You are invited to an in person lecture at the IIHSA premises in Athens on February 20 2025 at 7.00 pm (Greek time) by Dr Giota Barlagianni, ‘Death and Ritual in the Ubaid Period: Social Perspectives on Mortuary Practices in 5th Millennium B.C. Mesopotamia.’

The archaeological evidence related to the material assemblage of the Ubaid culture remains elusive in determining whether its spread was due to expansion or colonisation without a centralised authority. The Ubaid culture lasted approximately 2 millennia (from 6500 to 4900 BCE) and eventually spread from southern Mesopotamia to a vast area including Saudi Arabia, northern Mesopotamia, northern Syria, southern Anatolia and western Iran. However, the notable shortage of prestige goods and raw materials, as well as the poor burial offerings, suggest that Ubaid communities were largely unstratified. It was only at the end of this period that crystallized mortuary practices began to emerge, with some examples of differentiation in burial contexts. A closer examination of the Ubaid ritual reveals how death was viewed and dealt with, and how this concept developed in the ever-expanding society. The diversity of funerary customs in this period reflects a shift towards more complex social structures. In this context, ancestor worship emerged and burial ceremonies became increasingly elaborate.