Early State Formation in Southern Mesopotamia: Sea Levels

Journal of Island & Coastal Archaeology, 1:67–99, 2006Copyright © 2006 Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1556-4894 print / 1556-1828 onlineDOI:10.1080/15564890600586283

Early State Formationin Southern Mesopotamia:Sea Levels, Shorelines,and Climate ChangeDouglas J. Kennett1 and James P. Kennett21Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA2Department of Earth Science and Marine Science Institute,

University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA

ABSTRACT

The evolution of the earliest complex state-level societies andcities from small sedentary communities took place in southernMesopotamia between 8000 and 5000 cal yrs BP during the‘Ubaid and Uruk periods. Attempts to explain this transitionoften discount the role of environmental change and tend toevaluate available archaeological evidence for urban-based statedevelopment either within a static environmental context orassuming conditions similar to those of the present. This practiceis no longer tenable given newly available paleoenvironmentalrecords for the region. Post-glacial sea-level rise resulted in theinundation and creation of the Arabo-Persian Gulf, and, asthe marine transgression slowed in the Middle Holocene, richcoastal and aquatic habitats formed in southern Mesopotamia.These habitats favored the establishment and growth of ‘UbaidPeriod communities and the efficient transport of goods, ideas,and people throughout the region. High water tables alsopromoted early experimentation with irrigation agriculture andthe expansion of these systems as populations grew and thehumid conditions of the Early Holocene gave way to increasingaridity. We argue that the critical confluence of eustatic andclimatic changes unique to this circumscribed region favoredthe emergence of highly centralized, urban-based states.

Keywords paleoenvironment, sea-level rise, ‘Ubaid, Uruk, Mesopotamia

Received 1 July 2005; accepted 1 December 2005.Address correspondence to Douglas J. Kennett, Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon,Eugene, OR 97403, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

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Douglas J. Kennett and James P. Kennett

INTRODUCTION

Southern Mesopotamia was the site ofthe earliest large, highly integrated po-litical systems marked by administrativehierarchies and rulers with significantpower and authority—so called state-level societies (Rothman 2001, 2004).As states developed in this region, peo-ple became differentiated socially, morespecialized economically, and highlyintegrated and centralized politically(Flannery 1972). This process resultedin greater interdependence and coop-eration between members of society,but it also required a majority of peo-ple to relinquish autonomy and allowothers to have greater economic, social,and political benefits. How and whythis occurred in this region first, andlater in several other locations aroundthe world during the Middle and LateHolocene, remains a central questionin anthropological archaeology (e.g.,Adams 2000a; Algaze 2001a; Blantonet al. 1993; Feinman 2000; Feinman andManzanilla 2000; Flannery 1998; Mar-cus and Feinman 1998; Pollock 1999;Postgate 1992; Rothman 2004; Stein1998, 2001; Yoffee 2005).

Although there are indications foroccupation earlier (see below), the firstevidence of permanent human settle-ment in southern Mesopotamia can betraced to the beginning of the ‘UbaidPeriod at ∼8000 BP. Between 8000–5500 BP, human populations increasedand aggregated into small towns andnucleated villages. These communitiesultimately provided the foundation forintegrated state-level societies and urbancenters that developed between 5500and 5000 BP, with an associated com-plex of technological innovations in-cluding large-scale irrigation agricultureand writing. A number of theories havebeen proposed as to what stimulatedformation of the earliest known state-

level societies, including: (1) technolog-ical and agricultural innovation (Adams1981, 2000b); (2) bureaucratic devel-opment necessary to build, maintain,and manage large-scale irrigation nec-essary for agriculture (Wittfogel 1957,1981); (3) information processing andthe development of centralization andpolitical hierarchies (Wright 1977, 1994,1998, 2001; Wright and Johnson, 1975,1985); (4) increasing warfare in anenvironmentally and socially circum-scribed area (Carneiro 1988); (5) in-creasing intra- and inter regional ex-change, colonialism, and cross-culturalcontact (Algaze 1993, 2001b; Wrightand Johnson 1975); and (6) religiousideology and the control or mobilizationof labor (Hole 1983). Proponents ofmulti-causal models suggest that statedevelopment resulted from several inter-related factors, including characteristicsof the regional environment (Adams1981; Algaze 2001a; Crawford 1991;Flannery 1972; Hole 1994; Kouchoukos1999; Pournelle 2003; Redman 1978;Rothman 1994, 2004; Stein 1994, 2001;Wilkinson 2003). Others have suggestedthat state formation emerged as a resultof intrinsic human social interrelationsindependent of environmental factors(Pollock 1992).

The processes leading to the emer-gence of state-level societies in south-ern Mesopotamia were multivariate,but we argue that these developmentsshould be considered within the con-text of environmental change (Aqrawi2001; Eisenhauer et al. 1992; Fairbanks1989; Petit-Maire 1992; Sanlaville 1989;Sirocko et al. 1993; Teller et al. 2000).Changes in environmental conditionsare often thought to have played a majorrole in cultural demise (Hodell et al.1995; Issar 1995; Weiss 1997; Weiss et al.1993). In contrast, the potential impor-tance of climate and related environmen-tal change is less accepted as a critical

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Early State Formation in Mesopotamia

variable in the development of culturalcomplexity, but has recently receivedincreased attention (Hole 1994; Kennettand Kennett 2000; Sandweiss et al. 1999;Spier 1996). Except by Hole (1994;see also Nutzel 2004), however, therehas been limited consideration of thepotential role of environmental changein the evolution of the state in southernMesopotamia, where the environmenthas been incorrectly characterized bysome archaeologists as stable during theHolocene (Pollock 1992). Evaluation ofthe available paleoenvironmental datademonstrates distinct correlations be-tween the timing of Holocene environ-mental changes and cultural changes.These correlations, by themselves, donot prove causality but must be con-sidered when evaluating the timing andnature of emergent cultural complexityin this region.

We propose that this developmentwas stimulated, in part, by increasedcompetition for resources caused by suc-cessive changes in sea-level, shorelines,and climate specific to this region. Inparticular, the expansion and ultimatestabilization of aquatic habitats associ-ated with the marine transgression—habitats more productive than theyare today—favored increased popula-tion densities and early group formation,community stability, enhanced maritimetrade, and the emergence of social hi-erarchies. The natural diversity of re-sources in coastal/aquatic habitats, incombination with newly domesticatedplants and animals, provided the eco-nomic foundation for these developingcommunities, as they did elsewhereduring the Early and Middle Holocene(Binford 1968; Blake and Clark 1994;Moseley 1975). In this paper we de-scribe these changes within the con-text of cultural development and dis-cuss the possible implications of theseinterrelationships.

POSTGLACIAL ENVIRONMENTALCHANGE IN SOUTHERN

MESOPOTAMIA

Southern Mesopotamia lies in present-day southern Iraq at the head of theArabo-Persian Gulf. Modern climaticconditions are arid to semi-arid, with amean annual rainfall of 139 mm (rangingfrom 72 to 316 mm; Adams 1965).Severe dust storms occur during thesummer months due to semi-permanent,low-pressure zones over the Gulf thatdraw hot, dry winds across the alluvialplain. Because of the region’s extremearidity, agriculture is limited largely tothe floodplains of the Tigris-Euphrates-Karun rivers that converge in an exten-sive wetland region associated with theEl Schatt Delta.

The Arabo-Persian Gulf is roughly1,000 km long and ranges from 350 kmto as little as 5 km wide at theStraits of Hormuz, where it joins theGulf of Oman in the northern IndianOcean. This is the shallowest inlandsea of significant area in the world,the bathymetry reflecting a gently in-clined basin with a mean depth of only40 m and almost nowhere exceeding100 m except near the Straits of Hormuz(Figure 1c) (Purser and Seibold 1973;Sarnthein 1971; Seibold and Vollbrecht1969). Late Quaternary changes in sealevel played a major role in shapingthe environment of this region (Cooke1987; Gunatilaka 1986; Sanlaville 1989;Teller et al. 2000). Although southernMesopotamia is located on a subsidingsedimentary basin (Lees and Falcon1952), tectonic influences on eustacy,including subsidence, are consideredto have been relatively minor com-pared with glacioeustatic effects duringthe last 15,000 years (Aqrawi 2001;Cooke 1987; Gunatilaka 1986; Lambeck1996; Macfadyen and Vita-Finzi 1978;Sanlaville 1989). This perspective differs

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Figure 1. a, b: Sea-level change during the last 18,000 years (Fairbanks 1989; Lighty et al. 1982;Sanlaville 1989; Yafeng et al. 1993). Solid line in b shows well-established sea-level curvebased on Caribbean corals (Fairbanks 1989; Lighty et al. 1982); dashed line is localsea-level curve estimated for northern Arabo-Persian Gulf (Sanlaville 1989; Yafeng et al.1993). All radiocarbon dates have been calibrated to calendar years (BP). c: Modernbathymetry of the Arabo-Persian Gulf (adapted from Sarnthein 1972). (kyr = thousandyears)

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from an earlier, widely accepted viewthat the balance between sedimenta-tion and subsidence rates in southernMesopotamia maintained the Gulf shore-line and delta close to their present-day positions throughout the Holoceneand that inland incursions of the oceanresulted from subsidence (Lees andFalcon 1952).

