soil that filled up the jar. Among the well-developed grape pips there were also undeveloped specimens, which are produced only by cultivated varieties (Kroll, personal communication). Whether, however, grapes and the figs were actually cultivated at Tell Masaikh, possibly in some kind of irrigated gardens, or brought all the way from the Mediterranean area in a dried condition, is a question to be addressed in future studies. As for melon, it can be assumed that this cucurbitaceous fruit was cultivated locally, most likely in irrigated gardens. Interestingly, Cucumis melo was the principle and the oldest cucurbit of ancient Mesopotamia, cultivated at least from the beginning of the second millennium BC onwards.16
20A diverse wild seed flora included many potential arable weeds, such as Echinochloa, Setaria, Centaurea, Vaccaria pyramidata, Lolium perenne/rigidum, Aegilops, Phalaris, Vicia, Atriplex, Silene, Galium, Malva and Medicago. Most of these taxa are common weeds of winter-sown crops, and except for Vaccaria pyramidata, indicative of the moist conditions of arable fields. The wild seed assemblage included also elements of steppe vegetation, including Stipa (holoserica) and species producing Astrogalus type seeds. There were two natural constituents of the river-valley vegetation, sea club-rush, Bolboschoenus maritimus and Euphrates knotgrass, Polygonum corrigioloides, both of which were earlier suggested as (potential) arable weeds. In areas under irrigated agriculture, they would potentially grow along the edges of arable fields.

Fig. 4 – Charred pips and fruit flesh of grape (Vitis vinifera) dated to the Late Roman Period at Tell Masaikh (2nd-4th century AD)
Islamic Period
21Four samples were collected from the Islamic Period at Tell Masaikh, three of which yielded plant remains. Six-rowed barley (Hordeum vulgare), bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) and broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) represented the cereal assemblage, although in small numbers. Several seed types found in the assemblage are potential arable weeds (some occur in winter-sown fields), including Phalaris, Lolium perenne/rigidum, Digitaria, Silene, Galium and few others. No remains of cultivated pulses were found. In addition to cereals, Islamic Tell Masaikh provided botanical evidence for the consumption of fruits, including figs (Ficus carica), grapes (Vitis vinifera) and melon (Cucumis melo). There was also a single charred seed of dill (Anethum graveolens) found. This plant may have been used as kitchen herb.
CONCLUSIONS
22The botanical samples considered for this report are the results of only the first two seasons of the archaeobotanical research. Therefore they represent only a small proportion of the total plant remains assemblage from Terqa and Tell Masaikh and as such they should be read very tentatively, especially when looking for changes in crop preferences through the time of occupation at both sites.
23Barley is the only cereal recovered from the early Bronze Age settlement at Terqa (Terqa V). It is accompanied by lentil. The presence of wild plants indicative of moist steppe suggests that the plateau was utilized for either agrarian practise or animal husbandry, or perhaps both. There is not much botanical evidence for exploitation of the river valley in samples dated to Terqa V, suggesting that exploitation of the steppe may have played a more significant role in the economy of the site in the early occupation period.
24Among the cereals recovered from samples dated to both Terqa IV and III, barley is consistently the main cereal crop. Barley has been accompanied by emmer wheat and bread/hard wheat. The evidence of free-threshing bread/hard wheat, however, is ephemeral at best. In addition to cereals, lentil and pea were also cultivated. At the present stage of research, remains of grapes dated to Terqa IV must be interpreted as either cultivated under irrigation conditions or a wild form. The botanical evidence suggests an increase in diversity of weed species in samples dated to Terqa IV and III, some of which are indicative of fields with reasonably good moisture conditions during the growing season. The presence of marsh plants characteristic of shallow water and mud flats in the charred seed assemblage actually suggests that at that time alluvial soils were used for agriculture. Marsh plants such as club-rush and Euphrates knotgrass could have found favourable habitats along the irrigation canals and at the same time expanded up to the edges of the arable fields and consequently may have been brought into the settlement together with harvested cereals. Even though there is no clear indication or visible traces of Bronze Age irrigation in the immediate vicinity of Terqa, it is quite possible that limited irrigation techniques, such as small canals and dams, were used to capture the water and to direct it through the fields.
25The evidence for crop production in the Neo-Assyrian Period at Tell Masaikh is very sparse, which can be explained by the very limited number of samples so far analysed. By contrast, diverse crop and wild plant seed assemblages are characteristic of the samples dated to the Late Roman Period at Tell Masaikh. Even though barley dominated the crop assemblage, the remains of free-threshing wheat (bread and possible hard wheat) were also noted consistently in the samples. In addition to cereals, remains of grapes, figs and melon were also found. All the fruits may have been cultivated locally in the irrigated gardens.
Bibliographie
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Gremmen W. H. E. and Bottema S.
1991 “Palynological Investigation in the Syrian Gazira”, in H. Kühne (ed.), Die rezente Umwelt von Tall Sheikh Hamad und Daten zur Umweltrekonstruktion der assyrischen Stadt Dur-Katlimmu, Berlin, p. 105-116.
Hillman G. C.
1991 “Phytosociology and Ancient Weed Flora: Taking Account of Taphonomy and Changes in Cultivation Methods”, in D. R. Harris and K. D. Thomas (ed.), Modeling Ecological Change, London p. 27-40.
Jacquat Ch. and Martinoli D.
1999 “Vitis vinifera L.: Wild or Cultivated? Study of the Grape Pips Found at Petra, Jordan, 150 BC-AD 40”, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 8, p. 25-30.
Masetti-Rouault M. Gr.
2008 “Living in the Valley: State, Irrigation and Colonization in the Middle Euphrates Valley”, in H. Kühne, R. M. Czichon and F. J. Kreppner (ed.), Proceedings of the 4th International Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Freie Universität Berlin, 29 March-3 April 2004. 1, The Reconstruction of the Environment: Natural Resources and Human Interrelations through Time. Art History: Visual Communication, Wiesbaden, p. 129-141.
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Annexe

