Definition: The archaeological site of Hacinebi Tepe is located in southeastern Turkey, on the bluffs overlooking the east bank of the Euphrates River. The site is a large (3.3 hectare) mound, and it is located on an important trade route linking Mesopotamia with Anatolia. Hacinebe Tepe includes Chalcolithic (4100-3300 BC), Early Bronze Age (3000-2800 BC) and Achaemenid/Hellenistic (5th-2nd century BC) occupations.
Of the two main Late Chalcolithic occupations, the latter (3800-3700 BC) includes evidence for a small Mesopotamian trading center within the town. Evidence for the Uruk period occupation of Hacinebi Tepe includes a full range of Uruk ceramic types and kiln furniture indicating the pots were made on site. Also on the site is bitumen, which has been determined to have come from sources in southern Mesopotamia and southwestern Iraq.
Other Mesopotamian artifacts include personal ornaments, grooved stone weights and baked clay sickles. Cylinder seals, jar sealings, jar stoppers, a hollow clay ball filled with tokens and a clay tablet attest to the addition of Mesopotamian administrative functions.
Researcher Gil Stein believes this outpost at Hacinebi Tepe is not necessarily a Mesopotamian colony, so much as an enclave placed here to facilitate trade with Anatolia.
Of the two main Late Chalcolithic occupations, the latter (3800-3700 BC) includes evidence for a small Mesopotamian trading center within the town. Evidence for the Uruk period occupation of Hacinebi Tepe includes a full range of Uruk ceramic types and kiln furniture indicating the pots were made on site. Also on the site is bitumen, which has been determined to have come from sources in southern Mesopotamia and southwestern Iraq.
Other Mesopotamian artifacts include personal ornaments, grooved stone weights and baked clay sickles. Cylinder seals, jar sealings, jar stoppers, a hollow clay ball filled with tokens and a clay tablet attest to the addition of Mesopotamian administrative functions.
Researcher Gil Stein believes this outpost at Hacinebi Tepe is not necessarily a Mesopotamian colony, so much as an enclave placed here to facilitate trade with Anatolia.
Sources
Lots more details about this interesting site (including artifact and excavation photos) can be found at Gil Stein's webpage, Hacinebe Archaeological Excavations at Northwestern University.Stein, Gil J. From Passive Periphery to Active Agents: Emerging Perspectives in the Archaeology of Interregional Interaction. American Anthropologist 104(3):903-916.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
Common Misspellings: Hacinebe Tepe