Environmental conditions duringthe latest Pleistocene through MiddleHolocene were different from those oftoday in southern Mesopotamia and theGulf region. About 15,000 BP, globalsea level was still 100 m below present(Figure 1a,b; Fairbanks 1989). Due to theshallowness of the Arabo-Persian Gulf,late Quaternary marine transgressionassociated with deglaciation was onlybeginning to enter this dry, subaerialbasin through the Straits of Hormuz(Figure 2a; Lambeck 1996; Vita-Finzi1978). Calcareous detritus in peri-coastaldunes in the United Arab Emirateswas wind-transported from the exposedGulf floor during the Late Pleistocene(100,000 to 12,000 BP; Teller et al.2000). At this time, the Tigris-Euphrates-Karun River system flowed into the Gulfof Oman as the Ur-Schatt (ancient Schatt)River (Gunatilaka 1986; Seibold and Voll-brecht 1969), which traversed the fulllength of the Gulf in its deepest present-day sector. The Ur-Schatt River flowedin an incised canyon, now completelysubmerged, but still evident in thepresent-day bathymetry of the middle tolower Gulf (Sarnthein 1971; Seibold andVollbrecht 1969). This canyon wasformed by downcutting during low sealevels of the last glaciation. A deep-seacanyon extending southwards from thehead of the Gulf of Oman (Seibold andUlrich 1970) was almost certainly cutby turbidity currents carrying sedimentssouthward. Large volumes of sedimentappear to have been transported to theGulf of Oman by the Ur-Schatt River dur-

ing Quaternary low sea-level stands, im-plying substantial river flow. At this time,the modern delta did not exist in south-ern Mesopotamia (Figures 3) and narrowfloodplains were restricted to the incisedriver canyons. Severe aridity at this timeis indicated by the presence of drownedridge and trough features in the north-ern Arabo-Persian Gulf, interpreted asfossil sand-dune fields (Sarnthein 1971),and supported by sedimentological(Diester-Haass 1973; Sarnthein 1972)and oxygen isotopic data (Sirocko et al.1993).

After 15,000 BP, marine transgres-sion formed the Arabo-Persian Gulf (Fig-ure 2b–f). Sea-level rise during this in-terval was highly variable, but averaged∼1 cm per year until ∼9000 BP (Figure1a), after which the rate of rise slowed(Fairbanks 1989; Lighty et al. 1982;Warne and Stanley 1993). The patternof global sea-level change after 9000 BPhas yet to be firmly established. Sea-levelcurves from the western Atlantic (Lightyet al. 1982) and southeastern Mediter-ranean (Warne and Stanley 1993) show aslow rise with a steadily decreasing rate(average ∼0.3 cm per year) from 7000BP to the present (Figure 1b). In thesecurves, rates of rise are especially slowafter 5500 BP. This pattern contrastswith sea-level rise estimates based onwestern Australian evidence of ∼0.7 cmper year from 9800 BP to a maximumhigh stand at 6300 BP, followed by aslight decrease in sea level inferred to beassociated with a cessation of polar ice-sheet melting (Eisenhauer et al. 1992). Inspite of these differences, it is clear thatthe rate of global sea-level rise decreasedsignificantly between 6300 and 5500 BP.Rapid rise in sea level during the earlyHolocene (Siddall et al. 2003) of ∼1 cmper year created a lateral marine trans-gression in the Arabo-Persian Gulf of∼110 m per year, one of the highest ratesknown for any region. The early stages of



Figure 2. Maps of successive time intervals showing the marine transgression into the Arabo-Persian Gulf during late Pleistocene-early/middle Holocene. Sea-level estimates fromFairbanks (1989) and based on modern bathymetry (Sarnthein 1972). Position of theUr-Schatt River (ancient Schatt River) estimated from bathymetry (Sarnthein 1972).Marine transgression in southern Mesopotamia at 6000 BP (f) adapted from Sanlaville(1989) and shown in detail in Figure 4.

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Figure 3. Schematic cross sections showing inferred three stages in evolution of the delta region ofsouthern Mesopotamia during the latest Quaternary.



Figure 4. Estimated shoreline at 6000 BP in southern Mesopotamia superimposed on present-daygeography. Triangles show locations of early settlements and dots indicate modern cities(adapted from Sanlaville 1989).

this transgression (∼15,000 and 11,000BP) filled mainly the deeply incisedcanyon of the Ur-Schatt River in its lowerto middle reaches. The transgressionlater inundated the broader, shallowerGulf region (Figure 4). Most notablerapid rises in sea level in the Arabo-Persian Gulf occurred between 12,000and 11,500 BP and again from 9500 to8500 BP, and during these periods thelateral transgression probably exceeded1 km per year (Teller et al. 2000:306).1

Inundation of the Arabo-Persian Gulfcoincided with an interval of increasedseasonal rainfall across the ArabianPeninsula and southern Mesopotamia

between ∼10,000 and 6000 BP. Thisinterpretation is based on a variety ofindicators, including sedimentologicalevidence for increased river runoff intothe Arabo-Persian Gulf (Diester-Haass1973), speleothem records from Israeland Oman (Bar-Matthews et al. 1997;Burns et al. 1998, 2001), pollen evidencefor more widespread, less arid vege-tation, and the presence of inter-dunelakes on the Arabian Peninsula (Lezineet al. 1998; McClure 1976; Roberts andWright 1993; Rossignol-Strick 1987;Street-Perrott and Roberts 1983) and insouthern Mesopotamia (Wright 1993;Yan and Petit-Maire 1994) between9000 to 6000 BP. Moister conditions

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Figure 5. Correlations between late Quaternary climatic changes (1000 BP = kyr; Almogi-Labinet al. 1991; Sirocko et al. 1993) and major cultural periods (a) in southern Mesopotamia(Adams and Nissen 1972; Rothman 2004; Wright and Rupley 2001; see also Endnote 2).Fluctuations in dolomite abundance (peak area) values (b) during late Quaternaryin sediment core from Arabian Gulf reflect changes in aridity in Arabia–southernMesopotamia region (Sirocko et al. 1993). The gray band on the dolomite curverepresents interval of highest humidity. Shown at right is the percent change insolar radiation (d) in the Northern Hemisphere in summer (June–August) and winter(December–February) during the last 18,000 years, resulting from the earth’s orbitalperturbations (Kutzbach and Guetter 1986; Kutzbach and Gallimore 1988). Thischange caused summers to be warmer and winters colder in Arabia and southernMesopotamia, with seasonal differences and inferred strength of summer monsoonspeaking at ∼9000–10,000 BP. Note relationship with humid-arid cycles in the Red Searegion (c), representing a synthesis of changes in lake levels, vegetation history, andsediment data (Almogi-Labin et al. 1991).

are also inferred from an extensivenetwork of ephemeral channels (wadis)over the Arabian Peninsula that run intothe Arabo-Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea(Dabbagh et al. 1998; Hotzl et al. 1984)and appear to have been more activeduring the Late Pleistocene and EarlyHolocene (Wilkinson 2003). Increasedrainfall in this region between ∼10,000

and 8600 BP is also inferred froman absence of dolomite at this timein a sediment core from the Gulf ofOman (Sirocko et al. 1993) (Figure 5b).Under arid conditions, dolomite isformed in coastal, supra-tidal evaporiticenvironments (sabkas) in the Gulfregion and wind-transported to theGulf of Oman. Overall, Early Holocene



climatic conditions in Arabia weresemiarid (∼250–300 mm annualrainfall) compared with the ariditythere today (50–100 mm annual rainfall)(Whitney et al. 1983).

