Urban resilience in Ancient Mesopotamia: insights into the socioeconomic system of the Bronze and Iron Age Khabur Valley
Abstract
The ability of urban centres to grow and persist through crises is often assessed qualitatively in archaeology but quantitative assessment is more elusive. Here, the authors explore urban resilience in ancient Mesopotamia by applying an adaptive cycle framework to the settlement dynamics of the Bronze and Iron Age Khabur Valley ( c . 3000–600 BC). Using an integrated dataset of settlements and hollow ways, they identify patterns of growth, conservation, release and reorganisation across six periods, demonstrating the value of coupling archaeological data with resilience theory and network analysis to understand the adaptive capacities of complex archaeological societies.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
Water management and technologies
Regional resilience and development
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Antiquity
- Publisher
- Antiquity Publications
- Volume
- 100
- Issue
- 410
- Pages
- 340–354
- Publication date
- 28 January 2026
- Language
- EN