Northern Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic 1-3 Periods in the Erbil Plain New insights from recent researches at Helawa, Iraqi Kurdistan

The article deals with the settlement patterns of the eastern Tigridian region during the Late Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic 1-3 periods (5300-3700 BC), focusing on the archaeological evidence gathered from old and new researches in the Erbil and Makhmur plains, Iraqi Kurdistan. The regional surveys carried out in Northern Mesopotamia during the last decades and the new excavations and researches in the Erbil plain (e.g., EPAS survey, Helawa, Tell Nader, and Surezha) allow for the discussion of new data on the emergence and development of socio-economic complexity in the crucial period between the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 4th millennium BC. The evidence, especially that collected at Helawa by the Italian Expedition in the Erbil Plain (MAIPE), University IULM of Milan are presented and placed within a regional framework of analysis.