Paleoceanographic and terrestrialclimatic records in the Red Sea regionindicate relatively humid conditionsbetween ∼12,000 and 6000 BP(Almogi-Labin et al. 1991), with thewettest interval occurring between∼10,000 and 7800 BP (Haynes et al.1989; Street-Perrott and Perrott 1990;Figure 5c). A significant regionalincrease in rainfall between 11,700 and5400 BP has also been inferred from adecrease in oxygen isotopic values inplanktonic foraminifera and pteropodsin a Red Sea core (21◦N), interpreted toreflect decreased surface-water salinities(Rossignol-Strick 1987). The amount ofcontinental freshwater runoff at thistime was sufficiently large to decreasesurface-water salinities in the Red Searelative to present-day values. Inferredlow salinities peaked between ∼8500and 6700 BP, then increased until5400 BP, when average post-glacialvalues were reached (Rossignol-Strick1987). Wet (humid) conditions between9200 and 7250 BP in this region areconfirmed based on increases interrigenous sediment input anddecreased surface-water salinities,as reflected by oxygen isotopes inforaminifera species in sediment coresfrom the northernmost Red Sea (Arzet al. 2003; see Figure 6). These dataare consistent with pollen records andevidence for high lake levels, indicatingEarly Holocene (10,000–5500 BP)increases in precipitation and a pluvialmaximum (∼10,000–7000 BP) in theLevant (Issar 2003) and throughoutsub-Saharan Africa (Ambrose andSikes 1991; COHMAP 1988; Gasseet al. 1990, 1991; Haynes et al. 1989;Haynes and Mead 1987; Kutzbach

and Street-Perrott 1985; Pachur andKropelin 1987, 1989; Petit-Maire1986, 1990, 1992; Ritchie et al. 1985;Street-Perrott et al. 1985; Street-Perrottand Perrott 1990), coinciding withthe so-called hypsithermal climaticinterval (COHMAP 1988; Gasse et al.1991; Kutzbach and Street-Perrot1985; Lamb 1977; Petit-Maire 1986).Pollen (Lezine et al. 2002; Roberts andWright 1993; Rossignol-Strick 1987),lake level (McClure 1976), and marinesediment (Diester-Haass 1973; Sirockoet al. 1993) data indicate that humidconditions persisted until ∼6000 BP,although a gradual decrease in humidityhad begun after ∼8000 BP (Ritchieet al. 1985; Vita-Finzi 1978). Analysisof paleoclimatic data suggests thatSouthwest Indian monsoon strengthfor the broader Asia-East African regionwas greatest between 11,000 and 5000BP (Overpeck et al. 1996), but in theMiddle East, maximum activity seems tohave occurred between 9000 and 7000BP (Bar-Matthews et al. 1997; Lezineet al. 1998; Yan and Petit-Maire 1994).

The marine transgression reachedthe present-day northern Gulf area be-tween 9000 and 8000 BP (Aqrawi 2001;Gunatilaka 1986; Lambeck 1996), inun-dating the entrenched Ur-Schatt Rivervalley and forming an extensive marineestuary in the location of the presentdelta area. The modern delta has sincefilled the estuary (Aqrawi 2001; Cooke1987). Movement of the coastline asso-ciated with the marine transgression wasso rapid that sedimentation would havebeen minimal in the newly developing,open estuary and no delta would haveformed (Cooke 1987). From ∼9000 BPonward, and particularly after ∼6000 to5500 BP, sea-level rise slowed globally(Figure 1a,b; Fairbanks 1989; Lighty et al.1982) or possibly reached a Holocenemaximum at ∼6000 BP (Eisenhaueret al. 1992; Yafeng et al. 1993). In the

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Figure 6. Comparison of four climate records from the eastern Mediterranean–Red Sea regionsshowing early Holocene humidity and the onset of regional drying after ∼7000 BP(adapted from Arz et al. 2003). Major cultural periods shown at bottom of figure.(kyr = thousand years)



northern Arabo-Persian Gulf, sea levelreached its current elevation at 6000BP, was possibly 2.5 m higher between6000 and 5000 BP or longer (Lambeck1996), and thereafter was relatively sta-ble, close to present-day levels (Al-Asfour1978; Sanlaville 1989). Sediments fromboreholes in the Tigris-Euphrates Deltaindicate marine-brackish conditions inthe vicinity of Fao at ∼9000 BP, nearBasra at 8000 BP, and as far north asNisiriyya by 6000 BP (Aqrawi 2001: 275).By ∼6000 BP, estuaries had expandedto their northernmost limits. Marinedeposits of 7000 BP age have been re-ported inland (80–100 km) at Lake Ham-mar, and estuarine deposits of this ageare also known in cores 40 km fartherto the northwest (Hudson et al. 1957;Sanlaville 1989). The northernmostknown extent of estuarine sediments inboreholes of Holocene age is 400 kminland from the present head of theGulf (Cooke 1987). Estuarine sedimentsfrom boreholes containing foraminifera,marine mollusks, and other marine fos-sils reflect brackish to marine conditionsduring the Middle Holocene near theancient city of Ur on the Euphrates(Aqrawi 2001; Sanlaville 1989) and atAmarah on the Tigris (Aqrawi 2001; Mac-fadyen and Vita-Finzi 1978). Estuariesprobably extended even farther north-ward following the Tigris-Euphrates-Karun River canyons and formed avariety of productive wetland habitatsthroughout this region (Pournelle 2003).Extensive floodplains and associatedhigh water tables would have formedduring the Middle Holocene with de-celeration of sea-level rise as it beganto approach present levels, with theconsequent development of a complexmosaic of aquatic habitats (estuaries,rivers, wetlands, and marshes).2

By the Middle Holocene, regional cli-matic conditions had become more arid.This change is indicated by a diversity of

evidence including an abrupt increasein aeolian sediment and dune formationon the southern periphery of the Arabo-Persian Gulf at 6000 BP (United ArabEmirates; Bray and Stokes 2004). Evi-dence from the Red Sea region indicatesa marked trend toward increasing ariditybetween 7000 and 5000 BP (Almogi-Labin et al. 1991; Arz et al. 2003). Pro-nounced regional desiccation by 5000BP dried up lakes in the region encom-passing Arabia, the Red Sea, and sub-Saharan Africa (Almogi-Labin et al. 1991;McClure 1976; Pachur and Kropelin1989; Ritchie et al. 1985; Roberts andWright 1993; Sukumar et al. 1993).Developing aridity also led to increaseddust transport evident in the Arabian Seaafter 5300 BP (Sirocko et al. 1993). Insub-Saharan Africa, lake level and pollenrecords also indicate that regional des-iccation became widespread between6000 and 5000 BP (deMenocal et al.2000; Ritchie et al. 1985; Roberts 1989).

Major deceleration of sea-level riseafter the Middle Holocene led to sed-iment infilling of the estuary, acceler-ated by erosion (Cooke 1987; Melguen1973). Southeastward progradation ofthe Mesopotamian Delta commenced,eventually extending ∼200 km to thesoutheast. This process led to the de-velopment of extensive wetland areas(Larsen and Evans 1978; Sanlaville 1989).The trend toward increasing aridityin the broad region continued throughthe Late Holocene. Aeolian depositswithin deltaic sediments were mostpronounced in southern Mesopotamiabetween 5000 and 4000 BP and pointto severe aridity during this interval(Aqrawi 1993, 1995, 2001). Archaeolog-ical evidence for the abandonment ofsettlements also suggests that southernMesopotamia became extremely aridduring the Late Holocene (Nissen 1988;Weiss et al. 1993; Wright 1981). Floodlevels in the Nile also declined between

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5000 and 4000 BP (Roberts 1989) andcentral African rift lakes desiccated com-pletely between 3400 and 3000 BP(Ambrose and Sikes 1991).

