Households and Collective Buildings in Western Asian Neolithic Societies

Architecture, and the layout of settlements, are key elements of archaeological research that enable an understanding of past societies. In studying the built environment and the articulation of social spaces, it is possible to shed light on the social relations of communities, and on the ideology, economy, and cultural and social practices that underpinned how people lived. Taking a study of the built environment as its starting point, this volume draws together contributions focusing on the Neolithic transition in south-western Asia. Covering a period that extends from the Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic through to the Late Neolithic (c. 10,000–5500 BCE), the chapters gathered here explore the built environment from different regions, perspectives, and methodologies, and draw on new theoretical and analytical approaches in order to expand our knowledge of the emergence of the Neolithic through the lens of architectural and settlement analysis. Front Matter Introduction to the Volume Joaquim Sisa-López de Pablo, Anna Bach-Gómez & Miquel Molist 1. Aggregation: Key to the Art of Being Neolithic Trevor Watkins 2. House and Household in the Neolithic Bill Finlayson 3. Évolution des bâtiments communautaires au PPNA en Anatolie Orientale : diversité et similarité Ergül Kodaş 4. South-West Asian Neolithic Architecture — Perspectives from Göbekli Tepe Moritz Kinzel 5. Internal Divisions of the PPNB Settlement at Gre Fılla in the Upper Tigris Region A. Tuba Ökse 6. Obsidian Knapping Techniques in Communal Structures during the PPNB A Case Study on Gre Fılla in the Upper Tigris Region Zeynep Beyza Ağırsoy 7. Adjoining Spaces, Building Communities Agglutinative Architecture at Neolithic Barcın Höyük in North-West Anatolia Elisha van den Bos & Fokke Gerritsen 8. Special-Purpose Buildings at Late Neolithic Çatalhöyük Patrycja Filipowicz & Arkadiusz Marciniak 9. Some Observations on the Late Neolithic Houses of the Southern Foothills of the Taurus Mountains Halil Tekin 10. Rebuilding the Neolithic What Does a Decade Change? Pascal Flohr & Bill Finlayson 11. Funerary Structures from the Neolithic Period at Tell Qaramel, North-West Syria Youssef Kanjou 12. Re-thinking the Use-Life Cycle of PPNB Houses at Tell Halula Joaquim Sisa-López de Pablo, Anna Bach-Gomez, Julia Wattez & Miquel Molist 13. Diversity in Shape and Function Chagar Bazar: A Household Approach Anna Bach-Gomez & Walter Cruells 14. New Considerations on the Neolithic Architecture in the Southern Caucasus Emmanuel Baudouin Index