After the Ubaid

The time period between the end of the Ubaid and the beginning of the Uruk expansion is one of the least known, yet most important eras in the ancient history of the Middle East. This era, which is often referred to as the "Post-Ubaid" period, is marked by major structural changes such as the rise of social hierarchies, technological innovations and economic reorganisation, which eventually led to the emergence of proto-states and cities. The recent finding of "Post-Ubaid-related" sites in regions deemed to be located far beyond the Ubaid purview, such as Cilicia, Cappadocia or the south Caucasus, has added another dimension to this picture: these sites suggest that the organic relationships more or less implicitly established between the "Post-Ubaid horizon" and the Ubaid world may in fact be much weaker than once thought.