Human Development in Landscapes

People

	Alumnus Andrea Ricci (Italy, 1980) M.A. in Archaeology aricci@gshdl.uni-kiel.de
PhD project	Cultural Landscape along the Syro-Turkish Middle Euphrates River Valley from the 5th to the 3rd Millennium BC The general aim of my PhD research project is to investigate archaeological landscapes from the 5th to the 3rd Millennium BC along the Middle Euphrates Valley both north and south of the modern Syro-Turkish border. The main research questions to be addressed include: - How did the process of early urbanisation develop along the Middle Euphrates Valley? - How did sedentary and mobile communities interact with each other? - How did trade and communication networks flourish? - How did human communities respond to environmental stresses? Did this result in social differentiation? Mainly through the analysis of site locations, concentrations, sizes, types, and hierarchies the degree of nucleation or dispersal of settlements is inferred. The dynamics of settlement development are investigated by integrating original survey data, remote sensing information, and results of other archaeological investigations. For a long period of time, archaeological research primarily concentrated on the areas immediately adjoining the Euphrates River and did not investigate higher lands to the east and west. First in 2001, a Turkish investigation conducted research along the eastern side of the river valley and on the westernmost fringes of the Suruç plain in Turkey. In March 2009, I studied the results of this survey with the specific aim to better define the chronological attributions of the collected pottery. This research supports an intensive investigation of settlement and landscape patterns for the area distant from the river valley in the western Syrian section of the Euphrates River Valley with particular attention paid to the overall record of settlements and to the landscape between the sites. During the 2009 and 2010 summer field season, the “Land of Carchemish” Project (LCP) discovered and documented some 41 new sites were discovered and documented. This newly acquired data has combined with already known information in a GIS platform. Analyses have been conducted on the spatial patterns and nucleation of settlements. The GS platforms and the exchange of ideas with other PhD students have deeply influenced my work, as I am now integrating more geoarchaeological investigations and climate data into my research. In particular, an augering season is planned for next campaign in Syria to investigate the nature of the extended activity area of the Uruk period and early third millennium settlements around the site of Jerablus Tahtani.
Research interests	My research interests fall into three main categories: the dynamic interactions between humans and their environments; landscape archaeology; the formation process of early complex societies. These themes are explored in the context of my PhD research. In particular I am investigating the Middle Euphrates Valley region to understand how the process of early urbanization developed between the 4th and 3rd Millennium BC and how sedentary and mobile communities interacted with each other. In addition, I am attracted by the history of archaeological research and thought.
Post PhD Position	DAI Berlin
Education	Since April 2008 Member of the Graduate School “Human Development in Landscapes” at the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel. 2007 MA degree in Near Eastern Prehistory and Protohistory „La Sapienza“ Universita’ di Roma (Italy) with a thesis on the „Paesaggi e Dinamiche di Popolamento nell´alta valle dell´Eufrate e nel bacino del Khabour durante il III millennio a.C. Analisi e Confronto tra modelli d´insediamento“.
Work experience	Since 2007 Member of the Land of Carchemish (Syria) Project: this research, directed by Prof. T.J. Wilkinson (Durham University, UK), aims to reconstruct the Euphrates Valley landscape and the longterm settlement trends of this region. Since 2006 Member of the expedition at site of Arslantepe – Malatya (Turkey), where investigations are conducted under the supervision of Prof. Marcella Frangipane (University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy). 2003 - 2005 Responsible for site documentation and assistant to pottery recording, I took part in the Malatya Plain geoarchaeological survey conducted by Prof. Gian Maria Di Nocera (University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Italy). 2002 - 2005 Collaboration, as square supervisor, on projects conducted by the Orient Abteilung of the Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut at Goebekli Tepe (Turkey), Tall Hujayrat al-Ghuzlan (Jordan) and Tayma (Saudi Arabia). Since 1999 Participation in various excavation and survey projects carried out by English, German and Italian institutions in the Middle East as well as in Italy and Peru.
Selected publications	Accepted Peltenburg, E., Wilkinson, T.J., Ricci, A., Lawrence, D., McCarthy, A., Wilkinson, E., Newson, P., Perini S.: The Land of Carchemish (Syria) Project: The Sajur Triangle, in Proceedings of the 7th ICAANE conference London. In press Ricci, A.: 2.4 - modern land use; 3.3 - site documentation and catalogue; 9.2 -The Chalcolithic occupation (together with D’Anna, M.B.). In: Di Nocera, G.M. (Ed.): Settlement dynamics along the Malatya Plain. The Results of the Archaeological Survey Project in the Malatya Plain 2003-2005. Roma. 2008 D’Anna, M. B., Laurito, R., Ricci, A. (): Walking on the Malatya Plain (Turkey): Preliminary remarks on Chalcolithic pottery and occupation. 2003-2005 Archaeological Survey Project. In: Córdoba J.M., Molist M., Pérez M.C., Rubio J., Martínez S. (Ed.): Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East – Madrid, April 3-8 2006, Madrid: 567-573. 2005 Goldhausen M. and Ricci A., 2005, Political Centralization in the Syrian Jezira of the III Millennium: A Case Study in Settlement Hierarchy, in: Altorientalische Forschungen 2005/1: 132- 157.

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