The Halaf culture is a

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

period which lasted between about 6100 BC and 5100 BC. The period is a continuous development out of the earlier

Pottery Neolithic In the archaeology of Southwest Asia, the Late Neolithic, also known as the Ceramic Neolithic or Pottery Neolithic, is the final part of the Neolithic period, following on from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and preceding the Chalcolithic. It is som ...

and is located primarily in the fertile valley of the Khabur River (Nahr al-Khabur), of south-eastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, and northern

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, although Halaf-influenced material is found throughout Greater

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

. While the period is named after the site of

Tell Halaf Tell Halaf () is an archaeological site in Al-Hasakah in northeastern Syria, a few kilometers from the city of Ras al-Ayn near the Syria–Turkey border. The site, which dates to the sixth millennium BCE, was the first to be excavated from a N ...

in north

, excavated by

Max von Oppenheim Baron Max von Oppenheim (15 July 1860 – 17 November 1946) was a German people, German lawyer, diplomat, ancient historian, Panislamism, pan-Islamist and archaeologist. He was a member of the Oppenheim family, Oppenheim banking dynasty. Aban ...

between 1911 and 1927, the earliest Halaf period material was excavated by

John Garstang John Garstang (5 May 1876 – 12 September 1956) was a British archaeologist of the Ancient Near East, especially Egypt, Sudan, Anatolia and the southern Levant. He was the younger brother of Professor Walter Garstang, FRS, a marine biol ...

in 1908 at the site of Sakce Gözü. Small amounts of Halaf material were also excavated in 1913 by

Leonard Woolley Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his Excavation (archaeology), excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavat ...

at Carchemish, on the Turkish/Syrian border. However, the most important site for the Halaf tradition was the site of Tell Arpachiyah, now located in the suburbs of

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

. The Halaf period was succeeded by the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period, which comprised the late Halaf (c. 5400–5000 BC), and then by the

Ubaid period The Ubaid period (c. 5500–3700 BC) is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia. The name derives from Tell al-'Ubaid where the earliest large excavation of Ubaid period material was conducted initially in 1919 by Henry Hall, Leonard Woolley in 19 ...

Origin

Previously, the Syrian plains were not considered as the homeland of Halaf culture, and the Halafians were seen either as

hill people Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...

who descended from the nearby mountains of southeastern Anatolia, or herdsmen from northern Iraq. However, those views changed with the recent archaeology conducted since 1986 by

Peter Akkermans Peter M. M. G. Akkermans (born Hulsberg, 14 November 1957) is a Dutch archaeologist and emeritus Professor of Ancient Near Eastern archaeology at Leiden University.

, which have produced new insights and perspectives about the rise of Halaf culture. A formerly unknown transitional culture between the pre-Halaf

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

's era and Halaf's era was uncovered in the

Balikh The Balikh River () is a perennial river that originates in the spring of Ain al-Arous near Tell Abyad in the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests ecoregion. It flows due south and joins the Euphrates at the modern city ...

valley, at

Tell Sabi Abyad Tell Sabi Abyad () is an archaeological site in the Balikh River valley in northern Syria. It lies about 2 kilometers north-east of Tell Hammam et-Turkman.The site consists of four prehistoric mounds that are numbered Tell Sabi Abyad I to IV. Ext ...

(the Mound of the White Boy). Currently, eleven occupational layers have been unearthed in Sabi Abyad. Levels from 11 to 7 are considered ''pre-Halaf''; from 6 to 4, transitional; and from 3 to 1, ''early Halaf''. No hiatus in occupation is observed except between levels 11 and 10. The new archaeology demonstrated that Halaf culture was not sudden and was not the result of foreign people, but rather a continuous process of indigenous cultural changes in northern Syria that spread to the other regions.

Culture

Architecture

Halaf pottery

Halaf pottery has been found in other parts of northern Mesopotamia, such as at

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

and

Tepe Gawra Tepe Gawra (also Tepe Gaura) is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement NNE of Mosul in northwest Iraq that was occupied between 5000 and 1500 BC. It is roughly a mile from the site of Nineveh and 2 miles E of the site of Khorsabad. It contains remain ...

, Chagar Bazar, Tell Amarna and at many sites in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

(Turkey) suggesting that it was widely used in the region. File:Bowl fragment MET DP368821.jpg, Fragment of a bowl; 5600–5000 BC; ceramic; 8.2 cm;

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

(New York City) Image:Halafpottery.jpg, Halafian ware File:Syrian - "Tel Halaf" Fertility Figurine - Walters 482741 - Three Quarter.jpg, Fertility figurine (maybe a goddess?); 5000–4000 BC; terracotta with traces of pigment; 8.1 × 5 × 5.4 cm; by Halaf culture;

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

(

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, US) File:Halaf culture pottery, zoomorphic porcupine vase, painted. Circa 5000 BCE. From Tell Arpachiyah, Iraq. Iraq Museum, Baghdad.jpg, A zoomorphic

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

vase; c. 5000 BC; from Tell Arpachiyah;

Iraq Museum The Iraq Museum () is the national museum of Iraq, located in Baghdad. It is sometimes informally called the National Museum of Iraq. The Iraq Museum contains precious relics from the Mesopotamian, Abbasid, and Persian civilizations. It was loo ...

, (Baghdad)

Stamp seals

The Halaf culture saw the earliest known appearance of

stamp seal __NOTOC__ The stamp seal (also impression seal) is a common seal die, frequently carved from stone, known at least since the 6th millennium BC (Halaf culture) and probably earlier. The dies were used to impress their picture or inscription int ...

s in the Near East. They featured essentially geometric patterns. File:Loop-handled rectangular seal MET ss93 17 109.jpg, Loop-handled rectangular seal, Halaf culture. Loop-handled circular seal MET ss1985 192 20.jpg, Loop-handled circular seal. File:Stamp seal and modern impression- geometric pattern MET DP104233.jpg, Stamp seal and modern impression – geometric pattern. Halaf culture

Halaf's end (Northern Ubaid)

Halaf culture ended by 5000 BC after entering the so-called Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period. Many Halafian settlements were abandoned, and the remaining ones showed Ubaidian characters. The new period is named Northern Ubaid to distinguish it from the proper Ubaid in southern Mesopotamia, and two explanations were presented for the transformation. The first maintains an invasion and a replacement of the Halafians by the Ubaidians; however, there is no hiatus between the Halaf and northern Ubaid which exclude the invasion theory. The most plausible theory is a Halafian adoption of the Ubaid culture, which is supported by most scholars, including Oates, Breniquet, and Akkermans.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Halaf culture
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Halaf Bowl from Arpachiyah - British Museum
{{Syria topics Archaeological cultures in Iraq Archaeological cultures in Syria Archaeological cultures in Turkey Archaeological cultures of West Asia Neolithic cultures of Asia Prehistoric Syria