Ubaid period facts for kids

The Ubaid period (around 5500–3700 BC) was a very old time in Mesopotamia. This region is now mostly modern-day Iraq. The name comes from a place called Tell al-'Ubaid. This is where archaeologists first found important items from this period. Henry Hall started digging there in 1919. Later, Leonard Woolley continued the work.

In southern Mesopotamia, the Ubaid period is the earliest known time. It lasted a very long time, from about 5500 to 3800 BC. After this, the Uruk period began. In Northern Mesopotamia, the Ubaid period was shorter. It ran from about 5300 to 4300 BC. It came after the Halaf period and the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period.

Discovering the Ubaid Period

Archaeologists first found Ubaid pottery in the 1910s and 1920s. This was at sites like Eridu and Tell al-'Ubaid. In 1930, experts met in Baghdad. They decided to call a certain type of pottery "Ubaid pottery style." This pottery was usually black designs on a light brown background.

At first, scholars thought these pottery styles were very different. They believed they came from different groups of people. But later, in 1960, Joan Oates showed that these styles were all part of the larger Ubaid culture. She helped create a timeline for the Ubaid period, dividing it into four main phases. Later, phases 0 and 5 were added.

In the 1930s, only a few Ubaid sites were known. These included Tell al-'Ubaid, Ur, and Tepe Gawra. Since then, many more Ubaid sites have been found. They stretch across the ancient Near East. Important discoveries include a full Ubaid village at Tell Abada. Also, a well-preserved house was found at Tell Madhur. Digs at Tell el-'Oueili found even older layers. This showed that people lived in southern Mesopotamia much earlier than thought.

New discoveries in Iraqi Kurdistan have also added to our knowledge. For example, they showed strong links between the Shahrizor Plain and the Hamrin area.

Climate and Environment During Ubaid Times

It's hard to know exactly what the climate was like back then. But we know it was different from today. Around 10,000 BC, the climate became milder. Marshy areas turned into floodplains with trees. Some areas in southern Iraq might have been livable as early as 11,000 BC. The oldest known site in southern Mesopotamia, Tell el-'Oueili, dates to the Ubaid 0 period.

Studies of plants at 'Oueili show that Euphrates poplar and sea clubrush grew there. These plants grow in wetland environments. This means the area was likely wetter. The coastline of the Persian Gulf was also different. It moved northward over time.

Date palms were present in southern Mesopotamia very early. This also suggests a wetter climate. In northern Mesopotamia, the climate was cooler and drier before the Ubaid period. During the Ubaid period, it became more seasonal. This meant heavy rains in some seasons and dry summers.

Ubaid Timeline and Locations

Ubaid culture has been found in a huge area. It stretches from Mersin in the west to Tepe Ghabristan ^[d] in the east. It also goes from Norşuntepe in the north to Dosariyah in the south. This shows that Ubaid was not just one single culture everywhere.

The Ubaid period is usually split into six phases: Ubaid 0 to Ubaid 5. These phases are based on how pottery styles changed over time. It's hard to get exact dates for these phases. This is because there aren't many carbon dating results from southern Mesopotamia.

Southern Mesopotamia: Ubaid's Homeland

In the south, where Sumer would later be, the Ubaid period lasted a very long time. It went from about 6500 to 3800 BC. Tell el-'Oueili is the oldest known Ubaid site here. It's possible that even older sites exist. They might be buried deep under river sediments.

Ubaid in Central and Northern Areas

In central and northern Iraq, the Ubaid culture followed the Hassuna and Samarra cultures. The Ubaid might have grown out of the Samarra culture. In northern Syria and southeastern Turkey, the Ubaid came after the Halaf period. There was a short Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period (HUT) around 5500-5200 BC. During this time, pottery showed both Ubaid and Halaf features.

It's tricky to understand how these cultures mixed. Today, experts look at how different cultural parts, like pottery or buildings, existed together. This makes it hard to say if a site was "purely Ubaid" or "purely Halaf."

Ubaid features only really show up in northern Mesopotamia later, around Ubaid 2-3. So, the Ubaid period was much shorter there. For Syria, dates of 5300-4300 BC have been suggested.

