Csányi Marietta et al. (szerk.): Tisicum - A Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok Megyei Múzeumok Évkönyve 25. (Szolnok, 2016)
Közel-Kelet régészete - Ftaimi Tifanny: War and Conflict in Prehistoric Mesopotamia
TISICUM XXV. - KÖZEL-KELET RÉGÉSZETE period and not in the Ubaid period, because Ubaid seals had no depictions of ruler or more powerful man. These transitions are not a sudden event, but rather evolved during the time through ideological and social changes. 5. Conclusion As it appeared, that there is no real evidence for warfare before the end of the fifth millennium if we exclude the evidence (mace heads), which were found in Qermez Dere and Nemrik 9. Because it is hard to define the mace heads items, it depends on the size, weight and their specific structural features and technology.71 In spite of the fact that we do not have real evidence of conflicts before the Uruk period from tell Hamoukat, it is human nature to fight with other people in order to obtain something that the other does not have. I think that they were not all peaceful. It could happen in the present day, small conflicts between the members of a family. Therefore the absence of weapons in this period does not mean that they did not fight with each other. Also, it is important to note that the individuals could hit other people with a simple object which exists in the settlement such as stones or animal bones and they do not need to smooth and drill a stone to make a mace head to use it in a conflict. Therefore, the mace heads might be used for other purposes. In addition, there are many theories about the function of the mace heads, it could refer to ritual activity and many were used in ceremonies,72 or authority symbols for older and wise people in the community,73 or it could be multifunctional. On the other hand, the only real evidence for warfare came from the Uruk period, which obviously appeared in the seals, the question is, what kind of change happened in this period? Was it the indicator of transition to complex and chiefdom society? The recognizable archaeological signs of chiefdom societies, based on research, were achieved on Polynesian and American chiefdoms. These indicators are: warfare, long distance exchange of omalous goods as status markers, an unsteady political system which swings between reinforcement and collapse and symbolization of social ranking.74 We have to examine deeply these features to be able to understand what actually happened in the Uruk period. 71 ROSENBERG, Danny 2012.204. 72 ROSENBERG, Danny 2012.204. 73 FERGUSON, R. Brian 2013.217. 74 STEIN, Gil 1994.39.; COLLINS, Paul 2000.14. BIBLIOGRAPHY ALGAZE, Guillermo 1993. The Uruk World System “The Dynamics of Expansion of Early Mesopotamian Civilizations”. Chicago. BOEHMER, Rainer Michael 1999. Uruk, Früheste Siegelabbrollungen. Mainz am Rhein. BRAUN-HOLZINGER, Eva A. 2007. Das Herrscherbild in Mesopotamien und Elam, spätes 4. bis frühes 2. Jt. v. Chr. Münster. COLLINS, Paul 2000. The Uruk Phenomenon, The Role of Social Ideology in the Expansion of the Uruk Culture during of Fourth Millennium BC. BAR International Series 900. FERGUSON, R. Brian 2013. War, Peace and Human Nature. “The Prehistory of war and Peace in Europe and the Near East”. Oxford. HARMS, William 2005. University of Chicago-Syrian team finds first evidence of warfare in ancient Mesopotamia. December 16,2005. http://www.news.uchicago.edu/releases/05/051216.hamoukar.shtml Hozzáférés: 2016.10.02. HOLE, Frank 2006. A monumental Failure: The Collapse of Susa (227-240). In: Beyond the Ubaid, Transformation and Integration in the Late Prehistoric Societies of the Middle East. Number 63. Chicago. KUBBA, Shamil A. A. 1987. Mesopotamia Architecture and Town Planning from the Mesolithic to the end of the Proto-historic Period c.10.000- 3500 BC, Part I. BAR International Series 367(i). Oxford. LeBLANC, Steve A. 2010. Early Neolithic Warfare in the Near East and its Broader Implications (40-49). In: Neo-Lithics 1/10. Peabody Musem. Harvard University. MAZUROWSKI, Ryszard F. 1997. Nemrik 9, Ground and Pecked Stone Industry in the Pre- Pottery Neolithic of Northern Iraq. Wydawnictwa Instytutu Archeologie U.W. Warsaw. MELLAART, James 1975. The Neolithic of the Near East. London. OATES, Joan-McMAHON, Augusta 2013. Current Research “Early Warfare”. November 2013. http://www.tellbrak.mcdonald.cam.ac.uk/warfare.html Hozzáférés: 2015.03. 05. ROSENBERG, Danny 2010. Early Maceheads in the Southern Levant: A “Chalcolithic” Hallmark in Neolithic Context (204-216). In: Journal of Field Archaeology. Boston University. Boston. ROTHMAN, Mitchell S. 2002. Tepe Gawra: The Evolution of a Small Prehistoric Center in Northern Iraq. The University of Pennsylvania. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Philadelphia. STEIN, Gil 1994. Economy, Ritual, and Power in Ubaid Mesopotamia (35- 44). In: Chiefdoms and Early States in the Near East: The Organizational Dynamics of Complexity. Madison. 336
