Hassuna

A prehistoric tell site near Mosul in northern Iraq with a sequence of a pre-Samarran culture in northern Mesopotamia. The site has given its name to the pottery ware present in its lowest levels, dated to the 6th millennium BC, and a culture complex. This pottery may be related to that of the upper levels at Jarmo and is widely distributed. It was usually a buff ware in simple shapes, sometimes burnished, sometimes painted or incised with simple geometric patterns. In higher levels it was replaced by Samarra ware. Evidence from Yarim Tepe, another important Hassuna site, indicates that they were already experimenting with metallurgy and that pottery-making was a specialist activity (with true pottery kilns). The appearance of stamp seals suggests the importance of private ownership. There were several Halaf levels and 'Ubaid levels. Subsistence was cereal cultivation and herding cattle, goat, and sheep. The material culture used copper, turquoise, and carnelian beads.

A tell near Mosul in northern Iraq which has given its name to a pottery style represented in the lowest levels on the type site and widely distributed over northern Mesopotamia. It is dated to the 6th millennium be and in much of the area it is associated with the earliest farming communities known. The pottery is a buff ware with simple shapes and often decorated with incised or painted geometric designs. At Hassuna six occupation levels were recognized, the earliest without structural remains and often described as a ‘campsite’. Later levels have houses built of packed mud, consisting of a number of rooms opening on to a courtyard, in which were ovens and grain bins. Recent work at the sites of Umm Dabaghiyah and Yarim Tepe have cast new light on the Hassuna culture, which may have begun as early as 6000 be and lasted for as long as a millennium. The people of this culture were competent mixed farmers, but also depended to a considerable degree on hunting. The very interesting new evidence from Yarim Tepe indicates that they were already experimenting with metallurgy and that pottery-making was a specialist activity (with true pottery kilns). The appearance of stamp seals suggests the importance of private ownership. The Hassuna pottery style is partly contemporary with the appearance of the finer Samarra ware, which subsequently replaced it.