Looking North the Socioeconomic Dynamics of the Northern Mesopotamian and Anatolian Regions During the Late Third and Early Second Millennium BC

The first volume opening the series D of "Studien zur Urbanisierung Nordmesopotamines" is represented by the proceedings of an international workshop hold during the VI ICAANE 2008 in Rome. The workshop aimed to enlarge the current perspective on the socioeconomic exchanges that occurred during the Late Third and Early Second millennium BC between communities inhabiting Northern Mesopotamian and Southeaster Anatolian regions. The 19 contributions are divided into two sections. The first one ('Environment, Landscape and Settlement Pattern') aims to define how the settlements located in the different regions of the Syrian Jazirah and the Upper Valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates reacted to the historical and climatic events that, during the Late Third millennium BC, brought to a halt the phenomenon of urban revolution that characterized these regions during the Third millennium until the advent of the Old Akkadian Empire. Moreover, it tries to establish the relationship between these different regions focusing on the positive outcomes that the socioeconomic crisis of the Late Third millennium brought about. The second section ('Site's Analyses and Material Culture') provides different archaeological case studies focusing mainly on the regions of the Upper Tigris valley and the Syrian Jazirah with new results of recent researches and excavations; some contributions show clear connections between these two regions on the base of the material culture. The conclusion is provided by a synthesis of the transformations in the societal organization of the communities in Northern Mesopotamia and Southeaster Anatolian regions and a comparison of the different options explaining the changes.