Reconsidering the Neolithic
graveyard at Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq
B. Helwing
Abstract: This article presents arguments to date the Neolithic graveyard at Tell es-Sawwan to the “Initial Pottery Neolithic” (ca the
middle of the 7th millennium cal. BC). Stratigraphy and burial customs as well as material culture allow to draw comparisons with sites
of this period. They additionally indicate a strong cultural continuity with the PPNB period. This new understanding of the graveyard
together with its earlier date necessitates furthermore a discussion of the southern extension of the region where the sedentary PPNB
hunter-gatherers flourished.
Résumé : Cet article expose les arguments qui tendent à faire remonter le cimetière néolithique de Tell es-Sawwan au PN initial (ca
milieu du 7e millénaire cal. BC). La stratigraphie et les pratiques funéraires, tout comme la culture matérielle permettent de dresser
des comparaisons avec des sites contemporains. Ils révèlent en outre une continuité culturelle avec la période du PPNB. La nouvelle
compréhension de ce cimetière et de son ancienneté conduisent par ailleurs à discuter de l’expansion méridionale des chasseurs-
cueilleurs sédentaires du PPNB occupant alors la région.
Keywords: PPNB; Initial Pottery Neolithic; Burial customs; Neolithic figurines.
Mots-Clés : PPNB ; Néolithique céramique initial ; Pratiques funéraires ; Figurines néolithiques.
The Neolithic graveyard under building level I at Tell es-Saw- and cultural affiliations of this important place. In the end, Tell
wan should be dated to the mid 7th millennium BC, to the earliest es-Sawwan will find its place on the map of the PPNB / PN tran-
PN (sometimes called: “(pre-)proto-Hassuna”) period, immedi- sition of Southwestern Asia, which allows for wider reflections
ately following the transition from Late PPNB (Pre-Pottery regarding the social dynamics active behind the establishing of
Neolithic B) to PN. This statement is essentially what had already the earliest PN sites in Mesopotamia.
proposed by the late Donny G. Youkana, who unfortunately
never completed the publication of his thoughts. However, he had
discussed them with Joan Oates, and she referred to his proposi-
Research at Tell es-Sawwan
tion at the occasion of a lecture held in 2011 at the ‘Pathways to
Power’ Conference at the Oriental Institute in Chicago.1 She had
previously integrated this new assessment in a synthesis on the Tell es-Sawwan is situated in Northern Iraq (fig. 1), on the left
regional trends in the Early PN period in Mesopotamia, under- bank of the Tigris River, immediately to the south of the Islamic
taken largely on the basis of ceramic assemblages.2 In the follow- city of Samarra. The site is composed of three neighboring shal-
ing, I take up this lead and review the available clues on dating low mounds located on a low conglomerate cliff that overlooks a
wide bend of the valley. First reported by Ernst Herzfeld (1930)
at the occasion of his work on Samarra, the site was subsequently
1. Oates J., Early Society in Southern and Central Mesopotamia, submitted
for the publication of the Conference “Pathways to Power. The Emergence investigated by several expeditions: from 1960 to 1972, a mission
of Political Authority and Hierarchy in the 6th-5th Millennia BC Near of the Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities exposed a continuous and
East: Comparative Perspectives” at the OI of Chicago, 4-5 November 2011, large area on mounds B and C (El-Wailly and Abu es-Soof 1965;
currently in preparation.
2. Oates 2013; with regard to Tell es-Sawwan, see p. 409-410 and FN 8, Wahida 1967; Abu al-Soof 1968 and 1971; al-A’dami 1968; Yasin
where she explicitly refers to information obtained from D.G. Youkana. 1970; Anonymous 1973: 196-197). D. George Youkana revisited
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130 B. Helwing
Fig. 1 – Map showing sites mentioned in the text, with indication of significant finds discussed.
the site for a short mission in 1985 (Youkana 1997) and in 1988- the study of early village organization and mudbrick archi-
89 Catherine Breniquet (1992) undertook further targeted work tecture in Mesopotamia.
in two sectors. The stratigraphy of the building levels has been subject to
The Iraqi mission worked on a large scale and with a large critical reappraisals (Forest 1983; Youkana 1997; for an evalu-
workforce. An aerial photograph taken during the fifth sea- ation, see Breniquet 1991) but by and large the sequence holds
son in 1967 (Abu al-Soof 1971: Pl. III–IV) shows the almost as originally proposed: levels I and II on mound C in the south-
complete exposure of the walled Neolithic village on tells B ern part of the site are the oldest architectural levels and they
and C that extended over ca 100 m from north to south, and seem to be closely related. The graveyard to be discussed here
ca 80 m from east to west. Five major stratigraphic levels is understood to be related to levels I and II (see below).
