So far, they have unearthed evidence of the society's trade in obsidian and production and development of copper processing, as well as the existence of a social elite that used stone seals to mark ownership of goods and culturally significant items.The site is known at Tell Zeidan (a tell is a mound; many buried cities are found under tells). The University of Chicago's Oriental Institute and Syrian archaeologists are collaborating to study the site.
The evidence here supports what archaeologists had long surmised, that the Ubaid people were among the first in the Middle East to experience division of social groups according to power and wealth.
"The project addresses questions not only of how such societies emerged but how they were sustained and flourished," said John Yellen, program director for archaeology at the National Science Foundation, which provided funding for the research.
I always wanted to be an archaeologist. Maybe I should have pursued that instead of history and sociology. Frankly, though, I could never imagine digging out in a desert or traipsing through the Amazon, with my constitution, and that was the main reason it was something to keep up with from the armchair, but not to pursue as a career. Thankfully I have National Geographic, Archaeology, and other sorts of resources to read. :)
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