Rural settlements of Northern Mesopotamia in the 2nd millennium BC: a functional and socio-historical analysis

北方美索不达米亚在公元前2千纪的历史以动态的社会进程为特征。我们对青铜器时代中期（公元前2000-1600年）的看法是由区域间贸易网络和不断变化的国家与大型城市中心形成的。青铜时代晚期（公元前1350-1100年）的第二部分，研究的重点是中亚述帝国的行省制度，其行省总督席位众多。因此，这些时期的研究集中在城市，现在仍然集中在城市。与此相反，农村地区的人口迄今为止很少在历史记载中被提及。因此，本项目旨在探讨公元前2000年北方美索不达米亚农村定居点（通常被统称为“村庄”）的功能和社会重要性。这项研究的重点是面积小于2.5公顷的小型住区，在德语中将使用中性术语“Kleinsiedlung”。这些定居点的内部结构和社会融合情况在很大程度上仍不为人所知。该项目旨在通过两个案例研究来帮助填补这一研究空白，这两个案例研究分别涉及亚述中期和青铜时代中期。这些研究将包括地方和区域一级的研究以及历史分析。通过考古发掘对一个小型定居点进行的示范性研究将在伊拉克库尔德斯坦的Muqable III 1.5公顷的大型遗址进行。由于该遗址的中亚述建筑水平直接叠加在青铜器时代中期的水平之上，因此Muqable III非常适合拟建项目。通过挖掘获得的数据将用于功能分析，这将提供有关遗址活动以及遗址居民经济和社会组织的信息。此外，目的是澄清穆盖布勒三世是否是一个城市精英拥有的功能专业化定居点-一种以中亚述时期“dunnu”定居点形式证明的小型定居点，或者是一个自给自足的村庄。本研究的目的是确定一个模型的结构和功能的北方美索不达米亚在中亚述时期和青铜时代中期的小解决方案。关于区域分析，伊拉克北方Selevani平原已有的数据将有助于深入了解小型定居点的位置、分布和集水区。这一办法将表明小型住区是如何融入住区系统的，以及它们与城市中心的关系。该项目还将辅之以从城市角度分析小型住区的作用，这一分析将以楔形文字资料为基础。在此过程中，该项目将阐明公元前第二个千年期间北方美索不达米亚社会迄今被忽视的一个方面。

The history of Northern Mesopotamia during the 2nd millennium BC is characterised by dynamic social processes. Our view of the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 BC) is shaped by interregional trade networks and changing states with large urban centres. In the second part of the Late Bronze Age (1350-1100 BC), the research focus lies on the provincial system of the Middle Assyrian empire with its numerous provincial governor seats. Thus, the research of these periods has concentrated and still concentrates on cities. In contrast, the population of rural areas has so far rarely been mentioned in historical accounts.For this reason, the present project aims at exploring the function(s) and social importance of rural settlements – often generically termed “villages” – in Northern Mesopotamia during the 2nd millennium BC. The study focuses on small settlements of less than 2.5 ha size for which the neutral term “Kleinsiedlung” will be used in German. The internal structure and social integration of these settlements are still largely unknown. The project intends to help filling this research gap by means of two case studies addressing the Middle Assyrian period and the Middle Bronze Age, respectively. The studies will comprise a local and a regional level as well as an historical analysis. The exemplary study of a small settlement by means of archaeological excavations will take place at the 1.5 ha large site of Muqable III in Iraqi-Kurdistan. As a Middle Assyrian architectural horizon is at this site directly superimposing a horizon of the Middle Bronze Age, Muqable III is perfectly suitable for the proposed project.The data obtained through the excavations will be used for functional analyses, which will provide information on the activities carried out at the site as well as on the economy and social organisation of the site’s inhabitants. Furthermore, the aim is to clarify whether Muqable III was a functionally specialised settlement owned by an urban elite – a type of small settlement which is attested in form of "dunnu" settlements in the Middle Assyrian period, or e.g. a self-sufficient village. This study aims at defining a model for the structure and function of a small settlement in Northern Mesopotamia during the Middle Assyrian period and the Middle Bronze Age. With regard to the regional analysis, already available data from the northern Iraqi Selevani plain will provide insights into the location, distribution, and catchment areas of small settlements. This approach will show in which way small settlements were integrated into settlement systems and what was their relationship to urban centres. The project will be complemented by an analysis of the role of small settlements from an urban perspective, which will be based on cuneiform sources. In doing so the project will illuminate a hitherto neglected aspect of Northern Mesopotamian societies during the 2nd millennium BC.