were distinguished and numbered I to V from bottom to top,3 Buildings of level I are described to have been constructed on
whereby a shift in occupied zone from the southern tell C virgin soil, and prehistoric graves have been dug from the
towards the north was observed. The oldest building levels I floors of buildings in levels I and II. These building levels have
and II are limited largely to this southern area of Tell C and been assigned originally to the Hassuna period (al-A’dami
the saddle between tells B and C (fig. 2). The large exposure 1968: 57-58), based on the observation that some ceramic
of prototypical architecture, with multi-room tripartite sherds with painted and painted-and-incised decoration were
houses from level I onwards that were followed from level III found in the fill of the buildings4 that otherwise seem to have
by T-shaped houses, has turned the place into a key site for
4. Some fragments from house 1, level I were published in the first report, see
3. A proposal to reverse the numbering during the third season was subse- El-Wailly and Abu es-Soof (1965: Fig. 59, 2-8, 10) and Abu al-Soof (1971:
quently not applied, but see Wahida 1967: 168 sq.; see also Youkana 1997: 5). The study of the material from the first season 1964 by Ippolitoni (1970:
14-15. Fig. C, 35) identified one single fragment of an undecorated bowl from
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Reconsidering the Neolithic graveyard at Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq 131
Fig. 2 – Plan of Tell es-Sawwan, plotting architecture of all layers atop each other. Buildings I-III on the saddle
between Tells B and C belong to layers I-II (Plan from Breniquet 1991: Fig. B).
been remarkably clean and empty. The ceramics found in flimsy with a width of 10 cm only and yielded fragmentary
house 1 of level I (El-Wailly and Abu es-Soof 1965) were all plans. They predate the architecture of level I on mound B and
unpainted, and the presence of painted sherds remains not con- were considered as a separate chronological unit (Youkana
firmed (Oates 2013: 409). The ceramics are however repre- 1997: 30-32 with plans 18-19). The graves are said to lay above
sented by substantial fragments, so that it is not feasible to the pre-level I remains. In his final synthesis, Youkana hence
speculate about single displaced sherds. This observation dif- proposed a chronological sequence in three major phases, from
fers from the Samarran levels III-V and renders the re-dating bottom to top: pre-level I architecture; the graveyard and lev-
of the whole building sequence of levels I-V to the Samarra els I-II architecture; and levels III-V architecture.
period, and to a short period of time altogether, as proposed by The Neolithic graves were found underneath the buildings
C. Breniquet (1992: 29) unlikely. of level I in Tell es-Sawwan, in particular under and around
Further observations were added during to a short period of house 1 on mound C. From the first season onwards, these
work conducted by D.G. George Youkana in 1985: in two sound- graves were considered intramural burials associated with the
ings underneath buildings of level I on mound B were walls of architecture of level I above (El-Wailly and Abu es-Soof 1965:
stamped earth (tauf or pisé) uncovered; these walls were rather 23; al-A’dami 1968: 85-89), and this relation was never contest-
ed.5 Most graves were described in a general way to have been
level I; based on re-investigations by Breniquet (1992: 29) the assemblage
seems to be homogeneous from level I onwards, and is assigned by her to 5. Contrary to the reading of Campbell (1995: 30), previous authors have
the Samarra period. never considered an independent dating for the cemetery: K.A. al-A’dami
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132 B. Helwing
dug from the floors of the levels I/II buildings; there is further- links in the longue durée, from PPNB to Samarra (Nishiaki
more explicit mention of burials dug from the second floor of 2007: 123-124).
house 1 that lay above the first original house floor. There is Thus while a certain uneasiness concerning the dating of
hence no good reason to question the relation of the graves to early Sawwan persisted, there were hardly any sites known
the building level I. The dating of the cemetery is linked to the which could provide a comparative perspective on Sawwan.
dating of the building levels I/II, and these were assigned orig- This has changed recently with the recognition of an incipient
inally to the Hassuna period (or later to the Samarra period, phase of ceramic production in a wide region of Northern and
following C. Breniquet) on the same reasons as the houses Central Mesopotamia (Le Mière 2013; Nishiaki and Le Mière
above and were not considered as a separate unit (Campbell 2005; Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2010). The materials from the
1995; Youkana 1997: 35-41). Sawwan building levels I/II can most likely be related to this
But the question remains if the graves and architecture of earliest phase of ceramic use attested in the region (see below),
building levels I-II immediately precede the Samarran houses and this is what I intend to demonstrate here.
of levels III-V, or if there is a temporal gap to be considered
between these two occupational phases. Contrary to the opin-
ion voiced by the excavators and later by C. Breniquet, it is
The Tell es-Sawwan graveyard
highly likely that a time lag separates the two main levels (as
also argued by J. Oates, see footnote 1). Evidence to support
this hypothesis exists in the form of obvious continuities in the Topography, stratigraphy and relative
material record that relate levels I-II with the Late PPNB chronology
period; and in the lack of typical Samarra features that are well
attested in the Samarran graves of layers III-V, but also in the The position of the three mounds of Tell es-Sawwan A, B
graves at the type site Samarra. Taken together, these argu- and C, aligned from north to south atop a small cliff above the
ments allow a reconsideration of the dating of the Sawwan Tigris valley has repeatedly been described. The topographical
graves, and of Sawwan building levels I/II as well. map of the site (El-Wailly and Abu es-Soof 1965: Pl. II, fig. 2)
Inconsistencies in the established dating have previously also shows clearly the steep ridge along the western side of the
well been noted by people studying the material record: in his site where river erosion has cut a considerable part of the settle-
preliminary study of a small sample of the lithic finds, ment. The excavation areas on mounds B and C therefore could
É. Coqueugniot (1992) concluded that there was a strong sign not target the original central parts of the prehistoric settle-
of continuity in the inventory, and was puzzled by the presence ments, but rather more peripheral zones grouped around a
of specimens that he would have considered older than the settlement that does not exist any more.
alleged Samarran dating of the site. Also, comparisons of finds The earliest levels at Tell es Sawwan were uncovered on the
with material from sites such as Bouqras, well-known for cov- northern slope of mound C and in the saddle between B and C.
