tell Halula

RESUMEN:
Tell Halula es un yacimiento neolítico situado en el valle del Éufrates medio, en el norte de Siria. El yacimiento ha sido excavado de forma continua y sistemática desde 1991 por un equipo español dirigido por Miquel Molist (UAB), y se ha convertido en uno de los yaci-mientos neolíticos de mayor envergadura, comparable a los de Ain Ghazal o Abu Hureyra. Tell Halula presenta una ocupación precerámica (PPNB) entre el 7850  y el 7000, seguida de una ocupación pre-Halaf entre el 7000 y el 6100, y Halaf entre el 6100 y el 5500; y ofrece un escenario privilegiado para el estudio del proceso de transformación cultural que marca el paso del Mesolítico al Neolítico: el paso de los grupos humanos de cazadores-recolectores a las primeras sociedades agrícola-ganaderas.
Palabras clave: Prehistoria, Neolítico, Próximo Oriente, Siria, Tell Halula.
ABSTRACT: Tell Halula is a Neolithic site located in the Middle Euphrates valley, north of Syria. The site has been continuously excavated since 1991 by a Spanish team directed by Miquel Molist (UAB), and it has been revealed as one of the largest known Neolithic sites, comparable to Ain Ghazal or Abu Hureyra. Tell Halula presents a pre-pottery occupation (PPNB) from around 78501 to 7000, followed by a pre-Halaf occupation (7000-6100) and Halaf between 6100 and 5500. It offers a privileged scenery for the study of the cultural transformations that trigger the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic: the transi-tion from the hunter-gatherer human groups to the first agricultural societies.
Keywords: Prehistory, Neolithic, Near East, Syria, Tell Halula

The study of Near Eastern Neolithic societies has special significance in understanding the transformation of hunter-gatherer societies to agricultural communities. Among the variables which have been studied, technological change has been a key factor in defining the different stages of transformation of the hard animal materials industry. The ongoing analysis of this industry with samples from the site of Tell Halula in Syria is providing good results in this area.
In this paper we analyse a specific tool found at Tell Halula, namely a long bevel with a blunt or sharp active part used for distal-lateral friction. A considerable number of these elements have been collected (n=83), allowing for a detailed analysis. We performed typological, technological and experimental studies to understand the transformation of these objects and reconstruct all the stages of the production cycle.

Since Gordon Childe highlights the importance of textile production from animal fi bres in the Neolithic more than 75 years
ago, several approaches from different fi elds dealt with this subject of study. This contribution summarize the investigation on the exploitation of animal fi bres designed from archaeozoology in south-west Asia in the last years, considering different aspects like the initial chronology of the use and exploitation, technical requirements for textile production and the organization of this craft industry at a community level. Special remark is done for the process of neolithisation in the Middle Euphrates Valley, using the site of Tell Halula (Middle PPNB) as a case study, complemented with other recent Halaf occupations references from Tell Amarna and Chagar Bazar, all of them in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Estudio de los hallazgos más recientes sobre la cestería y los tejidos aparecidos en algunos asentamientos Neolíticos del Precerámico A y B del Próximo Oriente. Con ello, se puede reflejar que los trabajos realizados pueden estar denotando un cierto tipo de "complejidad social" dentro de unos momentos de las primeras sociedades agrícolas próximo orientales

The basketry and the fabrics:new findings of the Near Orient Neolithic. We aim to study the most recent findings on the basketry and the fabrics in some archaeological sites of the Near Orient Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and B (Nahal Hemar and Halula). We want to show that these works reflect a sort of social complexity within the age of first agricultural societies.