The changes in Holocene precip-itation and associated shifts of theSudanian-Sahelian vegetation belt overnorth Africa (Roberts 1989), the ArabianPeninsula, and southern Mesopotamiahave been linked to changing intensifi-cation of summer monsoons related tonorthward shift of the Inter-tropical Con-vergence Zone and the influence of amore moist westerly airstream affectingthe Mediterranean region (Clemens et al.1996; COHMAP 1988; Kutzbach 1983;Kutzbach and Guetter 1986; Robertsand Wright 1993; Street-Perrott andRoberts 1983). Holocene fluctuations inthe strength of the South Asian mon-soon in the Middle East region resultedfrom differential thermal response ofland and ocean surfaces due to orbitallycaused (Milankovitch) changes in thestrength of the seasonal cycle and solarradiation in the Northern Hemisphere(Clemens et al. 1996; Kutzbach andGallimore 1988; Kutzbach and Guet-ter 1986). At 9000 BP, orbital pertur-bations of the earth were such thatthe perihelion occurred in July ratherthan January, as it does today, and theaxial tilt of the earth was greater thanit is now. As a result, July (summer)average solar radiation in the North-ern Hemisphere was ∼7% higher thantoday (Kutzbach and Gallimore 1988;Kutzbach and Guetter 1986). This ad-ditional radiation caused summers to bewarmer and winters colder in Arabia andsouthern Mesopotamia, with seasonaldifferences peaking at ∼9000 to 10,000BP. The resulting increase in airflowover Arabia from the Indian Ocean,associated with southwest summer mon-soons, led to higher seasonal precipita-tion (Kutzbach and Guetter 1986) andupwelling near south Arabia that peaked

about 9000 BP (Prell 1984). Northernsummer monsoons were stronger be-tween 12,000 and 6000 BP in conjunc-tion with increased summer radiation(COHMAP 1988). Associated summermonsoon precipitation over tropicallands increased ∼10%–20% (Kutzbachand Guetter 1986). The broad arid-humid-arid cycle of the Middle East re-gion during the last 18,000 years, includ-ing in southern Mesopotamia (Robertsand Wright 1993), was controlled largelyby this change in the seasonal cycle.Increased monsoonal strength duringthe Early Holocene led to the higherannual precipitation as far north assouthern Mesopotamia (Kutzbach andGallimore 1988; Kutzbach and Guetter1986; Roberts and Wright 1993; Whit-ney et al. 1983). Conditions furthernorth remained relatively dry (Kutzbachand Guetter 1986; Roberts and Wright1993). After ∼5500 BP, weakening ofthe monsoons led to increasing aridityover the Arabian Peninsula (Sirocko et al.1993).

STATE DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERNMESOPOTAMIA

States with well-developed urban cen-ters and administrative hierarchies firstappeared in southern Mesopotamiaabout 5000 BP (Late Uruk or LC5; Adams1981; Johnson 1973; Nissen 1988, 2001;Pollock 1999; Postgate 1992; Rothman2004; Wright and Johnson 1975; Yoffee2005 [Figure 5a]). The people of south-ern Mesopotamia were on the leadingedge of what Childe (1950) referredto as the second great revolution—theintegration of large numbers of peopleinto one social, economic, and politicalsystem ruled by an elite class withthe help of an elaborate administrativehierarchy. Archaic states spread quicklyin the Near East after this time and



developed independently in other partsof the world, including Mesoamerica,South America, and China (Feinmanand Marcus 1998). The development ofsocial differentiation, economic special-ization, and ultimately political central-ization culminating in the emergence ofstate-level societies is a central archae-ological research question addressedfrom a variety of perspectives (Blantonet al. 1993; Feinman and Marcus 1998;Flannery 1972; Pollock 1999). SouthernMesopotamia has played an importantrole in the modeling of state originsand the emergence of centralized ad-ministrative hierarchies because of thelong tradition of research in the region(Rothman 2004; Yoffee 2005).

Origins of the first city dwellers insouthern Mesopotamia have long beendebated and are crucial for understand-ing the social, economic, and politicalprocesses culminating in the state (seeBottero 2001; Frankfort 1956; Kramer1963; Meissner 1920; Oates 1991; Potts1997; Speiser 1930). Similarities of ar-chitecture and ceramic styles in south-ern Mesopotamia from the Early ‘Ubaidthrough Late Uruk periods (∼8000 to5000 BP) suggest a certain degree ofdemographic and cultural continuity,rather than the intrusion of outside peo-ples, prior to the emergence of the state(Oates 1960). Population continuity isalso indicated by a series of superim-posed temples at the site of Eridu duringthis interval (Oates 1960; Potts 1997:47).This was the period when some small vil-lages grew in size relative to neighboringsettlements and ultimately became thefirst state centers in which social andpolitical hierarchies developed.

The settlement history of people insouthern Mesopotamia prior to 8000BP is far from clear. A transition frommobile hunting and gathering to seden-tary agriculture is evident in west Asiabetween 12,000 and 8000 BP (Bar-Yosef

and Belfer-Cohen 1989; Bar-Yosef andMeadow 1995; Flannery 1969; Garrard1999; Harris 1996, 1998; Henry 1989;McCorriston and Hole 1991; Meadow1996; Zeder and Hesse 2000). This wasa time of early development of agricul-ture and animal domestication (Smith1998); emergence of small villages, someof which were fortified; and potterymanufacturing in various locations (Red-man 1978). Early agricultural villagesin northern Mesopotamia (e.g., Tell es-Sawwan) were generally limited in sizeto a few hundred people engaged insimple agriculture and animal domesti-cation (Moore 1985). We suspect thatat this time people were living alongthe Ur-Schatt and associated floodplains,a natural corridor connecting northernMesopotamia with the interior shallowbasin known today as the Arabo-PersianGulf. This basin was then undergoingrapid marine transgression and storiesresulting from this inundation may bethe source of biblical flood mythology(Potts 1996; Teller et al. 2000). Evidencefor settlements along the Ur-Schatt Riverhas since been obscured by floodingand/or covered by sediments.

Some archaeological evidence existsfor a pre-‘Ubaid occupation along thenortheast coast of the Arabo-PersianGulf. Furthermore, Neolithic stone-toolassemblages (Arabian bifacial tradition;Potts 1997:52) dating to between 9600and 5500 BP are also common nearnow-desiccated inland lakes across theArabian Peninsula (Edens 1982; Edensand Wilkinson 1998; Potts 1993, 1997;Uerpmann 1992; Zarins et al. 1981) andat several locations along the westernedge of the Arabo-Persian Gulf by at least7300 BP (Beech et al. 2005; Connanet al. 2005; Glover 1998). Visible ar-chitecture is rarely encountered at Ara-bian Neolithic sites, with the exceptionof small stone structures reported atseveral coastal locations (e.g., Kuwait

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[Connan et al. 2005]; Qatar [Inizan1988]; Marawah Island, United ArabEmirates [Beech et al. 2005]). Artifactand faunal/floral assemblages from thesesites suggest that people combinedsheep and goat herding with small-game hunting, the collection of localgrasses, and even periodic cereal-cropfarming (Potts 1993, 1997). This form ofsubsistence was combined with fishing,shellfishing and other marine resources(e.g., sea turtles; Beech et al. 2005)at several sites along the Arabo-PersianGulf (Connan et al. 2005; Glover 1998).These data indicate a mixed foragingand food-producing strategy comparableto what Smith (2001) has described aslow-level food production. Stone toolassemblages dating to ∼8000 BP are alsoknown from wadi systems in westernIraq that flow into the Euphrates River(Zarins 1990). Similar stone tool assem-blages, although poorly described, aredocumented in southern Mesopotamia(Potts 1997:53; Zarins 1992), where theywere found at Ur (Woolley 1955), nearEridu (Potts 1997), and at Tell Oueli andTello (Cauvin 1979; Inizan and Tixier1983). Pre-ceramic sites on the easternfringe of southern Mesopotamia (TellRihan III in the Hamrin and ChogaBanut in Kuzistan) dating to ∼8500 BPalso suggest linkages between peopleliving in the Zagros and in the south-ern alluvium (Aurenche 1987). Over-all, the archaeological record for thisperiod suggests that significant popula-tions lived across the desert regions ofArabia and Mesopotamia, practicing adiverse range of subsistence strategiestied to a variety of aquatic habitats (e.g.,lakes, springs, creeks, rivers) resultingfrom the northward shift of the southAsian monsoon belt during the Early toMiddle Holocene.

