Mesopotamian Fellowship Report: Ella Egberts

Posted on October 4, 2026 by Marta Ostovich

The Iraqi Western Desert PLACES Project: Pleistocene Landscapes and Early Human Behavior in the Shbicha Region

Dr. Ella Egberts, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2025/2026 Mesopotamian Fellowship Recipient

At the heart of southwest Asia, in the north of the Arabian Peninsula, lies the Iraqi Western Desert (Figure 1). Southwest Asia has long been recognized as a key region for studying human evolution and behavioral adaptation (Solecki 1963; Hershkovitz et al. 2018; Grouchett et al. 2021). Repeated climatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene (ca. 2.58 million–11,700 years ago) shifted the landscapes of southwest Asia between wetter and drier environments, shaping early human presence, dispersals and adaptations. It is here that we find early evidence of Homo sapiens outside Africa, and where they most likely first encountered Neanderthals. Increasingly complex and diverse technologies — and the connections between the human groups who made them — can be traced across this large region and beyond. In other words, some pivotal steps in our human story played out here, and over a hundred years of Paleolithic research in the Levant, Zagros and the Arabian Peninsula has done much to reveal them. Yet, sitting right in the middle of this well-studied arc, the Iraqi Western Desert has remained largely unexplored.

Figure 1. Location and topographical setting of the study area. Left, a map of southwest Asia showing the location of the Iraqi Western Desert along the northern extent of the Arabian Desert. The location of Shbicha region is also indicated. The map on the right shows a Google satellite image overlain with a FABDEM digital elevation model, to illustrate the topography of the Shbicha region. Dark dots represent the location of sites identified during the 2024 fieldwork; white dots represent the sites identified during the 2025 fieldwork (© E. Egberts).

The Geomorphological and Paleolithic Survey of the Western Desert of Iraq addresses this gap by assessing the presence of Paleolithic material, establishing its landscape context, and recontextualizing historic finds. Given the vast expanse of the desert, the survey currently employs a targeted reconnaissance approach. The multi-scale multi-method survey consists of broadly reconstructing the geomorphological history (how the landscape formed and changed over time) of various regions of the desert based on high-resolution satellite images, elevation data, and geological datasets, before zooming in on a regional landscape survey, investigating areas of archaeological potential and paleoenvironmental interest. This includes potential paleo-lakes, wadis, stratigraphic profiles, springs, potential raw material sites, and high-points in the landscape. Selected points of interest are visited and surveyed through fieldwalking, and selected sites are subjected to intensive, systematic survey.

This ASOR Mesopotamian Fellowship built on results from a Pilot Project funded by the British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI). With the identification of seven new Paleolithic findspots and several paleo-lakes, the BISI supported pilot study (conducted in 2024) identified the Shbicha (Al-Shabakah) region (Figure 1) as having a high potential for preserving Paleolithic material and Pleistocene landscape features (Egberts et al. 2025). With this Fellowship, the aim was to identify and investigate additional sites, conduct in-depth technological and typological artefact analyses, develop hypotheses regarding Pleistocene landscape preservation and Paleolithic findspots, and train Iraqi students through fieldwork participation, workshops and lectures.

The fieldwork, carried out in November 2025, identified eight new Paleolithic sites (Figures 1 and 2). These consist of mostly mixed assemblages with sporadic Lower Paleolithic finds and substantial Middle Paleolithic material (Figure 3).

Remarkable is the discovery of several (Initial) Upper Paleolithic lithic concentrations. Two sites, Shbicha 2 and 3, were selected for more detailed investigations, including systematic collection of lithics (Figure 4), detailed technological and typological artefact analyses, and integration of these results with hypotheses of Pleistocene landscape preservation.

Focusing on these sites proved to be an excellent decision. In a wadi, alongside the surface finds of Shbicha 3, we discovered a recently eroded sediment profile with lithics in stratigraphy (Figure 5). The rich Paleolithic surface assemblages provide large and easily accessible datasets for technological and typological analyses of lithics, providing insights into broad age ranges and technological and typological affinities between lithic assemblages across the wider region (Figures 6-9). However, absolute dating of these important archaeological records requires stratified finds. The discovery of this profile, with lithics preserved in stratigraphy, offers an exciting opportunity to build the first absolute chronological framework for Palaeolithic material from the Iraqi Western Desert — and, more broadly, the first direct dating of such material from inland northern Arabia.

The discovery of these stratified lithics is a major step forward: it confirms that Pleistocene deposits capable of preserving Palaeolithic archaeology survive in the region, and feeds directly into our hypotheses on landscape preservation. Excavating this profile in the future could recover an in-situ assemblage. We’re extremely grateful to ASOR for making this discovery possible. The results underscore the region’s major research potential, and this Fellowship has given us exactly the evidence needed to direct future work.

We are grateful to the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage for the research permit and for their support of the work.

Egberts, E., et al. 2025. New evidence for Pleistocene hominin presence in the north-east Arabian Desert, Iraq. Antiquity, 99(408), p. e51. doi:10.15184/aqy.2025.10171.

Groucutt H.S., et al. 2021. Multiple hominin dispersals into Southwest Asia over the past 400,000 years. Nature, 597(7876), 376–380. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03863-y

Hershkovitz I., et al. 2018. The earliest modern humans outside Africa. Science 359, 456-459. DOI:10.1126/science.aap8369

Solecki, R.S., 1963. Prehistory in Shanidar Valley, Northern Iraq: Fresh insights into Near Eastern prehistory from the Middle Paleolithic to the Proto-Neolithic are obtained. Science139, 179-193.