ering the initial steps of pottery usage in Northern Mesopotamia, Two deep soundings on mound B reached a level said to exist
were often evoked, but this evidence was interpreted, instead underneath building level I. One burial was discovered there in
of prompting a reconsideration of the dating of the Sawwan deep sounding 1 that was apparently similar to the burials
graves, to represent long drawn-out traditions that had begun from the mound C graveyard. This burial lay atop a level of
in the PPNB and were still alive in the PN period (Akkermans flimsy building structures that were assigned to ‘pre-level I’. It
et al. 1983; Roodenberg 1986). The same perspective was is however important to note that no stratigraphical link
taken in the comparison of a large female figurine in sitting between these remains and the architecture of levels I/II on
position found at PPNB Seker al-Aheimar with some figurines mound C and the adjacent saddle can be established.
from Tell es-Sawwan: they were interpreted as evidence for The plans of building levels I and II are closely related and
if plotted atop each other, show few changes at all. House 1
remains largely unchanged, but house 2 sees some modifica-
(1968: 58 with footnote 4) refers to plans and sections on p. 85-89 (= sec- tions. Therefore level II can be considered largely a reconstruc-
tions 1-5) to confirm that graves and building level I belong together; tion, or even just a re-use phase of level I (Breniquet 1991:
B. Abu al-Soof (1971: 5) treats cemetery and levels I/II as one uniform Fig. 2 for a completed plan; Youkana 1997: 15-18). This build-
cultural unit; C. Breniquet (1991: 83) clearly states that even considering
the possibility that an older graveyard may have existed on the site before ing level (I/II) has a clear stratigraphical link with the Neolithic
the construction of the houses is a priori not feasible. graveyard on mound C. As shown by some section drawings in
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Reconsidering the Neolithic graveyard at Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq 133
Fig. 3 – Examples of trench documentation at Tell es-Sawwan. 1) South section of room 123; 2) plan of room 143
(not to scale; after al-A’dami 1968: 89-90).
the second report (fig. 3), and as documented in detail by remarkable size, with some 160 m2 extension or more, and
C. Breniquet during the re-investigations in E89 25 1, strati- were clearly larger than buildings of the later settlement. All
graphical observation clearly indicates that the burial pits cut buildings at Tell es-Sawwan were free-standing units that did
through the house floors. In the case of E89 25 1, cutting of the not touch each other. They were composed of three to four
lowermost floor of a clay pavement that is associated with units, each consisting of a series of aligned rooms that were
house 3 of level I is clearly stated. If we extrapolate from these accessible through a long corridor.
punctual observations, there should indeed be a close relation Level I/II houses were often described as an early type of
between the burials and the first building levels. Hence, the tripartite building, but are not as regular as one would expect
dating of levels I/II also applies to the dating of the from a tripartite building. Due to their free-standing character,
graveyard. they can also not be compared to the agglutinating units known
The later occupation of levels III-V is largely exposed on for the Early PN in Northern Iraq with their long chains of
mound B. In superposing the level plans of levels I/II and III rooms, as are well-known from the Early PN sites Umm
(Breniquet 1991: Fig. 2), Breniquet could clearly demonstrate Dabaghiya, Maghzaliya and others. But if we compare these
that there is hardly an overlap between the two settlements: buildings to earlier architectural traditions, they seem to relate
levels I/II represent a site whose center must have been located directly to the large freestanding units of the latest PPN sub-
westwards, on the today eroded part of the cliff. Levels III-V phases as they are known, for example, from Çayönü (Bıçakçı
with their moat end enclosure represent a distinct later settle- 2001). Bouqras, where a large number of building plans were
ment, located to the northeast of the earlier settlement. The documented close to the surface but no detailed excavation fol-
sequence of building levels therefore presents no problem, but lowed (Akkermans et al. 1983: Fig. 5), also yielded compari-
contrary to earlier opinions, no genuine link between the two sons to the general principle of freestanding units of aligned
settlements can be confirmed: material culture is distinctly dif- rooms, but the settlement in Bouqras is much more densely
ferent in the two major occupations. As will become evident in arranged; buildings all have their own walls, but there is only
the following, levels I/II and the related graveyard are several a limited space between the individual units. Further to the
centuries older than the Samarran settlement. northwest along the Euphrates, comparisons can be evoked
with the transitional phase (III) buildings at Mezraa Teleilat
(Özdoğan 2011: Fig. 3). The alignment of rooms is also charac-
Levels I/II architecture teristic for the subsequent development of the building type of
“corridor house”, known from Early PN layers in Mezraa
Three large houses of levels I/II were exposed to a large Teleilat (Özdoğan 2011: Fig. 2) and Akarçay Tepesi (Özbaşaran
extent during the excavations. These buildings were of a and Duru 2011: Fig. 10).
