Early Neolithic household behavior at Tell Seker al-Aheimar (Upper Khabur, Syria): a comparison to ethnoarchaeological study of phytoliths and dung spherulites

Tell Seker al-Aheimar, located in the Upper Khabur, northeastern Syria, is an early Neolithic settlement that chrono-culturally spans from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) to the Proto-Hassuna period (Pottery Neolithic). The site is one of the largest and best documented Neolithic sites in this relatively poorly investigated region in Upper Mesopotamia. Among the occupation sequence of the site with well-defined architectural phases, the Late PPNB settlement (late 8th to early 7th millennium cal. BC) is characterized by an extensive mud-brick architecture, which comprises large multi-roomed rectangular buildings and gypsum-plastered floors. Our research questions center on the identification of domestic activities and their spatial distributions in the site through integrated studies of phytoliths and dung spherulites using an ethnoarchaeological approach.The ethnoarchaeological research included the study of agricultural and dung remains obtained from modern domestic structures from the top of the tell and the modern village of Seker al-Aheimar. The examined activity areas and materials comprised indoor storage and processing spaces, open areas, fireplaces, building materials and livestock enclosures. We use the ethnoarchaeological results to interpret the distributions of both phytolith and spherulite concentrations in archaeological contexts in terms of domestic activities that took place both within and outside buildings. Building spaces and their adjacent areas showed material accumulation resulting from household debris, including food remains, construction materials, matting, hearth cleaning and fuel residues. Indoor activities included the use of certain areas for storage, cereal-processing and cooking. The identification of livestock dung remains in fireplaces suggests the use of dung as a fuel source. We compare these new results with our previous studies of different phases and areas of the site to discuss diachronic and spatial trends in Neolithic household behaviors at Tell Seker al-Aheimar.