The presence of stone tools com-parable to the southern Arabian bifacetradition is consistent with the idea

of a pre-‘Ubaid occupation earlier than8000 BP in southern Mesopotamia (seeOates 1960, 2004). Exploration for pre-‘Ubaid sites is impeded by thick allu-vial sediments deposited since the near-stabilization of sea level at ∼6200 BP anda water table that is higher than whensites of this age were occupied. Evenearly ‘Ubaid sites in the region (e.g., HajjiMuhammad) are deeply buried underalluvium (Huot 1989), so it is likely thatsites of this age are more numerous. Sev-eral sites are now known to contain pre-‘Ubaid ceramics comparable in form toSamarran and Choga Mami assemblagesfrom central and northern Mesopotamia(WS 298 [Adams and Nissen 1972] andTell Oueli [Calvet 1989; Huot 1989;see also Potts 1997]). Tell Oueli is themost impressive of these sites, withearly levels, now designated as Ubaid 0(∼8000 BP; Oates 2004), that are 5 mthick in places and contain ceramicsand cigar-shaped building bricks remi-niscent of those from cultural traditionsin northern and central Mesopotamia(Huot 1989). These findings are consis-tent with the idea of a small, relativelysedentary population living around wet-lands at the head of the Arabo-PersianGulf as sea-level rise slowed. Whetherthey moved into this area as sea levelwas stabilizing or were pushed from thesouth with rapid sea-level rise remainsunresolved, but if biblical flood mythol-ogy originates in southern Mesopotamia,it is likely that at least a portion of theresident population on the floodplainsof the Ur-Schatt River were displacedto the north because of this marinetransgression (Potts 1996; Teller et al.2000).

By the beginning of the ‘UbaidPeriod (∼8000 BP), small villages andtowns were more common acrossgreater Mesopotamia. Much of this re-gion was linked through social net-works, and similarities in artifacts



indicate widespread exchange of goodsand knowledge. The archaeologicalrecord suggests distinctive demographictrends in southern Mesopotamia and theSusiana Plain during this time. Largernumbers of known settlements datingto the early ‘Ubaid Period result froma combination of greater archaeologicalvisibility (larger sites visible above allu-vium), and increases in regional popu-lation. At this time the communities ofEridu, ‘Usaila, Ur, and Tell al-‘Ubaid weresmall, averaging about one hectare insize, with estimated populations seldomexceeding 1,000 people. These smallcommunities were widely dispersed andlacked the linear distribution typicalof settlements dependent on irrigationcanals (Adams 1981:59), although irriga-tion agriculture was practiced elsewherein Mesopotamia and was employed insome parts of the southern alluvialplain (Oates and Oates 1976; Wilkin-son 2003). The carbonized remains ofTriticum monococcum (einkorn) andHordeum vogare (barley) in ‘Ubaid 0(∼8000–7500 BP) levels at Tell Ouelialso suggest that some form of irriga-tion was in use (Huot 1989, 1996),or that the higher humidity evident inEarly Holocene climate records was suffi-cient to sustain rain-fed agriculture, per-haps in combination with opportunisticuse of seasonally receding flood zonesor the higher water tables close tothe head of the Gulf (Kouchoukos1999). Early settlements were locatedon slight rises (turtle backs) withinaquatic habitats resulting from seasonalmonsoonal rains or in the wetlands atthe head of the Arabo-Persian Gulf assea-level rise slowed (Pournelle 2003).Such locations were at the interfacebetween fresh and salt water and wereoptimal for fresh water accessibility,hunting/fishing, transportation, and irri-gation agriculture (Oates 1960). Withinthis aquatic context, a broad-spectrum

economy developed during the ‘UbaidPeriod, based upon small-scale agricul-ture with an emphasis on salt-tolerantcrops, animal (e.g., oxen) domestica-tion, hunting, fishing, and trade (Huot1989; Sanlaville 1989; Woolley 1929:14).

By middle ‘Ubaid times (‘Ubaid2–3), some communities in southernMesopotamia and grown larger thantheir neighbors, a two-tiered settlementsystem that often marks the emergenceof hierarchically organized (non-state)societies (Stein 1994; Wright 1981).Important centers included Eridu, Ur,and Uquir (Adams 1981; Wright 1981;Wright and Pollock 1986). Eridu and Urwere particularly large by this time, bothhaving grown to between 9 and 10 ha insize and with estimated populations of2,000 to 3,000 people (Adams 1981). Asimilar pattern occurred on the adjacentSusiana Plain (in southwestern Iran),where Choga Mish expanded rapidly to11 ha, dwarfing other agricultural com-munities in the region (Wright and John-son 1985). As some communities ex-panded in size within the Mesopotamianheartland, ‘Ubaid Period ceramics ap-pear in Neolithic settlements and shellmiddens along the east coast of theArabian Peninsula (Glover 1998; Masry1974; Oates et al. 1977; Potts 1993;Uerpmann and Uerpmann 1996; Zarinset al. 1981). The appearance of ‘UbaidPeriod ceramics is associated with thefirst evidence for a maritime trade net-work, suggested by the remains of abarnacle-covered reed and bituminousboat from coastal Kuwait (Site H3,As-Sabiyah; ‘Ubaid 3, 7300–6900 BP;Carter 2002, 2003; Connan et al. 2005).Population expansion continued acrossthe southern Mesopotamian alluviumin late ‘Ubaid times (‘Ubaid 3–4) anda network of large and small settle-ments developed with economies basedon irrigation agriculture (Wright 1981;Wright and Pollock 1986). With this

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expansion, elements of material cultureassociated with the ‘Ubaid Period (e.g.,uniform pottery style [Berman 1994];other clay objects and cone-head fig-urines, sickles, and “nails” [Roaf 1984;Wright and Pollock 1986]; and archi-tecture [Huot 1989]) first appear innorthern Mesopotamia (Rothman 2002;Stein 1994; Tobler 1950), a pattern inter-preted as political integration centeredon the southern alluvium (Algaze 1993)or cultural replication due to contactwith people to the south (Stein 1994).Interestingly, there is little evidence forwarfare in southern Mesopotamia untilthe end of the ‘Ubaid Period. Settlementswere not fortified and ‘Ubaid seals donot show war-related depictions. In con-trast, warfare in northern Mesopotamiaduring this period is suggested by thepresence of fortified settlements andinterpreted as evidence for intrusive‘Ubaid expansion from the south (Stein1994).

The distribution of wealth itemswithin ‘Ubaid Period sites is suggestiveof differential access to economic bene-fits (Stein 1994). Economic and politicaldifferentiation is also indicated by thehierarchical distribution of settlements,a pattern first visible during the middle‘Ubaid Period (Wright 1981). Unlike inhierarchical societies that developed inother parts of the world (Clark andBlake 1994; Clark and Pye 2000; Earle1987; Flannery 1968), little evidenceexists to support elite control of long-distance exchange systems and central-ized control of high-status craft pro-duction (Stein 1994). Mortuary studiesalso provide little evidence for socialranking and depictions of rulers arerare (Stein 1994; Wright and Pollock1986). Instead, ‘Ubaid Period societywas centered on the temple complex,and ideology appears to have played animportant organizing role in these com-munities (Hole 1994:139; Stein 1994).

These temples occur at focal settlementsthroughout the region, a pattern that re-mained remarkably stable for 1,500 years(Stein 1994). Temples were rectangularin form, oriented to the cardinal direc-tions, and contained altars and offeringtables. A series of superimposed templesexcavated at the important center ofEridu suggests continuity in settlementand social organization at this locationthroughout the ‘Ubaid Period (Oates1960). The first temple in this sequencewas constructed during the ‘Ubaid 1phase and subsequent temples werelarger and more elaborate. Offeringsassociated with these temples indicatethat aquatic resources (e.g., fish) playeda central role in this society (Bottero2001). The economic importance of es-tuarine and riverine fish is also indicatedby faunal remains in ‘Ubaid 4 levels atTell Oueli (Huot 1989). It is possiblethat the ideological system representedby the ‘Ubaid temple complex was usedto legitimize differential access to keyelements of the farming system (e.g.,water, land, and labor; Stein 1994) aspeople began to intensify agriculturalproduction to sustain larger populationsin the region. Stein (1994) has arguedthat ideological manipulation was usedto mobilize food surpluses to storagefacilities at focal communities, based onthe large size of territories during thelate ‘Ubaid Period and some evidencefor centralized storage facilities at TellOueli (Huot 1989). Regardless, by theend of the ‘Ubaid Period (∼6300 BP),3itis clear that some communities weresubstantially larger than their neighbors,were ruled by hereditary leaders, andwere administered by institutionalizedadministrative organizations.