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134 B. Helwing
It remains an open question if the buildings in Tell es-Saw- niquet (1992). They were located underneath building level I,
wan can be considered domestic or special purpose buildings. largely on mound C, and were found to a large extent under the
The remarkable emptyness and cleanliness of house 1, where floors of houses 1, 2 and 3, but also in the vicinity of the houses
only a few figurines were found, puzzled the original excava- in open spaces between the houses. The tombs are said to have
tors and led to hypothesis that this building may have func- comprised mainly children7 but there was a considerable num-
tioned as a special purpose building in relation with funerary ber of adults as well. Furthermore, partial skeletons and a con-
rituals (El-Wailly and Abu al-Soof 1965: 20; Youkana 1997: siderable number of empty pits were observed. Many burials
64-65). House 3 also was practically devoid of any domestic were equipped with funerary goods, in particular with stone
equipment. However, as building 1 apparently burnt down and figurines and stone vessels. Not a single ceramic vessel was
was then reconstructed (El-Wailly and Abu al-Soof 1965: 20), found in a burial in this graveyard. This is a strong argument
we cannot exclude the possibility that the reconstruction and against a dating to the Samarra period: in the graves under-
reuse of the building required previous cleaning. The distribu- neath the houses of level III, painted Samarra ceramic vessels
tion of the burials that were not limited to the area underneath were regularly found, and also at Samarra, most graves con-
buildings 1 and 3 but were also found in the free space between tained at least one painted ceramic vessel (Herzfeld 1930).
the houses and in the area further towards the Tigris, is an The preliminary reports are not very precise on the posi-
argument against such a restricted ritual use of the buildings. tion and preparation of the burials. The first report provides a
list of burials sorted according to the room under which they
were found, but provides only an indication of the body if pre-
Pottery from building level I served, and a list of the burial goods included in the grave
(El-Wailly and Abu es-Soof 1965: 25-28). The second report
Although house 1 is reported to have been virtually empty does not provide a list, but has some plans and sections in addi-
except for one stone statuette, there are a few ceramic frag- tion to select drawings of the find groups, with burial numbers
ments of considerable size illustrated from level I that can be indicated (al-A’dami 1968: 59-60; Sections 1-6, figs. 1-4).
assigned to individual rooms in houses 1 and 3 (El-Wailly and Lastly, a generalizing description is provided for the early
Abu al-Soof 1965: Fig. 59, 2-8, 10). These level I ceramics burials uncovered during the sixth season (Yasin 1970: 7-8).
were all unpainted. One singular piece was studied in detail: it Some more details are available through D. George Youkana
was made from a fine, pure clay; it had a burnished surface and who based his description on observations noted in unpub-
was of reddish color (Ippolitoni 1970: 107). Although no min- lished reports of the Iraqi Antiquities Service, and on personal
eral temper is observed, this piece fits best with the description observations during the 1985 season: he reports on shallow
of earliest ceramics recently reported for sites in Upper pits, only some 25-50 cm under the surface or the floor, of
Mesopotamia. At sites like Halula, Seker al-Aheimar, Akarçay irregular shape, some 75-100 cm in length and 40-50 cm in
Tepesi, Mezraa Teleilat, Sabi Abyad, Bouqras and Salat Camii width. It seems that these pits were carefully plastered with a
Yanı, the earliest pottery also is represented by fine wares that layer of clay. The skeletons were wrapped in bitumen-coated
occurred in limited quantities (Le Mière 2013; Nishiaki and Le mats, with their faces preferentially facing west (the view
Mière 2005; Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2010; Özdoğan 2013). Often towards the river). The pit was filled with clean yellowish sand
with mineral temper and with a fine surface finish, these earli- and then plastered over with clay. He furthermore noted the
est ceramics seem to mimic stone vessels. These comparisons presence of ochre, and some graves that were not in anatomical
provide a first hint at the place of Sawwan level I within the order but yielded piles of bones.
overall relative chronology of Upper Mesopotamia. The most detailed description was provided by C. Breniquet
who documented one singular burial in her sounding 2, to the
west of building 3. This burial is the only one for which a pre-
Burial customs at Tell es-Sawwan cise observation of the burial pit is provided, which has been
dug from the lower floor of a paved space adjacent to the level I
A total of 400 graves were uncovered during the Iraqi house 3 (Breniquet 1992: 29). The burial (E89 25 1) was depos-
excavations;6 one more grave was later documented by C. Bre
however, found in the later seasons: see al-A’dami 1968; summarized by
6. The largest number of graves were excavated during the first and second Youkana 1997: 36-41.
seasons: see El-Wailly and Abu es-Soof 1965; there were more graves, 7. J. Oates (see footnote 1) refers to 77% children graves.
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Reconsidering the Neolithic graveyard at Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq 135
1 2
Fig. 4 – Examples of grave documentation at Tell es-Sawwan. 1) Grave 201a (not to scale; after al-A’dami 1968: Fig. 1a);
2) Grave 222b (not to scale; after al-A’dami 1968: Fig. 3).
ited in crouched position, wrapped in mats, which apparently to burial customs more recently investigated: for example at
were covered with bitumen, and ochre was sprinkled over the Tell Halula, burials were deposited as bundles in an upright
burial. A belt made from about 200 dentalium shells was position. Excavators therefore had to proceed by digging from
wreathed around the waist of the person, one alabaster figurine the side, to expose the body in the position in which it had been
lay behind the pelvis, and one single bead of turquoise was buried. Judging from some of the line drawings available in the
found (Breniquet 1992: 20, fig. I for a plan; 22, fig. J, 1 for the second excavation report from Tell es-Sawwan (fig. 4; see al-
figurine; 23-25 for the description). A’dami 1968: Figs. 1-4), the apparently poor preservation of
Burial E89 25 1 can probably be regarded as a blueprint on burials could be explained by similar, unexpected burial posi-
the normal way to prepare and treat a burial in Tell es-Saw- tions like upright sitting bodies. It is possible that by excavating
wan. Many graves, children and adults, were equipped with from top down, such positions could have gone unrecognized,
personal jewelry, stone vessels and stone figurines. Although and just a few scattered bones would be preserved.
exact numbers are not systematically available,8 the amount of
figurines seems to have varied between zero and six specimens
in a single grave. These figurines apparently were deposited Material culture evidence
following a longer period of usage: some had repairs, and
traces of wear were noted on some others (Ippolitoni Strika The material uncovered as grave goods within the prehis-
2000: 654). The rich and varied record of statuettes from the toric cemetery of Sawwan consists to a large extent of stone arti-
graves remains unique until today. facts, vessels and figurines. Pottery did not occur in the graves.
