Settlement Systems and Land Use Strategies in the Upper Diyala/Sirwan River Valley, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Summary

This paper presents results of a regional archaeological survey in the Upper Diyala/Sirwan River valley, a study area that straddles the highland landscapes of the Zagros Mountains and lowland plains of southern Mesopotamia. Historically constituting a key communication route between these regions, the Upper Diyala offers a unique laboratory for analysis of changing subsistence strategies and interactions among and ancient communities who inhabited very different upland and lowland environments. From 2013-2015, our project has undertaken to document settlements of all periods, to map relict fields and water management features, as well as to understand the geomorphological and environmental history of the area. Based on our results to date, this paper explores the differing trajectories of change in settlement organization and agricultural strategies in early prehistoric (7500-4500 BC), Bronze Age (3000-1000 BC), and Parthian/Sasanian periods (250 BC-AD 650), highlighting key distinctions that are evident both geographically and temporally and how these reflect the cultural dynamics of the region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• A New Archaeological Frontier: Urban Settlements and Landscapes in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq

Keywords

Spatial Coverage