Late Chalcolithic mass graves at Tell Brak, Syria, and violent conflict during the growth of early city-states

Abstract

Excavations and surveys carried out from the mid-1990s through 2009 at Tell Brak, northeast Syria, have focused on reconstructing the socioeconomic complexity and physical growth of one of northern Mesopotamia's earliest urban settlements. The recent discovery of several mass graves on the edge of the city, created at an important threshold in its physical expansion (ca. 3800–3600 B.C.), adds to a longstanding debate about the connection between the growth of early city-states and violent conflict. These graves, with their population of as many as several hundred primarily sub-adults and young adults, are interpreted as the result of large-scale violent events and may provide evidence for the post-mortem treatment of enemies. They offer a strong counterpoint to the dominant reconstruction of a peaceful prehistory in the region.

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