New evidence on Uruk expansion in the Central Mesopotamian Zagros Piedmont

The new data from the sites of Girdi Qala and Logardan (Iraqi Kurdistan) are starting to change the picture of Uruk culture expansion. In the Central Zagros Piedmont, it began as early as the second half of the local Late Chalcolithic 2 (LC2), contemporary with South Mesopotamian Early Uruk. The Uruk presence is documented not only by a large ceramic assemblage, characterized by a broad range of shapes and techniques, but also by numerous production facilities which show that Uruk pottery was made on-site by resident craftsmen. These discoveries lead us to revise traditional conceptions of the Uruk expansion, based on the simple dichotomy between local populations and Uruk colonists. We can now assess the actual forms of intercultural exchange that were taking place over an unexpectedly long period of time.