David Oates

Abstract: The 13th and 14th seasons in the current series of campaigns at Tell Brak took place from the middle of March to the end of May in 1992 and 1993 respectively. The work was sponsored and generously supported by the McDonald Institute of Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge. Generous contributions were also received from the National Geographic Society, the British Academy and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq. We must once again express our gratitude to our sponsors and also to Dr Ali Abou Assaf, Director General of Antiquities and Museums, to Dr Adnan Bounni, Director of Excavations, and to their staff in Damascus, Aleppo, Deir ez Zor and Hasake for their constant and friendly support. Sayid Ibrahim Murad served us well as Representative of the Directorate General in both years. The writers acted respectively as Director and architect and as Deputy Director with special responsibility for photography and for pottery and other small finds. In 1992 Dr Jesper Eidem and Dr John MacGinnis acted as epigraphists and also served as site supervisors; other site supervisors were Mr Geoffrey Emberling, Mr Nicholas Jackson, Mr Alan Lupton, Dr Roger Matthews, Miss Penelope Spikins and Professor T. Cuyler Young, Jr. In 1993 Roger Matthews and Alan Lupton were again with us, and we were also joined by Dr Augusta McMahon, Professor Dietrich Surenhagen and Mr David Thomas. Dr Wendy Matthews took charge of micromorphological sampling and helped with the pottery in both seasons, as did Miss Helen McDonald, who has now completed five seasons as our efficient registrar and draughtsman. Our very capable and hard-working conservator in 1992 and 1993 was Miss Fiona Macalister. We were also pleased to welcome Dr. Charly French, who is in charge of the soil micromorphology and environmental programme, and who was able to visit us for the first week of the 1993 season. We are extremely grateful to them all.

Abstract: Introduction Chapter 1: The Land of Assyria - Setting the Scene Chapter 2: Major Palaces on the Citadel Chapter 3: Tombs, Wells and Riches Chapter 4: Temples, Minor Palaces and Private Houses Chapter 4: Fort Shalmaneser: the ekal masarti Chapter 6: The Written Evidence Chapter 7: Types of Object and Materials from Nimrud Chapter 8: Post-Assyrian Nimrud Epilogue.

Abstract: The fifth and sixth seasons of excavations at Tell Brak took place from mid-March to early June of 1983 and 1984 respectively. The expedition was sponsored by the Institute of Archaeology, University of London, and financed by generous grants from the National Geographic Society, the British Academy, the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Crowther-Beynon Fund of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge University, as well as private contributions. The staff in 1983 included the writer as Director and architect, Mr. David Jeffreys as Assistant Director, and Dr. Joan Oates who took charge of the pottery and small finds, assisted by Miss Jennifer Oates and Miss Susan Oates. Site supervisors were Miss Jane Grenville, Dr. Glenn Schwartz, Mr. Michael Parker Pearson and Mr. Richard James. In 1984 Mr. Jeffreys was to our great regret unable to be with us, but his responsibility for the excavation of Area CH was most ably undertaken by M.Jean-Marc Meunier of the University of Liege. The site supervisors in 1984 were Dr. Irving Finkel of the British Museum, Mr. Graham Philip, Mr. Donald Matthews and Mr. Andrew Cook, and Mr. Michael Charles joined us as palaeobotanist. I should like to express my thanks to all my colleagues and, on behalf of the whole expedition, to acknowledge our debt to Dr. Antoine Suliman, who served as the representative of the Directorate General of Antiquities in both seasons and was of the greatest assistance to us both as a site supervisor and in dealing with administrative matters. I must also express our gratitude to Dr. Afif Bahnassi, Director General of Antiquities and Museums, and to all our Syrian colleagues in Damascus, Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor and Hasake for their unfailing and friendly cooperation. We were especially pleased this season to receive a visit from Dr. Adnan Bounni and his expedition, which gave us a welcome opportunity to discuss our work with a senior member of the Directorate-General at Brak itself. Credit for the trouble-free conditions in which we work is due largely to the Mudir Nahiya of Tell Brak, who has for many years taken a great interest in the excavations and assisted us in many ways.

Abstract: The origins and evolution of modern humans has been the dominant interest in palaeoanthropology for the last decade, and much archaeological interpretation has been structured around the various issues associated with whether humans have a recent African origin or a more ancient one. While the archaeological record has been used to support or refute various aspects of the theories, and to provide a behavioural framework for different biological models, there has been little attempt to employ the evidence of stone tool technology to unravel phylogenetic relationships. Here we examine the evidence that the evolution of modern humans is integrally related to the development of the Upper Palaeolithic and similar technologies, and conclude that there is only a weak relationship. In contrast there is a strong association between the evolution and spread of modern humans and Grahame Clark's Mode 3 technologies (the Middle Stone Age/Palaeolithic). The implications of this for the evolution of Neanderthals, the multiple pattern of human dispersals, and the nature of cognitive evolution, are considered.

Abstract: In a recent discussion of prehistoric developments in coastal Peru, Osborn has drawn attention to the "uniqueness" of the Peruvian littoral in providing large amounts of nutrients to support locally high population densities and a base for the development of Peruvian civilization. This bounteous resource base is contrasted with that of other maritime environments, which are seen to be relatively unproductive. The present article takes issue with that viewpoint, arguing instead that the maritime and coastal environments occupied by humans are generally highly productive and have uniformly supported relatively dense populations of hunter-gatherers. Rather than arguing for the uniqueness of the Peruvian, Northwest Coast, or other situations where complex societies developed on a coastal base, it seems more profitable to develop a "midle-range" theory which will encompass these situations within the variability of maritime hunter-gatherers in general. To this end, I have suggested ten basic features that dist...

Abstract: Middle-eastern archaeologists are winning new information from declassified military photographs taken 25 years ago. This study shows how pictures of north-eastern Syria are revealing the routeways, and by inference the agricultural systems of Mesopotamia in the early Bronze Age.