Third-millennium BC clay figurines from Tell Djassa el Gharbi, Tell Abu Hafur and Tell Rad Shaqrah (Syria). Ägypten und Levante|Ägypten und Levante XXX 30|

The present paper analyses third-millennium BC clay figurines from three sites, Tell Djassa el Gharbi, Tell Abu Hafur and Tell Rad Shaqrah, all located in the Khabur River basin (central Jazirah, Syria) and researched in the 1980s and 1990s by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw. The collection numbers twenty-eight specimens and includes thirteen anthropomorphic figurines and fifteen zoomorphic ones. Among the anthropomorphic representations, stylised figurines and figurines with geometricised torsos were recorded, but also fragments of most probably standing and seated representations. Zoomorphic figurines depict equids, sheep, a pig and unidentified quadrupeds. Aside from a comprehensive description of the finds and their typological breakdown, the paper presents the collection against the backdrop of the regional and supra-regional tradition of coroplastic arts. Although the collection is quite small, the study extends our knowledge on this aspect of the Khabur region’s culture, making it possible to define new types of figurines, to verify the chronology of already well-known types and illustrate types very poorly attested so far in this part of northern Mesopotamia. Moreover, the analysis of the figurines from Tell Rad Shaqrah raises questions concerning the distinctness of the Middle Khabur River coroplastic arts, especially in comparison to the much better identified tradition of the Upper Khabur River