Ubaid Along the Persian Gulf

Ubaid pottery started appearing along the Persian Gulf coast around 5300 BC. It continued into the fifth millennium BC. Sites like Bahra 1 and H3 in Kuwait, and Dosariyah in Saudi Arabia, have Ubaid pottery. Even island sites like Dalma Island in the United Arab Emirates have it.

This pottery was found far inland too, like at Ain Qannas. This suggests that the pottery itself was traded and valued. It wasn't just a container for other goods. People might have traded food like dates, precious materials, or jewelry for it. In Kuwait, the Ubaid culture mixed a lot with local groups. Some Mesopotamians might have even lived there part of the year.

Small items like labrets (lip or cheek piercings), tokens, and clay nails also appear. These are known from southern Mesopotamia and also found along the Gulf coast. This shows cultural connections. Interestingly, some Arabian Neolithic items have been found in southern Mesopotamia. This suggests that people from Arabia might have lived there too.

Ubaid Material Culture: What They Made

Pottery: A Key Feature

The Ubaid period is famous for its painted pottery. This pottery helps us understand the timeline and where the culture spread. The paint was black, brown, purple, or dark green. The pottery itself was usually light brown to red-green. Early Ubaid pottery (Ubaid 1-2) had detailed, geometric designs. Later pottery had simpler designs, like bands. The slow potter's wheel started to be used in Ubaid 3-4. This might be why designs became simpler.

A rough, plant-filled bowl called a coba bowl ^[d] was common. It might have been used for giving out food portions. Or it could show that pottery making was becoming more specialized. These bowls might have been an early version of the beveled rim bowl from the Uruk period.

• Ubaid pottery
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  Ubaid 0-1 footed bowl from Godin Tepe, currently in the Oriental Institute Museum

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  Ubaid 3 pottery, currently in the Louvre Museum (AO 29611)

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  Ubaid 3 pottery, currently in the Louvre Museum (AO 29598)

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  Ubaid 3 pottery, currently in the Louvre Museum (AO 29616)

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  Ubaid 5 pottery from Girsu, currently in the Louvre Museum (AO 15338)

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  Bowl; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; 6.99 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art

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  Bowl; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art

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  Bowl; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; 5.08 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art

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  Pottery; c. 5100 – c. 4500 BC; ceramic; Tepe Gawra; Louvre Museum

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  Cup; mid 6th–5th millennium BC; ceramic; 8.56 cm; Tell Abu Shahrain; Metropolitan Museum of Art

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  Pottery bowl with a rounded bottom and monochrome paint (rosettes); c. 5000 BC; Telul eth-Thalathat; Iraq Museum

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  Late Ubaid; spouted jar decorated with geometric designs in dark paint; c. 5200 – c. 4200 BC; Tell el-Muqayyar; British Museum

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  Late Ubaid; painted bowl, decorated with geometric designs in dark paint; c. 5200 – c. 4200 BC; Tell el-Muqayyar; British Museum

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  Late Ubaid; painted cup, decorated with geometric designs in dark paint tattoos; c. 5200 – c. 4200 BC

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  Goblet and cup; c. 4000 BC; Susa; Sèvres – Cité de la céramique museum

Stone Tools: Everyday Use

Flint was easy to find in Mesopotamia. It came from mountains and riverbeds. Different types of flint were used for different tools. For example, blades were made from higher quality flint. This suggests that finished tools were also traded over long distances. Flint was used for arrowheads, sickles (for cutting crops), hoes, and tools for piercing.

Obsidian (a volcanic glass) was also used, but less often than flint. It was more common in northern areas. Obsidian tools could travel hundreds of kilometers. For example, obsidian found in Saudi Arabia came from Turkey. During the Ubaid period, making flint tools might have changed. It may have moved from a home activity to a specialized job for craftspeople.

Metallurgy: Early Metal Use

Evidence of metalworking comes from the later Ubaid period. In places like Mersin, copper pins and chisels were found. At sites like Değirmentepe, metal production happened. This is shown by furnaces and other related finds. Copper objects were rare in the south, like at Eridu. This might mean copper use spread from north to south. Copper objects were very rare overall. Gold has not been found at Ubaid sites.

