Halaf Period Animal Remains from Tell Aqab, Northeastern Syria

A small assemblage (NISP=3,217) of 5th millennium BC Halaf and subsequent Ubaid Period animal bones and molluscan remains was recovered during the 1975 and 1976 field seasons at the site of Tell Aqab (Jezirah province, northeastern Syria) some 100 km west of the Tigris River forming the current border between Turkey and Syria. The ca. 9.5 m high mound is located alongside a small seasonal stream that forms part of the Wadi Dara drainage system. Excavations were carried out by a University of Edinburgh team following a survey in the Khabur River floodplain. The purpose of excavations at the time was to clarify regional patterning in ceramic assemblages during the periods for which Tell Aqab had well-stratified layers, especially the Middle Halaf Period. Unsurprisingly, the poorly preserved faunal material was dominated by the bone fragments of small ruminants, evidently sheep and goat. Remains of cattle and pigs were also recovered. Hunting was indicated by the sporadically occurring remains of wild ass and gazelle, possibly also contributing to the heavily fragmented small ruminant remains. High fragmentation precluded the detailed metric analysis of bones. Meanwhile, in addition to the number of identifiable specimens (NISP) individual bone weights were taken in an effort to better appraise the dietary contributions of the species identified. Adding faunal information to this archaeological work contributes yet another data point to the map of prehistoric animal exploitation in the Fertile Crescent