Presentations

This presentation focuses on the protohistoric pottery recovered from Mugharat al-Kahf, a multi-period cave site situated high above Wadi Tanuf in north-central Oman. Through scientific analyses, including thin-section petrography and instrumental neutron activation analysis, this study investigates ceramics dating to the Wadi Suq period (2000–1600 BCE) and the Early Iron Age (1300–300 BCE) to explore both the provenance of the pottery and the lifeways of mobile groups who intermittently used the cave. The results indicate that while most pottery was produced and consumed locally, certain stylistic and technological choices, particularly in tempering, were shared across wider regions of southeastern Arabia. These findings provide new insights into the knowledge transmission and mobility in protohistoric southeastern Arabia.

The Wādī Sūq period (c. 2000 – 1600 BCE) is characterised by a decrease in sedentary sites in inland regions and in variegated burial shapes compared to the preceding Umm an-Nar period (c. 2700 – 2000 BCE). One of the factors causing this cultural shift is the aridification of the 4.2 ka event. However, the scarcity of Wādī Sūq sites with radiocarbon dates in central Oman prevents us from understanding human activity and its diachronic change during this period. One of the potential sites resolving this issue is the cave of Mugharat al-Kahf, the Wādī Tanūf, the Ad-Dākhilīyah, Oman, with previous excavations yielding the Wādī Sūq pottery, stone vessels, and the charred date stones whose radiocarbon dates ranged between 2000 – 1500 calBCE (Miki et al. 2020, 2022). To acquire further evidence of human activity in this cave during the Wādī Sūq period, we excavated a new test pit (TP4), and this paper reports our findings and results of the radiocarbon measurements. New radiocarbon measurements on the charcoal samples revealed a sequence of human activity involving the use of fire, spanning from 1900 to 1600 calBCE. In addition, we discovered a well-preserved ceramic vessel placed upright near a large rock in front of the neighbouring rock shelter. These new findings confirm repeated use of the cave during the Wādī Sūq period, providing a refined chronology for this period in inland Oman.

At the University Museum, the University of Tokyo, there is a significant collection of pottery fragments from prehistoric sites in southern Iran. These artefacts were excavated by the Tokyo University Iraq-Iran Archaeological Expedition, led by Namio Egami, during the 1950s and 1960s. The new project, “JUMP (Tall-e Jari B & Tall-e Mushki Pottery Restudy Project),” focuses on the pottery collections from Tall-e Mushki (circa 6400-6000 BCE) and Tall-e Jari B (circa 6000-5600 BCE) in Fars province, southern Iran. While some of these collections were documented in a final excavation report in the 1960s, many remain unpublished. This project aims to publish a final report on un(der)studied pottery materials and apply interdisciplinary methods, such as thin-section petrography and making three-dimensional models, to these old collections. By shedding new light on these artefacts, we hope to enhance our understanding of the past and make these collections more accessible to the public.

The Shahrizor Plain is one of the ideal fields for tracking the process from Neolithisation in the Fertile Crescent to Urbanisation in the Mesopotamian lowland because of its geographical location connecting the mountainside valleys along the Zagros and the downstream Diyala River that flows into the Tigris. Our field project aims to obtain archaeological materials to unveil this process. Following the first excavations at Shakar Tepe (or Gird-i Shakir) conducted in 2019, we excavated additional areas at this site in 2023 and 2024, including the one at one of the three satellite mounds that were newly identified around the main mound. Operations at Shakar Tepe I yielded thick deposits of the Hassuna and the Late Chalcolithic occupations dated to ca. 6250–6000 and 3800–3600 calBC. On the other hand, the cultural remains of the Late Halaf settlement were uncovered at Shakar Tepe II, which dates to approximately 5600–5400 calBC. The recovered materials fill the time ranges in the late prehistoric chronology of the site and will contribute to our understanding of the historical role of this region in the transition from Neolithisation to Urbanisation.

Recent discussion of the “Ubaid Phenomenon” focuses on the regionalization of Ubaid and the interregional interaction in Greater Mesopotamia. However, regional characteristics can often be understood exclusively from the macro-level attributes of pottery, such as painting patterns and vessel shapes. To tackle this research question and analytical problem, we conducted a petrographic analysis of Ubaid pottery excavated from Shakar Tepe in the Shahrizor Plain, Iraqi Kurdistan. Through this analysis, we aim to classify and analyze the fabric composition at a micro-level. We compared it with data from related Ubaid sites along with macro-level attributes. As a result, at the macro-level the pottery from the Shahrizor Plain shows a similarity to the upper Tigris River basin and the Hamrin Basin in terms of painted decoration and pottery-making techniques. At the micro-level we observed its regional difference in the clay preparation technique of Ubaid Black-on-Buff Pottery. By understanding the regionalization of the Ubaid pottery making techniques at macro- and micro- levels, we can discuss the interregional interaction more rigorously.

The Late Chalcolithic of Northern Mesopotamia in the early fourth millennium (LC2–3 phases) is a crucial period that significantly marks indigenous proto-urbanism. Current research in Iraqi Kurdistan has also been changing the picture of the Uruk expansion, explaining more regionally differentiated complex interactions, rather than a simple homogeneous commercial process as argued before. To discuss this, however, the ceramic chronology remains poorly established, especially in trans-Tigridian Mesopotamia. In this paper we present our quantitative morpho-typological and ware analysis of the recently discovered Late Chalcolithic ceramic sequence from Shakar Tepe in the Shahrizor Plain, Sulaymaniyah (Iraqi Kurdistan). The pottery assemblage, radiocarbon-dated to a few hundred years straddling the late LC 2 and LC3 phases, consists primarily of coarse chaff-tempered wares. Notably, among many local types, it is characterised by a number of “Bevelled Rim Bowls” (perhaps mass-produced) but lacking other genuine southern types. We will argue that the new evidence from Shakar Tepe can be an essential key to reassessing the elusive chronological framework by detecting ceramic changes in the middle part of the Late Chalcolithic in Iraqi Kurdistan, and contributing to understanding the early contact period.