Tell Kosak Shamali, vol. 1: The Archaeological Investigations on the Upper Euphrates, Syria: Chalcolithic Architecture and the Earlier Prehistoric Remains.

• Author: Banning, E.B.
• Position: Book Review

Tell Kosak Shamali, vol. 1: The Archaeological Investigations on the Upper Euphrates, Syria: Chalcolithic Architecture and the Earlier Prehistoric Remains. Edited by YOSHIHIRO NISHIAKI and TOSHIO MATSUTANI. UMUT Monographs, vol. 1. Tokyo: THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO, 2001. Pp. 238, illus. $60. [Distrib. in North American by David Brown Book Company, Oakville, Conn.]

The first volume in the publication of recent Japanese excavations at a Neolithic and Chalcolithic site in northern Syria emphasizes its earlier levels, belonging to the Late Neolithic period. It is in English with a brief Arabic summary.

Following a brief history of investigation and the topography, geology, and geomorphology of the site's surroundings, chapter two reports on an ethnographic study by Masayuki Akahori at the modern village of Kosak Shamali. Chapters three and four deal with the stratigraphy. They provide clear descriptions of the excavation methods and recording system, along with numerous phase plans and well-executed stratigraphic sections. Level 18 in sector A and level 8 in sector B pertain to the pre-Halaf Late Neolithic, levels 17-10 in A to the early Northern Ubaid, levels 9-4 in A to the late Northern Ubaid, levels 3-1 in A and 7 in B to the terminal Northern Ubaid, levels 6-5 in sector B to the post-Ubaid (~Early Uruk), and levels 4-1 in sector B to Middle Uruk.

Apart from various domestic structures, important finds include well-preserved pottery workshops of the post-Ubaid period. Each level in each excavated area is illustrated with both a "plan," showing stone features and pits, and a "reconstruction" plan, which shows reconstructed wall lines based on evidence of tauf or mud brick. However, the different authorship of these chapters has led to inconsistent organization and content, and a table correlating the levels in the two excavation sectors does not appear until chapter five. Clearer indication of the role of intrusive pits cut from later levels would have been helpful, especially given the admission in chapter seven that most of the Neolithic deposits were heavily disturbed by later activities. Otherwise, the stratigraphic and architectural discussion is clear and sufficiently detailed.

Chapter five provides great detail on the sampling and sample preparation of materials for radiocarbon dating and on presentation and analysis of the resulting radiocarbon determinations. Tables provide excellent summaries of the state of...