All reports agree that out of the 401 documented graves in But there were a fairly large number of personal jewelry items,
levels I/II, the largest number, about 70%, consisted of children associated either with the bodies or with the figurines. Among
burials; furthermore a comparatively high number of pits was the jewelry, a copper lunula is noteworthy—described as a small
apparently without body or with only few bones; and adult skel- curved knife with one piercing (without image but described in
etons existed as well but were rare. No physical anthropologist El-Wailly and Abu es-Soof 1965: 28)—that may be compared
has investigated the skeletal remains, and the numbers indi- with the splendid copper lunula from Tell Halula (Molist et al.
cated maybe less accurate than stated. I wish to draw attention 2009: Fig. 4).
8. Oates 2013: 410 mentions a total number of 1341 alabaster objects, of
which 243 were statuettes.
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136 B. Helwing
Stone vessels calcite vessels, which is so significant for Tell es-Sawwan can
be defined quite sharply, and the distribution of these vessels
The stone vessels are usually described as made of banded can be traced throughout sites of the initial PN in Upper
or fine-veined alabaster. The stone has been mineralogically Mesopotamia.
determined as calcite (Youkana 1997: 39), a stone variety that
forms in the vicinity of hot springs. This stone is compara-
Stone figurines
tively soft and can easily be worked by carving and grinding.
Raw material seems to have been available either on the fringe The best-known find group from the Tell es-Sawwan grave-
of the western desert close to the town of Rutba, or in the Jebel yard consists of at least 243 figurines (El-wailly and Abu es-
Hamrin.9 Soof 1965: Fig. 66 upper, 67, 72 upper; Oates 2013: 409), made
Almost every burial seems to have held one or several cal- from the same soft calcite as the stone vessels. Some figurines
cite objects (Oates 2013: 409). Most frequent were vessels in a show still distinct marks from carving (Yasin 1970: Fig. 41b)
variety of shapes (al-A’dami 1968: Pl. XIX-XXIII): flat plates while others are finely polished. The finishing can be fairly
and palettes, squat round-bellied and biconical vessels, high different: often, bitumen was used to paint details of a hair-
cylindrical or conical beakers, some of these standing on four dress. Facial issues are either directly carved, or almond-
small feet. Some vessels are distinctly asymmetrical. Unique shaped inlays are glued with bitumen into cavities carved in
pieces are vessels in the shape of humans (al-A’dami 1968: the face—some of which are lost today.
Pl. XXIII, 28; Ippolitoni Strika 2000: Fig. 22) or animals.10 The stone figurines (fig. 5: 1-3, 8) represent a wide spec-
The best comparison to this assemblage comes from the trum of postures and gestures that cannot well be treated here
site of Bouqras.11 Although no individual descriptions are pro- in detail without any access to the originals. As far as we can
vided, it seems that the largest part of the Bouqras vessels judge from the published evidence, there are a few distinct
came from the burnt building 12 of the upper level. The char- male and female representations, but many figurines are ren-
acteristic four-footed beakers are also known from Umm el dered in a more schematic way that allows no clues regarding
Tlel (Molist et Cauvin 1990 : Fig. 3, 10). A collection of stone the gender of the figurines. we can distinguish slender and
vessels from Umm Dabaghiyah has shapes highly similar to more robust figurines, the latter often with large heavy but-
the ones published for Tell es-Sawwan (Kirkbride 1973: Pl. II, tocks; whether this representation refers to a real naturalistic
1-11), and a bowl of banded calcite from the uppermost level I image, or is owed to the wish to ensure the independent stand-
(Ibid.: Pl. VIIIb) can also be closely compared. Vessels of ing of the figurines, is unknown to us. Further groupings are
banded calcite were also found in Sabi Abyad, as a foundation possible according to posture: there are standing and sitting
deposit in the construction of a house that dates to the later figurines, and some sitting figurines have their legs folded
phase of the transitional period (Akkermans et al. 2006: 144 over. A last major distinction concerns the gesture of arms:
and fig. 14, n-q). During the survey around Tell Brak a banded figurines can have their arms extended at on the side; they can
calcite bowl was collected, possibly from a Neolithic tomb have one arm folded before the body; and they can use both
(Oates 2013: 408, footnote 3). Mezraa Teleilat has also yielded arms to fold them before the body.
a large number of stone vessels largely from marble and gyp- Out of this large number of possible combinations, I wish to
sum, but among them also a beaker of banded calcite (Özdoğan point out only a few highlights. One is a small group of slender
2011: Fig. 11). Another site well-known for its stone vessel standing figurines shown with a flat chest and with legs apart,
industry is Qal’at Jarmo in the Iranian Zagros (Adams 1983), standing up with the arms joined before the belly (fig. 5: 1). This
but this one differs considerably from the Tell es-Sawwan gesture, which is apparently not very frequent in the graveyard
stone vessel industry. It hence seems as if the production of (Ippolitoni Strika 2000), recalls a pose now widely recognized
as characteristic in the PPN imagery of Upper Mesopotamia: it
appears in a schematic way in small flat figurines from Dja’de
9. Youkana (1997: 39-41) names these two possibilities without giving pref-
(fig. 5: 4) and Göbekli Tepe (fig. 5: 5) and in the stylized monu-
erence to the one or other alternative.
