Abstract
In 1967 Robert McCormick Adams and Hans Nissen conducted a settlement survey in southern Iraq centered around the ancient site of Uruk-Warka. The results were published in 1972 in a pathbreaking book, The Uruk Countryside, in which they traced ecological, demographic, and settlement-based developments from the earliest recognized human occupation of the southern alluvial lowlands up to recent times. The growth of urban settlements and their relationship to their rural hinterlands and to the physical environment play a central role in their narrative.
Our project involves the digitization of previously unpublished photos and drawings of artifacts recovered during the survey. These are presented here in a database by site, with information on dating of the finds added where possible as well as links to already published information on the sites.
Description
The small digitized archive comprises drawings and photos made by Hans J. Nissen, many of which were not included in the book, The Uruk Countryside. Most of the material consists of pottery, but other ceramic artifacts, stone and metal objects as well as inscribed bricks were also documented. All materials were recorded in the field.
The goal of this website is to provide online access to this remaining archival documentation of the Uruk-Warka survey.
Further information
Pournelle, J. 2007. From KLM to Corona: A Bird's Eye View of Cultural Ecology and Early Mesopotamian Urbanization. In Settlement and Society: Essays Dedicated to Robert McCormick Adams, E. Stone (ed.), pp. 29-62 (Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago)
Finkbeiner, Uwe. 1991. Uruk. Kampagne 35-37, 1982-1984. Die archäologische Oberflächenuntersuchung (Survey). Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka, Endberichte 4. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern.
Research Group
Lisa Wolff-Heger, Susan Pollock, Reinhard Bernbeck, Lena Appel
