Beyond the Ubaid

Transformation and Integration in the Late Prehistoric Societies of the Middle East

edited by Robert A. Carter and Graham Philip

Book cover: Beyond the Ubaid

Extent: 394 pages

Publisher: Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

Subjects: Ancient Near East

Series: Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization

Series volume number: 63, 63

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(September 2010)

ISBN: 9781885923660

Price: $42.95

In stock

Contains 23 papers that explore what the “Ubaid” is, how it is identified, and how the Ubaid in one location compares to another in a distant location. The papers are the result of “The Ubaid Expansion? Cultural Meaning, Identity and the Lead-up to Urbanism,” an International Workshop held at Grey College, University of Durham, 20-22 April 2006.


Originally coined to signify a style of pottery in southern Iraq, and by extension an associated people and a chronological period, the term “Ubaid” is now often used loosely to denote a vast Near Eastern interaction zone, characterized by similarities in material culture, particularly ceramic styles, which existed during the sixth and fifth millennia B.C. This zone extended over 2,000 km from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Straits of Hormuz, including parts of Anatolia and perhaps even the Caucasus. The volume contains twenty-three papers that explore what the “Ubaid” is, how it is identified, and how the Ubaid in one location compares to another in a distant location. The papers are the result of “The Ubaid Expansion? Cultural Meaning, Identity and the Lead-up to Urbanism,” an International Workshop held at Grey College, University of Durham, 20-22 April 2006.

  • Edited by Robert A Carter
  • Edited by Graham Philip