10. Compare a vessel in the shape of a rabbit from Sawwan (Yasin 1970: mental stelae from Nevali Çori (fig. 5: 6). The pose is rendered
Fig. 38) with a vessel in the shape of a hedgehog (Akkermans et al. 1983: most explicit in the life-size sculpture of a man from Urfa Yeni
Pl. 42a). Mahalle (fig. 5: 7) where the posing of the arms emphasizes the
11. Akkermans et al. 1983: Pl. 39; Roodenberg 1986: 138-140, figs. 75, 1-10;
76, 1-4, where they derive to a large extent from the upper layers and in male genitalia. All these images refer to the same posture of an
particular from the burnt house 12. upright standing man with folded hands.
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Reconsidering the Neolithic graveyard at Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq 137
1 2 3
4
5 6 7
8 9 10
Fig. 5 – Neolithic figurines and sculptures in comparison (not to scale). 1-3, 8) Tell es-Sawwan, small calcite
figurines (no scale available; images modified after Ippolitoni Strika 2000 : Fig. 8; Abu al-Soof 1968: Pl. XXVII
Fig. 67); 4) Dja’de el-Mughara, gypsum figurine, height c. 3.8 cm (after Coqueugniot 2014: Fig. 2); 5) Göbekli
Tepe, small bone figurine (no scale; after Schmidt 2000: Fig. 14B); 6) Nevalı Çori, monumental T-shaped pillar,
limestone, height 2.5 m (after Hauptmann 2011: Fig. 37); 7) Urfa Yeni Mahalle, monumental anthropomorphic
sculpture, limestone, height 1.93 m (after Hauptmann 2011: Fig. 36); 9) Hakemi Use, small burnt marble (calcite?)
figurine, height 5 cm (after Tekin 2013: Fig. 44.10); 10) Bouqras, figurine head said to be from burnt clay but pos-
sibly calcite (no scale; after Akkermans et al. 1983: Pl. 40c).
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138 B. Helwing
OxCal v4.2.4 Bronk Ramsey (2013); r:5 IntCal13 atmospheric curve (Reimer et al 2013)
R_Date P-855
R_Date P-856
R_Date P-857
7000 6800 6600 6400 6200 6000 5800 5600 5400
Calibrated date (calBC)
Fig. 6 – Tell es-Sawwan, recalibration of radiocarbon dates from building level I (Dates after Stuckenrath & Ralph 1965;
calibration with Oxcal Vers. 4.2).
The figurine heads from Tell es-Sawwan, many of which before the belly, and the whole body gently leaning back
are made with inlays representing the eyes, are distinctive and (Ippolitoni Strika 2000: Fig. 16, a-b). We observe the same
rarely attested elsewhere. In Bouqras, a burnt figurine head posture in a number of seated stone figurines from Mezraa
was found in house 17; due to its burning, it was thought to be Teleilat (Özdoğan 2011: Figs. 17-19, 24 for a group), but Umm
a clay head (fig. 5: 10; Akkermans et al. 1983: Pl. 40c). A small Dabaghiyah has also yielded examples of seated figurines—
stone figurine, said to be from marble and burnt, with a similar there, they are made from clay (Kirkbride 1972: Pl. VIII, a-b;
head with cavities for eye inlays was found on a house floor of IX, a-b).
level 2 in the Samarran site Hakemi Use (fig. 5: 9) (Tekin 2013:
498, fig. 44.10). This figurine was depicted with one arm folded
over the belly, in a squatting posture, with the left foot pointing The relative and absolute chronology
outwards. of the Tell es-Sawwan graveyard
This posture relates the Hakemi Use figurine to some
examples from Tell es-Sawwan where they occur, albeit rarely. Most of the comparisons alluded to above, between mate-
The two best known examples are two clay figurines from rial evidence from Tel es-Sawwan and other sites, fall into a
level I (El-Wailly and Abu es-Soof 1965: Fig. 37, the two on the distinct period of incipient pottery use at the end of the PPN/
left; Oates 1966: Pl. XL, a-b; XLI, a). The same squatting pos- the beginning of the PN period, and therefore precede the
ture, with the distinctly bent foot, is given also in some stone proto-Hassuna phase of the Early PN. To further narrow down
figurines from the site.12 Furthermore it is known from the this range, I will undertake a brief survey of absolute dating
large PPNB clay figurine from Seker al-Aheimar, that is shown evidence for Tell es-Sawwan and related sites.
sitting with folded-over legs. Already at the occasion of its For the site of Tell es-Sawwan proper, three radiocarbon
publication (Nishiaki 2007: 121-124) the similarity of this samples were collected in the 1960s, of which two samples
squatting position with the Sawwan statuettes was pointed out (P-855, P-857) were assigned to level I or before (Stuckenrath
and was related then to examples from Anatolia. and Ralph 1965: 190); upon re-calibration (fig. 6),13 sample P-855
Lastly, I want to point out a group of sitting figurines: a few falls into the second half of the 7th millennium BC, while sample
wedge-shaped figurines are known from Sawwan that depict a P-857 is obviously too late. Samples collected later were all
seated human, legs extended before the body, arms folded retrieved from contexts of level III (Burleigh et al. 1982).
