This thesis is divided into eleven chapters, including the introduction and conclusion. The first section-Chapter 2, considers previous interpretations of small, geometric clay
[Chapter 1]
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objects. The main aim is to assess the range and plausibility of functional interpretations of clay objects in the Neolithic Near East. This chapter contains a detailed literature review of the main discussions of geometric clay objects in the study region and time period, followed by an analysis of interpretations of similar objects in the Near East of the 4th to 1st millennium BC. A survey of archaeological evidence from other regions and time periods considers how similar objects are utilised by different societies. Likewise, the study of recording devices in history and ethnography, from diverse regions and time periods, investigates the various forms in which non written information storage can exist and operate. Chapter 2 also presents an in-depth analysis of the common themes and interpretative theories of the function of small geometric objects that emerge in the literature review. It assesses the plausibility of these main theories, especially in relation to exactly how clay objects might have operated in these scenarios in the agricultural villages of the Neolithic Near East and addresses research questions related to meaning and function.
Section two (Chapters 3 and 4) provides an introduction to the region, time period and sites in question. It provides the basis for the investigation of research questions related to the distribution and function of clay objects. Chapter 3 is a broad survey of the location, climate, environment, subsistence strategies and chronology of the Neolithic Near East. Throughout this thesis, reference to dates is preferred in years calibrated BC, in millennia, or parts thereof. Cultural periods of the Neolithic are detailed in Chapter 3, however, these can be debated in terms of exact start and end dates duration, correlation across regions, the actual terms used and the characteristics used to define each. Therefore the use of dates or millennia is clearer, and less open to interpretation. Following on from chronology, regional differences across the Neolithic of the Near East are outlined within Chapter 3. Lastly specific aspects of Neolithic culture, architecture, storage, the advent of pottery, economic practices, social structure and ritual, will be introduced. By outlining the nature of Neolithic communities in the Near East, including regional and temporal trends, the various interpretative possibilities of clay object, as they may have operated in the various spheres discussed in Chapter 2 can be addressed, as well as questions related to their distribution according to site type, as well as temporal and regional differences. Chapter 4 is divided into three sections and presents a background of each of the three case-study sites: Boncuklu Höyük, Çatalhöyük and Tell Sabi Abyad. Again this detailed examination of the case-study sites allows their assemblage of clay objects to be interpreted in their full context; providing a clear idea of the spheres and activities in
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which clay objects might have been useful in, and utilised within therefore. It also highlights the similarities and differences across the case-study sites-thus allowing the degree of diversity to be considered alongside differences in the nature of each site’s
clay object assemblage.
Section three covers the objects themselves. Chapter 5 details the methodology of this thesis; addressing exactly how the research questions will be investigated. This leads into the analysis section. Chapters 6, 7 and 8 each present detailed analysis of the large corpus of clay objects studied at each case-study site, along with the context of individual clay objects. These chapters, along with Chapter 9 address questions related to object form and context. Data from the twenty tier 2 sites is presented in Chapter 9. The last section of the thesis-Chapter 10 compares the data of the case-study sites with one another, incorporating comparative analysis of the tier 2 and 3 sites. The main functional interpretations of small geometric clay objects in the Neolithic Near East are assessed in light of the evidence presented (clay object form and the sites they come from), followed by the Conclusion (Chapter 11).
A number of appendices, labelled A to J, accompany this thesis. The bulk of the morphological object data collected, tiers 1 and 2, is presented electronically in Appendix A (Access database). A separate electronic database recording contextual information for Tell Sabi Abyad’s clay objects is Appendix G. Broader information related to the nature and character of sites with and without clay objects is recorded in Appendix J (electronic. Excel format). This includes the approximate number of clay objects at each site, along with their size, region, period of occupation, subsistence strategies and excavation techniques. Additional illustrations, charts and tables resulting from the extensive analysis of geometric clay objects and their immediate context is presented site by site for each of the case-studies in Appendices B, C and F
(Boncuklu Höyük, Çatalhöyük and Tell Sabi Abyad respectively). Çatalhöyük’s analysis
chapter (Chapter 7) is also supplemented by Appendix D, a study of zoomorphic figurines, stone balls and other spheres from the site, which were studied in addition to the site’s main clay object assemblage. As circumstances necessitated a slightly different approach to the study of material from Tell Sabi Abyad, a supplementary appendix to the methodology is detailed in Appendix F. Additional illustrative data from the tier 2 sites forms Appendix H and the cross-site analysis of Chapter 10 is illustrated (in addition to within the chapter) in Appendix I.
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW
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