The economic, social, and politicalcomplexity evident at the end of the‘Ubaid Period culminated during theUruk Period (6300–5000 BP) with thedevelopment of the first urban-based



states at ∼5000 BP (Late Uruk or LC5[Adams 1981; Johnson 1973; Rothman2004; Wright and Johnson 1975]). A sig-nificant population expansion occurredin southern Mesopotamia during the‘Ubaid to Uruk Period transition (∼6300BP), but some areas (northern alluvium)saw population decline as settlementsbecame more concentrated in the south-ern alluvium (Adams 1981:60–61). Thecity of Uruk-Warka, with deposits ex-tending back into the ‘Ubaid Period,was the largest and certainly the mostprominent city on the southern alluviumthrough the Uruk Period (Nissen 2001).This community grew to 250 ha bythe end of the Uruk Period and theurban core expanded to 100 ha in size(Finkbeiner 1991; Nissen 2001), with anestimated 10,000 inhabitants (Redman1978). Most of the elaborate publicbuildings at Uruk-Warka date to theLate Uruk Period (3–5) and reflect adevelopment of complex administrativesystems over the course of about 600years (Nissen 2001). The increased sizeof Uruk-Warka resulted from indigenouspopulation growth (Johnson 1988–89)or migration of people from adjacentareas. This occurred as communitieswere abandoned further to the north insouthern Mesopotamia and the adjacentSusiana Plain (Adams 1981; Johnson1973), perhaps fostered by increasingaridity evident throughout the region ordue to deltaic progradation.

Uruk-Warka was the largest urbancenter in southern Mesopotamia by theLate Uruk Period (Nissen 2001), dwarf-ing even the large settlement of Susaon the adjacent Susiana Plain (∼18 ha;Hole 1987). The urban core of this citywas surrounded by a defensive wall anddivided into two discrete areas, eachcontaining large, free-standing buildingsvisible from a considerable distance(Heinrich 1982; Nissen 2001). Some ofthese large structures are interpreted as

public buildings representing temples,“cult houses,” or assembly halls (Hein-rich 1982; Nissen 2001; Schmid 1980).Cylinder seals and clay tablets found indumps behind administrative buildingsrepresent the first writing systems andappear to have been used primarilyfor information storage and accountingpurposes (Nissen et al. 1993). A vigorouseconomy is suggested by the remains ofworkshops and kilns in the city center,and substantial evidence exists for craftspecialization, with major advances inmetallurgy and pottery manufacture visi-ble in the record (e.g., fast wheel; Adamsand Nissen 1972). Artistic achievementalso flourished. Clear social and politi-cal hierarchies are indicated by artisticrepresentations and by a clay tabletcontaining a "standard professions list," acategorization of professions from rulersto laborers (Nissen 2000; Nissen et al.1993). This list indicates that a strongdivision of labor was well establishedand that the hierarchical elements ofsociety likely had roots earlier in the‘Ubaid and Uruk Periods. A strong politi-cal authority is also suggested by hints offorced labor and the control of an exten-sive agricultural irrigation system. Thisauthority is also indicated by rank-sizedifferences between communities andevidence from cylinder seals showingstrong economic, political, and socialintegration between cities and smallercommunities in the region (Wright andJohnson 1975). Other large cities in theregion dating to this time include Kish,Nippur, Gersu, and Ur (Nissen 2001).

The southern cities of Mesopotamiawere linked to other communities ingreater Mesopotamia via exchange net-works. These networks were crucialfor state development because peopleliving on the southern alluvium wereable to acquire goods unavailable locally(e.g., high-grade wood and metal; Algaze1993). By the late Uruk Period, the

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movement of goods to southern citieswas facilitated by outposts strategicallylocated in areas containing valuable re-sources or close to natural trade routes,affording control over the distributionof these materials (e.g., Godin Tepe,Habub Kabira, Hacinebi Tepe, JabalAruda [Algaze 2001b; Rothman 2001]).The records at these sites suggestthat colonists/merchants from southernMesopotamia were able to gain accessto critical materials and wealth objectsnecessary to support the emerging socialhierarchy in the heartland. This trendoccurred during the Late Uruk Periodbetween about 5500 and 5000 BP andis known as the Uruk expansion (Algaze1993, 2001b; Wright and Rupley 2001).Algaze (2001b) argued convincingly thatthe process of state development waslinked to broader economic interactionsthat helped enable leaders to sustainthe development of economic, social,and political hierarchies in southernMesopotamia.

DISCUSSION

In southern Mesopotamia the culturalchanges leading to integrated state-levelsocieties occurred during a 3000-yearperiod between the beginning of the‘Ubaid Period at ∼8000 BP and the endof the Uruk Period at about 5000 BP.Although states flourished after 5000BP, during the Sumerian Period, thefoundations were built during the ‘Ubaid(8000–6300 BP) and Uruk (6300–5000BP) periods. This was a dynamic intervalof human cultural evolution, a punctu-ated series of events, in a long (∼80,000years; Klein 1999) history of humanhunting and gathering and early agricul-tural economies (Early Holocene; Moore1985). The first urban-based states ap-peared in southern Mesopotamia and theSusiana Plain, although early sedentary

agricultural communities and hunter-gatherers were then well distributedthroughout much of the region. Wesuggest that state development in south-ern Mesopotamia resulted from humanresponses stimulated, in part, by a partic-ular succession and confluence of envi-ronmental changes unique to this regionduring the Early and Middle Holocene.Rapid and extensive marine transgres-sion, coupled with higher rainfall, wasfollowed by stabilization of sea level andincreasing aridity. Interrelated human re-sponses resulted in intense and increas-ing competition for favorable resourcesthat were becoming increasingly cir-cumscribed due to aridity and popula-tion expansion (Carneiro 1988; Flannery1972; Service 1978). These changingconditions favored population aggrega-tion, and intensified agricultural pro-duction, economic specialization, andthe formation of social and politicalhierarchies founded on and reinforcedby new or existing ideological systems.In this context, the first urban centersemerged and controlled adjacent com-munities with elaborate and centralizedadministrative hierarchies led by a small,elite class.

Our hypothesis includes elementsof previous models that incorporatedseveral interrelated factors: populationincrease, environmental and socialcircumscription, increased warfare,development of extensive irrigationagriculture, and favorable conditionsfor trade (Haas 1982; Rothman 2004).Nevertheless, we argue that anyexplanation is incomplete if it considersthese factors, alone or in combination,in the absence of environmental change.Population increase was a necessarycomponent for the development ofstate-level societies, but by itself wasinadequate (Adams 1981; Wright andJohnson 1975). Similarly, state devel-opment was possibly the cause rather



than the result of large-scale irrigationagriculture and increasing inter-regionaltrade (Adams 1974; Wright and Johnson1975). However, large-scale irrigationcould not have occurred in this regionwithout sufficiently high, near-stable sealevels necessary for the development ofextensive floodplains at river level anda high water table.

Relatively few researchers havestressed climate change as an impor-tant factor contributing to the devel-opment of city-based states in south-ern Mesopotamia. Exceptions are Hole(1994), Nissen (1988), and Sirocko et al.(1993), who suggested that state devel-opment was tied to increased regionalaridity during the Middle Holocene.Hole (1994) stressed the importanceof climatic instability as a major trig-ger in cultural development, suggestingthat short-term environmental shocksencouraged collective action to mitigatethem. Sea-level change has also beenconsidered to have caused human mi-grations and to have strongly influencedthe development of agrarian economies(Ryan and Pitman 1998; Stanley andWarne 1993; Van Andel 1989). Recentwork in Egypt has linked decelerationof global sea-level rise between 8500and 7500 BP with the formation of theNile Delta and the initiation of farmingsettlements (Stanley and Chen 1996;Stanley and Warne 1993, 1997). Hole(1994) considered sea-level rise to beinsignificant for cultural development insouthern Mesopotamia, however, argu-ing that whereas sea-level rise was tooslow for river aggradation to keep pace,stability of the land surface fosteredthe extensive use of canal systems andaggregated settlement.

Our view is that climatically inducedenvironmental change is one of severalvariables leading to the emergence ofcentralized states in this region. Giventhe coincidence of major climatic shifts

and the emergence of social hierarchiesand centralized states, these physicalfactors should weigh more heavily thanother variables that are more difficult todocument quantitatively. We argue thatcertain behaviors were favored (proba-bilistically, not deterministically) withinthis dynamically changing environmen-tal and social context and that they hadmajor evolutionary implications for theformation of social hierarchies and ulti-mately the institutionalized administra-tive hierarchies characteristic of urban-based states (see Winterhalder andGoland 1997 for a similar argument withrespect to agricultural origins). There-fore, we emphasize decision-making orhuman responses to a changing set of en-vironmental and social circumstances insouthern Mesopotamia in three distinct,but continuous stages.