The most detailed radiocarbon sequence for the transitional
12. Oates 1966: Pl. XL, c–d; XLI, b; XLII, a; also the stone figurine found PPN-PN phase is currently available for Tell Sabi Abyad. The
in burial E89 25 1 during the French excavations belongs to a stylized
variant of a folded leg figurine; see Breniquet 1992: Figs. J, 1; Yasin 1970:
Fig. 40, right. 13. Using OxCal 4.2.
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Reconsidering the Neolithic graveyard at Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq 139
initial PN is here dated to 7000-6700 cal. BC, whereby a later 2014) or initial (Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2010) PN phase predates
phase is represented in operations III and IV on the main previously established Early PN phases, and is distinguished
mound (Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2010: Table on fig. 5). The calcite from those by a different technology in pottery making, in par-
vessels found in a foundation deposit in op. IV should, even if ticular in the use of mineral temper and in a fine finish of the
already in use for some time at the time of deposit, belong into vessels. It can also be stated that the importance given to
the time range ca the mid- 7th millennium cal. BC. A phase of ceramics differs from later periods: ceramics merely make a
initial PN is also attested at Salat Camii Yani Tepesi phase 1, limited occurrence, far from impacting prevailing practices of
radiocarbon dated to ca mid-7th millennium cal. BC (Miyake et consumption and pottery use that we could attend otherwise.
al. 2013: Fig. 14). The site has also yielded some stone vessels, Specialists working on early ceramics have proposed to
among which is at least one specimen of banded calcite (Ibid.: accommodate the earliest phases of pottery use by defining
Fig. 12, 11). The absolute dates for the earliest ceramic-bearing pre- or proto-subphases of established ceramic traditions like
levels in Seker al-Aheimar fall into the first half of the 7th mil- Halaf and Hassuna. As these makeshift labels also imply a
lennium cal. BC (Nishiaki and Le Mière 2005: Fig. 11) and direct ancestry of the earlier practices to the later established,
clearly predate early Pottery Neolithic features excavated in regionally more confined traditions, these labels have partly
Telul ath-Thalathat and at Tell Kashkashok II.14 They hence rather obscured than clarified the regionally relevant currents:
match the evidence from Sabi Abyad. On the Euphrates, the the earliest pottery traditions are observed over a much larger
dates from Tell Halula indicate a similar time range between geographical area than the subsequently developing ‘schools’
7000 and 6700 cal. BC for the transitional phase (Molist et al. of pottery making that occurred in much more limited areas.
2015: 27). Obviously, as succinctly formulated by Joan Oates, pottery
based labels must be considered culturally irrelevant (Oates
Most recent evidence hence suggests a period of incipient 2013: 411), therefore the definition of a phase of initial pottery
ceramic usage in the first third of the 7th millennium cal. BC. usage, as proposed by P. Akkermans and colleagues
However, the Tell es-Sawwan evidence cannot be firmly placed (Akkermans et al. 2006; Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2010) is a useful
so early: the directly comparable calcite vessel from Sabi means to overcome the limitations of a concept of ceramic cul-
Abyad comes from a deposit underneath a building of the tures. Furthermore, the spatial variations in the scale of possi-
upper phase only and probably dates no earlier than the mid- ble exchange networks are meaningful in themselves: the much
7th millennium. wider circulation of the earliest ceramics reflects a pattern of
contact over long distances that is rooted in the long term
behavioral trends of the preceding PPN period.
The slow and limited appearance of ceramics alongside an
Discussion
otherwise PPN-related assemblage points also at a specific and
limited relevance of these new artifacts within the social life of
New discoveries and newly established stratigraphical the Neolithic communities: instead of the (questionable)
sequences from a number of sites in Upper Mesopotamia have appearance of a powerful innovation that is suited to revolu-
recently contributed to the recognition of a period of initial tionize subsistence processes from storing to cooking,15 the
ceramic usage in Southwestern Asia during the first half of the first appearance of ceramics blends in smoothly with traditions
7th millennium cal. BC (Akkermans et al. 2006; Nishiaki and of exchange and consumption in pretty much the same way as
Le Mière 2005; Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2010; Miyake 2011; Le previously done with stone vessels. As there is some evidence
Mière 2013; Oates 2013; Özdoğan 2014). The phase is charac- for the use of earliest ceramics made from non-local raw mate-
terized by the appearance of a limited amount of pottery ves- rials, for example at Sabi Abyad (Nieuwenhuyse et al. 2010) it
sels used by the Neolithic communities of Upper Mesopotamia. is appropriate to understand this initial PN rather as a tradition
It follows without any visible break upon settlement layers of in line with practices of exchange and commodity circulation,
the PPNB period and is attested in stratigraphical sequences at applied also to materials like colorful stones, stone vessels and
Halula, Mezraa Teleilat, Akarçay, Sabi Abyad and Seker al- other objects.
Aheimar. The newly defined transitional (Özdoğan 2013 and As the numerous comparisons evoked above have shown,
we have ample evidence to reconsider the dating of the spec-
14. Nishiaki and Le Mière 2005: Fig. 11; calibrated together, the latter two
sites fall into the second half of the 7th millennium cal. BC. 15. Some critical remarks on the concept were already voiced by Vitelli 1989.
