A Study on the Prehistoric.Urbanization in the Northern Levant

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We have been working on the site, named Tell el-Kerkh, located in the Rouj Basin, northwest Syria since 199?. This site is one of the largest Neolithic settlements in the Near East, and our first investigations disclosed that the site is quite important for understanding the urbanization, social complexities, craft specialization processes in prehistory. The offered project is the second investigations on the site, and we tried to clear the prehistoric city formation and social integration processes. We executed not only the excavations at. Tell el=Kerkh, but also the general surveys around the site to detect the prehistoric settlement patterns. The summary of our results is as follows(1)The settlement. of Tell el-Kerkh dates back to the early PPNB period (9^<th> millennium b.c.), and the emergence of this settlement closely relates to the beginning of agriculture(2)The paleo-botanical studies disclosed that the wheat. and lentils have already been domesticated in the settlement of Tell el-Kerkh. The pig and cattle domestication was also the important subsistence for the Neolithic people there(3)Therefore, the neolithization in northwest Syria dates to the early as in the middle Euphrates region(4)The neolithization process advanced very rapidly at Tell el-Kerkh. Within one thousand years, a hierarchical settlement system, centered by Tell el-Kerkh, appeared in the basin. The settlement grew over 20ha, and it. imported erotic precious stones from outside the basin to produce tools and ornaments. At the same time, the craft specialization slid the complicated material administration systems developed in the settlement