Stage I: 9000 to 8000 BP. Little isknown about cultural development dur-ing the pre-‘Ubaid Period of southernMesopotamia because populations werelikely small and dispersed and the ar-chaeological record is either coveredby water and/or buried by alluviumdeposited during floodplain aggradation.We suggest that Early Holocene climaticconditions between 9000 and 8000 BPwere an important catalyst for latercultural developments. Climatically thisperiod was the most propitious forpeople living in this region becauseof higher humidity and more reliablesummer monsoon rainfall (Arz et al.2003; Petit-Maire et al. 1997). Widelydistributed lakes in northern Arabiaand southern Mesopotamia, created byseasonal monsoonal conditions, wouldhave favored dispersed settlement andseasonal mobility. The wadi systems ofnorthern Iraq and the floodplains alongthe Ur-Schatt River provided localizedaquatic resources attractive to earlypopulations.

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Sparsely distributed stone tools char-acteristic of the Arabian bifacial tradi-tion provide tantalizing evidence forpre-‘Ubaid occupation in the south-ern Mesopotamia Delta region (Cauvin1979; Inizan and Tixier 1983; Woolley1955; Zarins 1992). These data are con-sistent with other evidence from alongthe northeast coast of the Arabo-PersianGulf and more broadly across the Ara-bian Peninsula for small preceramic set-tlements near now-dry lakebeds datingto between ∼9600 and 7000 BP (Potts1993). Evidence suggests that peoplepracticed a range of mixed foraging-farming strategies combining the herd-ing of sheep and goats with hunting forwild game and the collection of localgrasses and various aquatic resources(Beech et al. 2005; Potts 1997). We sus-pect that small groups of semi-nomadicpeople, practicing similar subsistencestrategies, also lived along the Ur-SchattRiver during this interval. As the rateof global sea-level rise decreased duringthe Early Holocene, the extent of trans-gression increased in the Arabo-PersianGulf because of the low topographicgradients. Rapid transgression of theshoreline (∼110 m per annum) causedcontinuous displacement of peoples andcompetition for optimal locations on theshifting boundary between fresh andsalt-water systems. It also compressedthe number of people living along thiswater course into a smaller area, andmay have stimulated group formationor movement of people into adjacent,uninhabited environments of equal orgreater economic potential.

Stage II: 8000 to 6300 BP—‘UbaidPeriod. We suggest that the appearanceof relatively large communities in south-ern Mesopotamia at Eridu, Uruk, andother locations reflects an aggregationof sedentary populations adjacent to thenewly formed estuaries and associated

wetlands (Aqrawi 2001; Sanlaville 1989).As Oates (1960, 2004) noted, thesehabitats would have been ideal locationsfor access to fresh water, hunting/fishingof terrestrial and aquatic animals, andtransportation (also see Pournelle 2003).The potential for irrigation agriculturealso improved with increasing stabiliza-tion of sea level by the end of thisperiod. In addition, it is possible thatthe Arabo-Persian Gulf was less salineand more productive when comparedwith later in time, an idea based ondata from the Red Sea that suggest lesssaline conditions related to the displace-ment of the monsoonal belt existed atthis time (Arz et al. 2003). Increasesin the size and number of settlementsin southern Mesopotamia during theearly ‘Ubaid Period (0–1) suggest thatregional populations were expanding,a product of indigenous populationgrowth or immigration from elsewherein greater Mesopotamia. Several focalcommunities began to emerge at thistime (e.g., Eridu, Tell Oueli), positionedon elevated landforms at the head of theArabo-Persian Gulf. Settlement at severalof these communities was remarkablystable through the ‘Ubaid Period, a pointthat is best illustrated by a series ofsuperimposed temples at Eridu (Oates1960). The quantity of fish bone offer-ings found in these temples highlightsthe importance of aquatic habitats, atleast at this location (Bottero 2001).

The non-linear distribution of thesesettlements suggests that irrigation agri-culture (Adams 1981) was not an es-sential or dominant element in thesubsistence economy, although it wasused elsewhere in greater Mesopotamia(Oates and Oates 1976; Wilkinson 2003).Given the humid conditions at the be-ginning of the ‘Ubaid Period and theinitial formation of productive wetlands,it seems reasonable to assume that thesecommunities were founded upon more



diverse mixed economies that includedhunting, fishing, herding, and farming(dry and irrigated fields). Given theselow regional populations and favorableenvironmental conditions, we suggestthat irrigation agriculture was not es-sential for the formation and stability ofthese early ‘Ubaid settlements. The moredispersed nature of settlement in theearliest ‘Ubaid suggests that populationswere less restricted or circumscribedthan later in time and that a rangeof habitats could sustain populationsusing a mixture of subsistence practices.This economic base would have beenfacilitated, in part, by varied habitatsassociated with the newly created wet-land areas at the head of the Gulfand lacustrine habitats scattered acrossthe region, related to the humid con-ditions of this period. In other words,as groups increased in size, impactinglocal habitats and competing for local-ized resources, there were still othereconomically viable options availableelsewhere. This type of environmentalcontext would have favored splinteringof communities rather than integrationinto larger groups.

During the middle ‘Ubaid Period(‘Ubaid 2–3) certain communities grewlarger in size relative to surroundingcommunities, and some evidence existsfor differential access to resources andcontrol of food stores by elite groupmembers (Stein 1994). The aggregationof people at focal communities locatednear optimal wetland locations occurredduring a period of rapid regional drying,related to the southern retreat of theSouth Asian monsoonal belt (Arz et al.2003), that would have reduced theextent of lacustrine habitats in southernMesopotamia. Sea-level also continuedto rise during this interval (7 m ormore [Eisenhauer et al. 1992; Fairbanks,1989]) and the expansion of maritimetrade along the western margin of the

Arabo-Persian Gulf occurred within thisenvironmental context (Carter 2002,2003; Connan et al. 2005). At the headof the Gulf, this rise caused a marineinland transgression of at least 200 km,or ∼100 m per year. In this case, low-lying areas were inundated, creating acontinually changing mosaic of aquatichabitats (Pournelle 2003), and all but themost stable landforms (those occupiedby communities like Eridu or Ur) wereflooded. Optimal freshwater and estu-arine environments continued to shiftinland, displacing human populations.This dynamic mosaic would have stim-ulated increased competition for local-ized and circumscribed resources andthe need to constantly redefine territo-rial boundaries and village locations asrapidly as within a single generation.

Larger groups formed at optimallocations, where environmental condi-tions created opportunities for ambi-tious individuals to exploit competitiveadvantages. These advantages ultimatelyformed the basis for the social andpolitical hierarchies that emerged bythe end of the ‘Ubaid Period (∼6300BP). It appears that people comparedthe costs and benefits of joining alarger group, and that the benefits (orperceived benefits) were greater thanthe available alternatives, even at thecost of economic and social subjuga-tion. Under these conditions, the useof ideology, centered on the temple,became increasingly important for legit-imizing the emerging economic/socialinequities and the status of hereditaryleaders. The expansion of late ‘Ubaidsettlements down the western margin ofthe Arabo-Persian Gulf could be relatedto environmental, demographic, or so-cial pressures in southern Mesopotamiathat stimulated migration. It could alsobe related to new economic opportuni-ties created by major improvements inirrigation-agriculture technology or the

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persistence of seasonal monsoonal rainsfarther to the south as conditions con-tinued to dry in southern Mesopotamia.

Stage III: 6300 to 5000 BP—Uruk Period.The Uruk Period represents the culmi-nation of earlier developments leadingto the first fully urban state-level societyby ∼5000 BP (Late Uruk or LC5 [Craw-ford 1991; Nissen 1988, 2000, 2001;Rothman 2004; Wright and Johnson1975]). Populations increased in south-ern Mesopotamia during the ‘Ubaid toUruk Period transition (∼6300 BP). Thisdemographic trend tracks the expansionof irrigation agriculture, as indicated bythe greater occurrence of canals datingto this time and of linear settlementpatterns suggesting that communitieswere becoming more reliant on theseimportant systems (Adams 1981). In-creased food surpluses provided a firmerbasis for expanding populations and agrowing, socially stratified society thatincluded administrators, craftspeople,and other specialists. We also suggestthat population expansion during theUruk Period was no coincidence. Demo-graphic growth was favored by improv-ing irrigation technology coupled withhigh water tables and the expandingfloodplains linked to the deceleration ofsea-level rise.