Table 1 – Botanical samples recovered from Terqa (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occasional, ++ = frequent
Terqa V, Early Bronze I/II, ca. 2800-2650 BC; Terqa IV. 0/1/2, Early Bronze II, ca. 2650-2450 BC; Terqa III. 3, Early Bronze III, ca. 2450-2350 BC; Terqa III. 2, Akkad 2350-2200 BC; Terqa III. 1, Ancient Shakkanakku, 2200-1900 BC; and Terqa 0.2, Ancient Islamic (Islamic 2), around 1200 AD and Terqa 0.1, Modern Islamic (Islamic 1)

Table 1 – Botanical samples recovered from Terqa (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occasional, ++ = frequent
Terqa V, Early Bronze I/II, ca. 2800-2650 BC; Terqa IV. 0/1/2, Early Bronze II, ca. 2650-2450 BC; Terqa III. 3, Early Bronze III, ca. 2450-2350 BC; Terqa III. 2, Akkad 2350-2200 BC; Terqa III. 1, Ancient Shakkanakku, 2200-1900 BC; and Terqa 0.2, Ancient Islamic (Islamic 2), around 1200 AD and Terqa 0.1, Modern Islamic (Islamic 1)

Table 2 – Botanical sample recovered from Tell Masaikh (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occasional, ++ = frequent
LH = Late Halaf and HUT (Halaf Ubaid Transitional) = end of the 5th millennium BC; LC (Late Cassite) = Late Bronze and Iron Age, end of the 2nd millennium BC; OB (Old Babylonian) = Middle Bronze, 19th-18th c. BC; NA (Neo-Assyrian) = in Tell Masaikh means 8th-7th c. BC; NA0 = 2nd part of 9th c.; NA1 = 8th c. BC; NA2 = end of the 8th-7th c. BC; LR = Late Roman, 2nd-4th century AD (byzantine); Islamic = 10th c. AD to today

Table 2 – Botanical sample recovered from Tell Masaikh (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occasional, ++ = frequent
LH = Late Halaf and HUT (Halaf Ubaid Transitional) = end of the 5th millennium BC; LC (Late Cassite) = Late Bronze and Iron Age, end of the 2nd millennium BC; OB (Old Babylonian) = Middle Bronze, 19th-18th c. BC; NA (Neo-Assyrian) = in Tell Masaikh means 8th-7th c. BC; NA0 = 2nd part of 9th c.; NA1 = 8th c. BC; NA2 = end of the 8th-7th c. BC; LR = Late Roman, 2nd-4th century AD (byzantine); Islamic = 10th c. AD to today

Table 3 – Plant remains identified from Terqa (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occasional, ++ = frequent

Table 3 – Plant remains identified from Terqa (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occasional, ++ = frequent

Table 3 – Plant remains identified from Terqa (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occasional, ++ = frequent

Table 3 – Plant remains identified from Terqa (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occasional, ++ = frequent

Table 4 – Plant remains identified from Tell Masaikh (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occasional, ++ = frequent

Table 4 – Plant remains identified from Tell Masaikh (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occational, ++ = frequent

Table 4 – Plant remains identified from Tell Masaikh (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occational, ++ = frequent

Table 4 – Plant remains identified from Tell Masaikh (field seasons 2006 and 2007)
(+) = rare, + = occational, ++ = frequent
Notes de bas de page
1 This archaeobotanical work has been financed by the grant “Praca naukowa finansowana ze środków na naukę w latach 2006-2008 jako projekt badawczy”.
2 Tell Marwaniyeh is not discussed in this report as only a small number of samples have been recovered and examined so far.
3 Alex 1985.
4 Pollen evidence from a sediment core in the Middle Khabur area (Bura salt marsh) suggests that during the last 6,000 years the climatic conditions of the Syrian Jazira have not changed significantly (Gremmen and Bottema 1991).
5 See Masetti-Rouault 2008 for discussion.
6 Rothman 2001.
7 Oates et al. 2007.
8 Rouault 2004.
9 The Khabur, a tributary of the Euphrates, is a perennial river which is fed by karst springs and is therefore characterised by a steady flow of water.
10 Zeist 1999, 2001.
11 Jacquat and Martinoli 1999.
12 Zohary and Hopf 1994.
13 Potential arable field weeds; many environments disturbed by man, especially arable fields, have changed considerably over time making it necessary to employ present-day classification with some adjustments. So the plants that are considered in the text as potential arable weeds find the most suitable habitats in the arable fields of the present or recent past.
14 Hillman 1991.
15 Moore et al. 2000.
16 Zohary and Hopf 1994.
Auteur
BIAX Consult, Al Zaandam (kubiak@biax.nl)

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