UCLA

This dissertation elucidates cooperative socioeconomic behavior among agropastoralists at the Late Neolithic Halaf site of Domuztepe (ca. 6000-5450 cal. BCE) in southeastern Turkey. Using zooarchaeological and biogeochemical analyses of faunal refuse, I examine cooperation and its bearing on emergent social complexity in agropastoral production in day-to-day consumption and at instances of collective action— large feasting events. Data from this dissertation provide strong evidence for cooperation among people at several scales: among members within households and among households at Domuztepe and other sites, and at a sub-regional level within the Halaf cultural sphere, at a regional scale throughout the Halaf cultural sphere, and, more rarely, supra-regional interaction.

Evidence from large communal feasting events at Domuztepe indicates cooperation exceeding the household level. Faunal refuse, ceramic data, and food preparation facilities indicate these events were communal and comprised a large number of participants. Analyses and comparisons of zooarchaeological assemblages from daily consumption and three feasting assemblages from Domuztepe show changes in the scale of feasting events over time. At later events participants chose to slaughter animals that were more costly in their resource inputs, potential to produce secondary products, and impact on herd security. Biogeochemical data suggest that animals slaughtered in all contexts came from the same herding system. At these later events choices were made primarily for social rather than economic reasons. Biogeochemical studies of livestock, human, and dog teeth from daily consumption and feasting deposits at Domuztepe also indicate cooperation within the community. Different households made individual decisions to keep some stock — cattle, pigs, and some caprines — close to the site. These data also show that Halaf people practiced caprine husbandry encompassing greater geographic range and likely necessitating that some portion of the population be away from the site to care for these animals for some period of the year. This type of pastoral specialization, even if only temporary, would require a different type of cooperation. These data are correlated with artifactual data from Halaf sites throughout the cultural sphere, providing evidence for sub-regional exchange and cooperation among communities within sub-regions of the Halaf cultural sphere. Taken together these data elucidate emerging social complexity in the region.