The near-stabilization of sea levelalso favored further enlargement oftowns optimally located on the mar-gins of the expanding wetlands at thehead of the Arabo-Persian Gulf. Textualevidence indicates that Eridu and Urwere located on the coast about 5000BP (Lambeck 1996; Larsen and Evans1978; Sanlaville 1989). Archaeologicalevidence suggests that during the ‘UbaidPeriod, communities in the Eridu andTell Oueli regions became increasinglymaritime (Huot 1989). Even the laterSumerians (∼4500 BP) are consideredto have been a maritime culture (Falken-

stein 1951; Jacobsen 1960). Boat trans-portation significantly increases the ef-ficiency with which people can deliverresources (agricultural or otherwise) tocentral places (Ames 2002). Maritimetransport would therefore have helpedmobilize food surpluses to focal commu-nities such as Eridu or Ur. The combi-nation of fishing and farming also pro-vided a powerful economic engine forpopulation expansion, while maritimevoyages to distant locations facilitatedthe exchange of ideas and providedexotic goods consumed by emergingelites. Exotic materials served as impor-tant status markers and reinforced theexisting social and political hierarchy.

In this environmental, demographic,and social context, the settlement ofUruk-Warka emerged as a dominant re-gional center. First established in the‘Ubaid Period, this community grewin size during the Uruk Period, withthe most pronounced growth between∼5500–5000 BP (Nissen 2001). Publicarchitecture and the first writing sys-tems, used primarily for informationstorage and accounting purposes, ap-peared at this time. These traits pointto the existence of an elaborate ad-ministrative hierarchy governed by asupreme religious elite that controlledthe economic, social, and political affairsof neighboring communities—the firsturban-based state in the world. Therelatively rapid growth at Uruk-Warkaover 500–600 years parallels the partialabandonment of communities in north-ern portions of the alluvium and onthe adjacent Susiana Plain. Movementof people from hinterland communitiessuggests that the economic and socialopportunities at cities like Uruk-Warkawere more attractive relative to thoseavailable elsewhere. We argue that thefoundation for these opportunities wasprovided, in part, by the expansionof irrigation systems afforded by the



near-stabilization of sea level cou-pled with the infrastructural improve-ments developed and maintained bythe new administrative hierarchy. De-creased agricultural production (e.g.,dry farming) on the margins of thesouthern alluvium, due to increasinglydry conditions throughout Mesopotamia(Arz et al. 2003), would have attractedpeople to cities then supported by well-developed irrigation systems. Aridifica-tion throughout greater Mesopotamiaalso led to continued environmental andsocial circumscription in these southerncities, which heightened competitionfor increasingly localized resources asso-ciated with aquatic habitats. The defen-sive wall around the city of Uruk-Warkais suggestive of social and political insta-bilities that would have further favoredthe formation of larger groups for defen-sive purposes. Social instabilities and thethreat of war likely contributed to the de-cision of many to move from hinterlandto urban settings—the best available al-ternative even with the severe economicand social inequities inherent in the newsocial order. Under these conditions,people were attracted to these new ur-ban centers and accepted the ideologicalsystem established by the ruling eliteto legitimize their elevated positions.Population expansion and the replica-tion of the Uruk social system fostered itsexpansion into northern Mesopotamia,where Uruk outposts were establishedto gain additional resources and wheresimilarly organized state-level societiesemerged.

CONCLUSIONS

We argue that urbanism and culturalcomplexity in southern Mesopotamia re-sulted from a series of decisions by manypeople over several millennia undercontinuously changing environmental,demographic, economic, social, and po-

litical conditions. The aggregate effectof these decisions culminated in thefirst state-level societies in the region.Global eustatic and climate changes in-fluenced dynamic environmental condi-tions in southern Mesopotamia, alongwith inter-related changes in human de-mography, economy, and sociopoliticalorganization.

Coastal and aquatic habitats playeda critical role in shaping the culturalevolutionary history of the region. Theearliest stable settlements were estab-lished adjacent to newly formed andproductive estuaries and associated wet-lands as the marine transgression slowedbetween 8000 and 6300 BP—the ‘UbaidPeriod. These locations were optimallylocated near fresh water and diverseaquatic habitats, and were ideally posi-tioned for efficient transport of goodsand people using watercraft. Small-scaleirrigation agriculture could also havebeen employed along wetland marginswhere water tables were higher. Peopleliving in more marginal parts of southernMesopotamia moved into larger commu-nities because this action either main-tained or improved their economic well-being, even in the face of subjugation byemerging elites.

Continued population growth oc-curred in southern Mesopotamia duringthe ‘Ubaid to Uruk transition (∼6300BP) as sea-level rise decreased signif-icantly between 6300 and 5500 BP.A deceleration in marine transgressionstimulated the expansion of floodplainsin southern Mesopotamia and the forma-tion of the high water table necessaryfor large-scale, floodplain irrigationagriculture. Increased food surplusesresulting from irrigation agriculture pro-vided the basis for expanding popula-tions and the developing socio-politicalstructure. Increasing aridity in south-ern Mesopotamia between 6200 and5000 BP contributed to further cir-cumscription of populations, increased

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competition for favorable land and waterresources, aggregation of populations incenters close to the rivers and estuaries,greater reliance on irrigation agriculture,and to the need for the developmentof larger population centers for defen-sive purposes. It is within this contextthat the important city of Uruk-Warkaemerged at the center of the first urban-based state between 5500 and 5000 BP.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We appreciate the general support ofthe National Science Foundation (Ar-chaeology, and Marine Geology andGeophysics). We thank Dale Krausefor encouragement and valuable sug-gestions; Walter Pitman for initialstimulation; David Hodell for sugges-tions regarding climate/orbital rela-tions; and Frank Sirocko for providingsediment data. We also thank RobertMcC. Adams, Mark Aldenderfer, Ge-off Bailey, Jon Erlandson, Brian Fa-gan, Scott Fitzpatrick, Michael Glas-sow, Michael Jochim, Sarah McClure,Joan Oates, John Orbell, Dan Potts,Katharina Schreiber, Bruce Winter-halder, and Herbert Wright for usefulinformation and/or suggestions thathelped improve this paper. Severalanonymous reviewers also providedvaluable constructive criticism.

END NOTES

1. This manuscript was initially prepared inresponse to a talk given by Walter Pitman, inwhich he traced biblical flood mythology tothe rapid inundation of the Black Sea duringthe Holocene, an idea he later publishedin the book Noah’s Flood: The New ScientificDiscoveries About the Event That ChangedHistory (Ryan and Pitman 1998). Althoughit is inherently difficult to trace the devel-opment of mythology to past cultural andenvironmental events, we argue, based on the

environmental and cultural history of southernMesopotamia, that the Sumerian flood myth(as recorded in the Gilgamesh Epic) andthe succeeding biblical flood narrative, mostlikely have their origins in the glacioeustaticlatest Quaternary transgression in the Arabo-Persian Gulf, the largest, shallowest inlandsea contiguous with the ocean. Flood mythol-ogy among maritime societies is virtuallyuniversal (see the essay “Flood Stories fromAround the World.” Published at http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html) and ismost likely linked with eustatic rises in sealevel during the Late Pleistocene and EarlyHolocene. As Teller et al. (2000) point out,a rapid marine transgression occurred in theArabo-Persian Gulf during this period andlikely displaced people living along this wa-terway. Such momentous events were surelypassed down orally for generations. Whatmakes southern Mesopotamia unique com-pared with other parts of the world is thatwriting developed early in association with theformation of state-level societies, so the floodstory was ultimately recorded, formally as inthe well-known Epic of Gilgamesh. FollowingOccam’s razor, we hypothesize, as do Telleret al. (2000; see also Potts 1996), that theorigin of biblical flood mythology is most likelyin southern Mesopotamia rather than in thevicinity of the Black Sea.

2. These habitats were highly productive and notcomparable with the infilled wetlands of lowerproductivity historically inhabited by “MarshArabs” (Ochsenschlager 2004). We argue thatthis lifeway has been used incorrectly asethnographically analogous to that of earlyhuman populations living at the head of theGulf.

3. The boundary between the ‘Ubaid and Urukperiods is provisionally placed at ∼6300 BPbased on the recalibration of radiocarbondates for Uruk-related assemblages in greaterMesopotamia (Wright and Rupley 2001) andon personal communication with Joan Oates,who has suggested that the boundary datebetween ‘Ubaid and Uruk is sometime before∼6200 BP. However, the boundary could beas early as 6700 BP in some locations (Hole1994).

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Early State Formation in Southern Mesopotamia: Sea Levels

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