Archaeobotanical and dung spherulite evidence for Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic fuel, farming, and feasting at Surezha, Iraqi Kurdistan

• Published in: Journal of archaeological science, reports reports, 2022-06, Vol.43, p.103449, Article 103449
• Main Authors: Proctor, Lucas, Smith, Alexia, Stein, Gil J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthracology; Archaeobotany; Dung fuel; Mesopotamia; Subsistence
• ISSN: 2352-409X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103449

•Seeds, wood charcoal, and dung spherulites were analyzed from a Chalcolithic tell site in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.•The inhabitants of Surezha primarily relied upon dung for fuel; wood charcoal was not abundant in the assemblage.•Correspondence analysis found spatial differences in onsite plant use and an emphasis on grazing livestock over foddering.•Barley, hulled wheat, lentil, and flax were the primary cultivars at Surezha during the Ubaid–Late Chalcolithic 1 periods.•A large cache of mineralized seeds presents a unique view of Late Chalcolithic diet and possible feasting activities. Agropastoral subsistence practices can provide important insight into economic organization and surplus production, both integral factors in the emergence and development of socioeconomic inequality during the Chalcolithic Age of Southwest Asia. In this study, we examine evidence for plant husbandry, fuel use, and feasting in northern Mesopotamia during the Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic 1–2 periods (ca. 5200–3800 BCE) at the site of Surezha. Archaeobotanical remains from tell sites like Surezha are the product of multiple, interrelated depositional pathways, which, when carefully disentangled, speak to a variety of human behaviors, including fuel selection preferences, plant and animal management strategies, and commensality. The combined analysis of carbonized and mineralized carpological remains, wood charcoal, and dung spherulites recovered from Surezha document a mixed agropastoral subsistence strategy relying on animal husbandry and the cultivation of barley, hulled wheats, flax, and various pulses. Wild/weedy taxa and crop-processing debris made up a particularly large proportion of the preserved plant remains at the site, and, when combined with abundant evidence from dung spherulites and overall lack of wood charcoal, provide evidence for substantial reliance on dung fuel burning during the Chalcolithic. The dataset also includes one of the largest and most unique assemblages of mineralized seeds identified to date in Mesopotamia, which may represent the remnants of LC 1–2 feasting activities.