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Fieldwork Report: Sydney Pickens

Posted on September 23, 2026 by Sheridan Alper

A Day in the Life at Çadır Höyük

Sydney A. Pickens, 2026 Strange/Midkiff Families Scholarship Recipient

I spent the month of July in Türkiye as a member of the Çadır Höyük Archaeological Excavation Project, located near Peyniryemez Village in Sorgun, Yozgat Province. Çadır Höyük is a tell, or artificial mound, in central Türkiye that was formed by 6,000 years of human settlement. The project explores how small rural communities adapted their subsistence strategies in response to environmental change and imperial control. During my time at the site, I supported this exploration through systematic excavation, documentation, and laboratory analysis.

Up With the Sun

Most mornings, my eyes would flutter open at 5:15am in response to the familiar cadence of Donnie Trumpet’s Nothing Came to Me. On other days, it was the 5:00am recitation of the Adhan—the Islamic call to prayer—reverberating throughout the village. Yet on other days—and by far my favorite—it was the jangling bells of bleating sheep being herded across the central Anatolian hills.

My subsequent morning routine was the same most days: drag self out of bed, wash face, brush teeth, get dressed, indulge in Çocokrem spread on bread—sometimes with a sprinkle of granola for an added flare—out the door and in the van by 6:00am, on site ready to work by 6:15am.

On Site

The arrival at the Çadır Höyük Archaeological Mound is stunning. My first morning on site and each morning thereafter, I beamed as I watched the sun dance across the lake. Making its first reappearance at the site in nearly a decade, the lake foreshadowed a productive field season and simultaneously affirmed the project’s emphasis on the impacts of environmental change. On our hike up and around the mound each morning, we were greeted by the wagging tail of Paşa, our friendly neighborhood Anatolian Shepard and adopted mascot for the project. More often than not, he would follow us up the mound, find a nice shady spot, and oversee excavation progress.

Paşa, trench overlord.

I spent the first two weeks of the project working in the Late Chalcolithic Period (ca. 4250–3000 BCE) trenches SES-1, SES-2, and LSS-5 training intensively under the supervision of my advisor, Dr. Laurel Darcy Hackley. Working at the bottom of the mound demanded that I move slowly, work carefully, and notice the most minute changes in soil textures and colors because removing the smallest 1–2cm layer could destroy hundreds of years of the occupational record. It taught me to look intently, ask questions, and make possible meaning out of potential traces until additional evidence appeared to support or contrast it. It activated my imagination, pushing me to see what was, and served as great archaeological skills training.

When week three rolled around and I was catapulted into the role of co-trench supervisor with my colleague Haleigh Keane, I was nervous, but ready. We resumed excavations of LSS-8, a previously opened 4×10 meter trench in southwestern corner of the tell spanning the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages. Our primary goals were to investigate a pit feature in the northwest corner of the trench and to remove walls that had been previously documented in hopes of beginning excavations of the next occupation phase. Our most exciting find came from that pit—a small ceramic sheep’s head, dated firmly to the Hittite period by its wide eyes, pronounced nose, and quirky smile.

At 9am, the call for paydos! would reverberate around the site as the message spread like wildfire from trench to trench. Time to head down the mound to the break tent for second breakfast, the cherished mid-morning meal following hours of heavy physical labor. The project Bekçi, Ali, orchestrated the production, circulating all the sandwich fixings around the massive circle of excavators. First came the bread, followed by the spreads—mustard, mayo, and tomato. I always opted for a mustard and tomato combo. Next came the sliced salami and cheese, followed by tomato, cucumber, and leafy greens, and finally, the star of the show, black olives. YUM.

After second breakfast, we’d hike back up the mound to resume fieldwork until 12:30pm. Thereafter we’d give the trench a good sweep, clean up the site, and end the field day by 1pm. I’d customarily take the van home, hop in the shower, and squeeze in a pre-lunch nap if I could manage it.

After the Field

“Yemeeeeek!” Music to my ears. Like clockwork, people would begin filing out of their rooms and into the kitchen to help carry out food and set tables. At some point during lunch, the Project Director, Dr. Sharon Steadman would communicate any announcements for the day and reveal what time lab hours would begin: 4:30 or 5pm. We all hoped for 5pm; the fate of our post-lunch naps depended on it. When 4:30 or 5pm rolled around, we’d head to the lab to receive our assignments and begin work. I rotated lab tasks during the first two weeks or so to get oriented to the project. Pottery washing became a welcome rest and respite from the late afternoon heat. Seated beneath the shade of plum trees and laundry hanging on the line, I chatted with team members with the backdrop of cows on the move walking through the village streets.

Once I assumed the role of trench supervisor, lab hours took the shape of completing the day’s field notes, documenting field catalog numbers (FCNs) and objects on feature and locus sheets and making plans for the next day’s excavations.

The evening call for dinner came at 7pm. Again, the entire dig site would burst with excited energy, looking forward to the culinary creations of our dig chef, Tuğba, and the pastry stylings of her daughter and sous chef, Buğlem. The meals were by far the best I’ve ever had on any excavation project.

We’d end the night with laughs over çay, board and/or card games, and sometimes even a Tango, a Lindy Hop, or two. By 10pm, I was in bed and ready to start it all again the next morning.

Sydney A. Pickens graduated from the University of Memphis in August with Master’s degree in Art History, concentrating in Egyptian Art and Archaeology. She has since matriculated as a doctoral student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she is pursuing a PhD in Ancient Egyptian and Nubian Studies.

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