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140 B. Helwing
tacular graveyard of Tell es-Sawwan and the related building ing the hypothesized core area. Both models have provided a
level I/II, and to assign it to the later subphase of the initial PN, path for targeted problem-oriented research designs that
around the mid-7th millennium cal. BC. Comparisons of some focused on pre-defined areas, the Zagros flanks and the Tigris
select examples of material culture from Tell es-Sawwan with banks. Today, the proper conception of the Neolithization pro-
other sites corroborate a perspective on Sawwan as a continu- cess has shifted, and we understand it now as a drawn-out
ous development out of the preceding PPNB traditions: the gradual changing process taking place along locally different
lithic industry holds elements that relate to preceding tradi- trajectories in the wider area at large.
tions; the partial or empty burials, possible erroneous age But the earlier emphasis on core areas came at the expense
determinations aside, allude to burial traditions known from of other regions, as Diana Kirkbride had observed critically
sites like PPNB Çayönü and others, where partial burials, the during her work in Umm Dabaghiyah (Kirkbride 1972: 3). No
removal of skulls or collective burials are attested; the impor- early Neolithic occupation at all was expected in the lowlands;
tance of stone vessels is also observed in other sites of the ini- in consequence, early Neolithic occupations in Northern
tial PN period, like Mezraa Teleilat and Jarmo; and within the Mesopotamia—Nemrik 9, Magzaliyah and Qermez Dere are
richly varied group of stone statuettes, figurines of standing the examples—became known belatedly and largely through
men with their hands folded in front of the body closely resem- limited rescue work. Therefore, the re-dated graveyard and
ble the posture of well-known PPNB statues. Hence, the building levels I/II from Tell es-Sawwan considerably expand
Sawwan graveyard can be understood to represent a particular southwards the zone of known early occupation.
facet of the initial PN period that preserves original PPNB fea-
tures while at the same time presenting a fascinating and most The Southern Levant is equally a dominant model with
spectacular testimony to important changes that must have regard to conceptions on the end of the PPN: a collapse sce-
taken place at this time within the Neolithic communities of nario has been proposed for the south Levantine PPNB/C
Upper Mesopotamia. megasites on the basis of an interpretation of the settlement
One last aspect to be considered follows from this conclu- development observed in ‘Ain Ghazal that possibly ended due
sion: if we accept the earlier dating of Sawwan I/II and of the to an over-exploitation of the sustaining landscape (Rollefson
graveyard at the transition from the PPN to the PN period, and 1996). The powerful collapse narrative was also applied to
also agree on an obvious cultural continuity in which the initial other zones of early Neolithic occupation, for example at
PN can be understood as an extension of the PPNB, then we Çayönü (Özdoğan 2014), until new observations from recent
must revisit the geographical map of the PPN world: Tell es- fieldwork have proved this model to be not fully suitable for
Sawwan is located way to the south from the usual areas of the northern regions, where, instead, a cultural continuity can
PPNB occupation. This perception may be partly related to a be traced now. The Sawwan levels I/II buildings and the
research bias: the Southern Levant has been investigated at a graveyard, which would all fall into a phase of collapse in the
much larger scale and in greater detail than other regions of south and of re-organisation in the north, bear hence testi-
Southwestern Asia. This situation has been further aggravated mony to activities of a widespread relational network of the
since a large part of the relevant region remains closed to initial PN that follows in the tradition of the PPNB. These
research since decades. initial PN communities had begun to inhabit the north
The research bias applies not only to a higher intensity of Mesopotamian plains about three centuries earlier than hith-
field work but also to the formulation of theoretical models that erto thought.
came to be dominant for all Southwestern Asia. As an exam-
ple, one long-prevailing Neolithization model departed from
the idea of a limited core region in the Southern Levant from
where the new Neolithic way of life would have spread to other Acknowledgements
regions of Southwestern Asia. This model was formulated
under the strong impression of the findings from Kathleen As indicated, this article grew from a hint voiced by Joan Oates
Kenyon’s excavations at Jericho and other early works. A coun- and going back to the late D. George Youkana. Regrettably, I never
met Donny George personally. But I wish to express my gratefulness
ter-model to the south Levantine core area model, Robert
to him, and to J. Oates for her generous sharing of knowledge. Dur-
Braidwood’s “hilly flanks” hypothesis (Braidwood 1951 and ing writing, I profited from discussions with my colleagues Frédéric
1960; Adams 1983), brought the piedmont zones of the Taurus Abbès and Éric Coqueugniot at the Maison de l’Orient et de la Médi-
and Zagros mountains into focus, thereby shifting and enlarg- terranée, and with Harald Hauptmann in Heidelberg. I also thank
Paléorient, vol. 42.1, p. 129-142 © CNRS ÉDITIONS 2016
129-142-Helwing.indd 140 12/04/16 10:15
Reconsidering the Neolithic graveyard at Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq 141
H. Hauptmann and É. Coqueugniot for the kind permission to use Barbara Helwing
their images of unique Neolithic sculptures and Catherine Breniquet Edwin Cuthbert Hall Chair in Middle Eastern Archaeology,
for the permission to use her published site plan (here Fig. 2). And Department of Archaeology
I thank my new colleague Alison Betts for discussion and English University of Sydney A14 - Quadrangle
editing. University of Sydney NSW 2006 – Australia
barbara.helwing@sydney.edu.au
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