Boats and Models: Travel by Water

The Ubaid period shows the first signs of boats in the ancient Near East. Clay boat models have been found at many sites. These models show different types of boats. Some were reed boats, and some had masts. More boat models appear from Ubaid 3 onwards. This matches the time when Ubaid culture spread north and into the Persian Gulf.

At the site of H3 in Kuwait, a clay boat model was found. Also, a clay disc with a two-masted boat image was recovered. This is the oldest proof of masts and sails. Pieces of bitumen (a tar-like substance) with barnacles were also found. These are the earliest signs of real boats and seagoing vessels in the world.

Wool Production: New Uses for Animals

It's not entirely clear when wool production started. Sheep and goats were domesticated around 9000 BC. But when people started using them for wool is less certain. There is some evidence for wool production in the late Ubaid period. An animal figurine from Iran (around 5000 BC) has marks that might show wool.

At Kosak Shamali ^[d] in northern Syria, indirect evidence for wool was found. This includes spindle whorls (for spinning thread) and clay scrapers. The animal bones at this site show that sheep and goats were very important. This suggests that getting "secondary products" like wool and milk became more important. The spindle whorls became lighter over time. This might mean people were spinning finer or softer fibers.

Stamp Seals: Early Signatures

Stamp seals had been used in northern Mesopotamia since 7000 BC. By the Ubaid period, many different designs were used. These included geometric patterns, animals, and sometimes humans. The Ubaid period saw the first images of humans with ibex or bird heads.

• Ubaid stamp seals
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  Ubaid 5 stamp seal with master of animals motif from Girsu, currently in the Louvre Museum (AO14165)

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  Late Ubaid – Middle Gawra (c. 4500–3500 BC) pendant seal and modern impression with quadrupeds motif from northern Mesopotamia, currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art ( 93.17.122)

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  Ubaid (6th–5th millennium BC) stamp seal and modern impression with horned animal and bird motif from northern Syria or southeastern Anatolia, currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1984.175.13)

Figurines: Art and Beliefs

Most Ubaid figurines were of animals like sheep, cattle, and dogs. Human figurines were also made. Early Ubaid human figures were similar to older ones. A painted figurine from Ubaid 0 at Tell el-'Oueili might be an early "ophidian figurine." These became common later in the Ubaid period.

"Ophidian figures" have thin bodies and long, reptile-like heads. They have carved eyes and mouths, and a small nose. This face might show a mask or headshaping. Their hands are placed on their stomach. Most are female, but male and sexless ones exist. Early on, they were found in homes. Later, in Ubaid 3-4, they were found in graves. This shows a change in how they were used. Their rarity in graves might mean special treatment for certain people.

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  Figurine of a woman feeding a child and decorated to show jewellery or tattoos; clay; c. 5200 – c. 4200 BC; Tell el-Muqayyar

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  Female ophidian figurines from Ur (Ubaid 4)

Burials: How They Honored the Dead

The most common way to bury the dead was primary inhumation. This means burying the whole body. In Ubaid 4, most adults and infants were buried this way. People were often buried with jewelry like beads and necklaces. Pots, probably with food, were also common. Pieces of red ochre were found in graves too. Many burials have been found, especially at Tell Abada (127 infant burials) and Eridu (193 burials).

By the fifth millennium BC, children and adults were buried differently. Infants were often buried inside the settlement, near larger homes. They were often placed in pots. This might show growing social differences between family groups. Adults were buried at the edge of the settlement in shared burial grounds. They were placed in pits or clay boxes. These burial practices were very different from earlier times. This change might show new ideas about a person's importance.

Body Modification: Changing Appearance

Evidence for cranial modification, or deliberate headshaping, has been found. This was done by both men and women. It resulted in a long head shape. This specific technique might have started in Iran. It became very common during the Ubaid period. It might have been a way to show belonging to a certain social group.

Labrets (piercings for the lip or cheek) and ear-spools were also found. In one case, a labret was found in a burial, near the jaw. This showed it had been worn. Labrets were not found at Halaf sites. This suggests they were important for Ubaid identity. Their use seemed to decline in the later Uruk period.

