This book presents the results of the extensive excavation of a small,
rural village from the period of emerging cities in upper Mesopotamia
(modern northeast Syria) in the early to middle third millennium BC.
Prior studies of early Near Eastern urban societies generally focused on
the cities and elites, neglecting the rural component of urbanization.
This research represents part of a move to rectify that imbalance.
Reports on the architecture, pottery, animal bones, plant remains, and
other varieties of artifacts and ecofacts enhance our understanding of
the role of villages in the formation of urban societies, the economic
relationship between small rural sites and urban centers, and status and
economic differentiation in villages. Among the significant results are
the extensive exposure of a large segment of the village area, revealing
details of spatial and social organization and household economics. The
predominance of large-scale grain storage and processing leads to
questions of staple finance, economic relations with pastoralists, and
connections to developing urban centers.