AN IMAGE OF COMPLEXITY - THE BURNT VILLAGE AT LATE NEOLITHIC SABI-ABYAD, SYRIA

The site of Tell Sabi Abyad in the upper Balikh valley of northern Syr ia is the focal point of a regionally oriented research project invest igating the socioeconomic organization of later Neolithic society in t he region. Recent excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad have brought to light a well-preserved settlement dating from the late sixth millennium B.C . and heavily affected by a violent fire, the so-called Burnt Village. The village consists of rectangular, multiroomed houses built of pise along very regular lines and surrounded by smaller circular structure s. Thousands of finds were recovered in situ from the burned houses, i ncluding ceramic and stone vessels, flint and obsidian implements, gro und stone tools, human and animal figurines, labrets, axes, and person al ornaments. Most exciting, however, are the hundreds of clay sealing s with stamp-seal impressions and the small tokens, which point to a v ery early but well-developed system of recording and administration. T he Burnt Village was part of extensive networks of long-and short-dist ance exchange, and its inhabitants maintained relationships with group s of people in distant areas, such as the coastal regions of the Levan t, the piedmont of southeastern Turkey, and the plains of Mesopotamia. External resources were mobilized and exploited in a regular manner a nd to a considerable extent, i.e., beyond the level of incidental tran sactions.