The Hassana archaeological site is located along the Tigris River in Northern Iraq. The site is thought to be late Neolithic age, which would date it about the sixth millennium B.C. It was first excavated by Lloyd and Fuad Safar during the World War II era. At this site the Safar's found that the Hassana people lived in a small villages, they used stamp seals, they were fond of pottery making, and they had formed farming and agricultural skills.
Hassana people lived in small villages called a hamlet that was the size of 1 to 3 hectares (about 2 to 8 acres). Most of these villages contained about 500 people who lived and worked together to accomplish building and survival goals. The houses that the community lived in were made out of Tauf (mud houses), with multiple rooms, walled yards, and outdoor and indoor ovens. Along with the houses on the site there were also large central buildings with small square rooms. These rooms had unplastered walls and plain dirt floors. They thought this was a place the people worked and stored pottery, agricultural and farming goods. One room had baked clay sling missles and 100 large baked clay balls. This room was used for the storage of hunting arsenals.
Also on the site the appearance of stamp seals, used on clay, came to view. These seals played an important role in private ownership, exchange, and communal storage. The seal was used by a glob of clay being pressed over a knot or the edge of a lid and than pressed with the seal. The clay pressed over the knot was used to close tied-up bundles, hold covers on jars, or even doorways, so that the objects could not be tampered with. .
The Hassana style pottery was buff ware designed with simple shapes and often decorated with incised or painted geometric designs. The Hassan people used reddish paint for linear designs and used cream slips. Some of the features that were found on most of the pottery were eyes and ears, animal heads, and sometimes violent images that showed hunting and gathering. The Hassana people experimented with metallurgy (the scientific study of the structures and uses of metals) and pottery making, which was a specialist activity that was made with true pottery kilns. Eventually the Hassana style pottery was taken over by the Samara ware, which was partly contemporary. People who did not make pottery worked in the fields or on the farm
Hassana's region played a large role in the early domestication of plants and animals. Agriculture and farming was a major part of the Hassana life. There was enough rainfall at this time that the farmers did not have to rely on irrigation, allowing them to grow wheat and barley, which were their main crops. Wheat and barley was not just grown for the people, it was also grown to feed the animals in the Hamlets. Hassana are known as the first farmers in the northernmost Mesopotamia. They raised sheep, goats, and pigs for food. Although they raised these animals, hunting was still a major part in every day life.
Sometimes the Hassana people hunted because the animals they raised would not be large enough to be used as a food source before they left for a new place, or new location. They needed food for travel. The main animals that were hunted at this time were the Onager (wild ass) and some Gazelle. With the technique of hunting the Hassana was able to travel to many different locations and this provided new sites for further archeological digs.
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“ Hassuna” (August 17, 2002), http://ancientneareast.com/hassunaoutline.html, Feb. 23, 2003
Written By Elizabeth Andree