Alarashi, Hala

Archéorient (CNRS-Lyon)

Research Topic: Cultural interactions and construction of identities: Techno-functional analysis of Neolithic and Chalcolithic personal ornaments from Anatolia

Dr. Alarashi is an associate researcher at Archéorient. Her research focuses on the evolution of the symbolic systems of prehistoric human groups through the study of their body ornaments. It explores technological innovations, modalities of procurement of mineral and aquatic resources used for symbolic purposes, and investigates human mobility through circulation networks of “prestige” items and technological skills. Her fieldwork is based in Anatolia, the Levant, and other regions of the Old World. Dr. Alarashi’s ANAMED project investigates body ornaments as physical supports of the socio-cultural identities of prehistoric Anatolian communities and as reliable means to explore symbolic expressions at both individual and collective levels. Building on prior research focused on the Levant, this project broadens her investigation in geographic and chronological terms by analyzing a series of Neolithic and Chalcolithic adornments from Nevalı Çori, Aşıklı Höyük, Tepecik Çiftlik, and Güvercinkayası through multiple methodological approaches. Moreover, innovations in bead technology, in particular pyrotechnic processing, are investigated through diachronic studies. Cultural interactions and the involvement of Anatolian societies in the spread of Neolithic from East to West are questioned through in-depth comparisons with ornamental traditions in the Levant and Europe.