Ubaid Economy: How They Lived

Agriculture: Farming the Land

At Tell Zeidan, we learned a lot about how people farmed. They grew barley, wheat, lentil, ervil, and flax. There's some evidence they used floodwater irrigation. This means using floodwaters to water crops. This type of irrigation could be unpredictable. This might have led to more complex ways of organizing society. People used wood for fuel, not animal dung.

Animal Husbandry: Raising Animals

At Tell Zeidan, the animal bones changed a lot from the Halaf to the Ubaid period. During the Halaf, about half the bones were from wild animals (hunting). But during the Ubaid, over 90% were from domesticated animals (herding). Common animals were sheep, goat, cattle, and pigs. This shows that raising animals became more important.

Fishing: Food from the Water

Sites along the Persian Gulf coast show evidence of fishing. People mainly fished in shallow coastal waters. Tuna, which is not found in Kuwait Bay today, was also caught. Fish might have been traded for the Mesopotamian pottery found there.

Ubaid Society: How They Lived Together

A map of the Near East depicting the approximate extent of the:     Samarra culture     Hassuna culture     Halaf culture     Eridu culture     Pre-Pottery Neolithic Site

Ubaid culture had large villages without walls. Houses were rectangular and made of mud-brick. The first public temples appeared. Settlements grew into a two-level system. There were large central sites (over 10 hectares) surrounded by smaller villages (under 1 hectare).

People used fine quality pottery with geometric designs. Tools like sickles were often made of hard clay in the south. In the north, stone and sometimes metal were used. Villages had specialized craftspeople like potters, weavers, and metalworkers. Most people were farmers or seasonal animal herders.

During the Ubaid Period (5000–4000 BC), towns started to grow. Farming and animal raising were common in settled communities. Some tribes raised animals as far north as Turkey and as far south as the Zagros Mountains. In the south, Ubaid farming used intensive hydraulic agriculture (water management) and the plough. These ideas likely came from the north.

Looking at items found in graves, the Ubaid period saw growing social differences. Some families became more powerful than others. It seems that leaders, perhaps heads of family groups, started to emerge. They might have managed temples and food storage. They also helped solve problems within the community. Older ways of solving disputes, like councils of equals, might not have been enough anymore.

The Ubaid culture began in the south. But it had clear links to older cultures in central Iraq. The Ubaid people's arrival is sometimes linked to the "Sumerian problem." This is about where the Sumerian civilization came from. This culture saw three clear social groups for the first time. There were farmers, nomadic animal herders, and hunter-fisher folk living in reed huts.

Experts describe the Ubaid spread as peaceful. It was different from later periods where cultures expanded by taking over. The Ubaid ideas spread, and local groups adopted parts of Ubaid culture. They then made it their own unique style.

There is very little evidence of warfare during the Ubaid period. The "Burnt Village" at Tell Sabi Abyad might suggest war. But it could also be from a wildfire or accident. Copper weapons like arrowheads and sling bullets were found. But these could also have been used for hunting. A copper axe head from the late Ubaid period could have been a tool or a weapon.

In the late Ubaid period (around 4500–4000 BC), social differences grew. Central houses in villages became bigger. But true cities didn't appear until the later Uruk period.

Language and People: What We Know

We don't know what languages were spoken during the Ubaid period. This time is prehistorical, meaning there are no written records. But the Ubaid period is important in discussions about the origins of the Sumerian and Akkadian languages.

The oldest written tablets are in Sumerian. Some experts thought the Sumerian-speaking people came from the Iranian highlands. They believed they settled Mesopotamia at the start of the Ubaid period. Others thought Sumerians arrived later, during the Uruk period. They saw different regional styles (Ubaid, Hassuna, Halaf) as signs of different ethnic groups.

Today, experts are more careful. They don't just assume that pottery styles mean different groups of people or languages. They emphasize that Ubaid and Uruk periods show a lot of cultural continuity. The link between language, race, and ethnic groups in Mesopotamia is very complex.

Studies of DNA from human bones in northern Mesopotamia show some genetic links to other regions. They also show continuity within Mesopotamia. But these studies can't pinpoint exactly when these genetic changes happened. So, we can't say for sure if they happened during the Ubaid period.

See also

• Art of Mesopotamia
• Ubaid house