Paléorient, vol. 39.2, p. 201-219 © CNRS ÉDITIONS 2013 Manuscrit reçu le 21 septembre 2012, accepté le 12 juin 2013 RETHINKING HALAF AND UBAID ANIMAL ECONOMIES: HUNTING AND HERDING

AT TELL ZEIDAN (SYRIA)

K. GROSSMAN and M. HINMAN

Introduction

The Neolithic-Chalcolithic transition stands out as a key moment in the socio-economic development of the Near East, bridging the gap between the earliest agricultural villages and the emergence of the fi rst states. In Northern Mesopotamia, the later Neolithic and early Chalcolithic are respectively referred to as the Halaf and Ubaid periods. In this paper, we examine the evidence for hunting and herding systems in order