289 EARLY POTTERY NEOLITHIC WHITE WARE FROM TELL SABI ABYAD INTERPRETING THE LATE NEOLITHIC OF UPPER MESOPOTAMIA ABSTRACT White ware, or vaiselle blanche, are vessels made from gyp- sum or limestone (calcite) plaster. Tese containers were ex- ceptionally common in the Early Pottery Neolithic period (ca. 6900-6200 cal. bce) occupation levels at Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria. Over 1170 kg or 21,150 sherds have been excavated and studied since the 2002 campaign there. Our project involves studying the typology, technology, composition, and spatial distribution of white ware, as well as its conservation, in or- der to interpret the material in the framework of contempo- rary research on the Late Neolithic period. It has been argued by Lemonnier (2002) that techniques as social phenomena should be seen as instruments for social organization, and that the specifc set of techniques that a society chose to use may be referred to as a system. Te close and mutual relation- ship means that change in techniques implies social change. However, as Van der Leeuw (2002) points out, we cannot study the efects of technology on social life without acknowl- edging the reverse. In this short paper we have chosen to con- centrate on the technique and its physical components. INTRODUCTION: WHITE WARE IN THE LATE NEOLITHIC Plaster as a material has been used since the 9th millenni- um cal. bce. In the absence of texts, our knowledge of an- cient plaster is mainly derived from archaeological fnds, ethnographic data, ancient authors such as Vitruvius (85-20 bce) and Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE), as well as experiments (Kingery, Vandiver and Pricket 1988; Van Balen 2003; Koek 2009; Nilhamn in preparation). Lime plaster is principally known for its use as a fnishing material for walls and foors, uses to which it remains to be put today. Less well known is that it was used as a complement to pottery in prehistoric times and that it was in some cases its precursor. White ware is quite a common fnd associated with the early Neolithic, that is, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (ppna/B) and Early Pottery Neolithic (epn). It was frst mentioned as a separate fnd category in the Danish excavations at Tell Sukas, Syria, in 1960. Even though it is not widely published, it is found throughout the Near East: Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is found at coastal sites such as Byblos and Ras Shamra, but also at inland sites such as Hama, Ramad, Qdeir, Çayönü, El Kowm and Choga Sefd (Rollefson 1987:31; Kingery, Vandiver and Pricket 1988; Nilhamn 2003). However, it is not common everywhere. No white ware has been found in Cisjordan (with the exception of few sherds at Munhata). Until recently, the oldest known material was of the 8th millennium cal. bce from Ain Ghazal in Transjordan. Tis was believed to indicate that white ware was a southern development, which had spread to the north. Te recent dis- covery of white ware in the 8th millennium cal. bce levels at Sabi Abyad in the Balikh area of northern Syria changes this view. Instead, it seems that we are dealing with a local devel- opment and distribution centres. Te Early Pottery Neolithic is the most interesting phase for the study of white ware, as white ware is here a common and wide-spread fnd that can- not be dismissed from an analysis of Neolithic society. In many cases, there are distinct parallels in this material with the previous era, suggesting a continuum from the aceramic into ceramic periods. In northern Syria there are several im- portant sites such as Assouad, Bouqras, Abu Hureyra and Tell Sabi Abyad that witness this process. In all material studies, it is of prime importance to un- derstand manufacturing processes and composition in order to provide a material with its cultural context. Te frst at- tempts to examine what white ware actually was, were made by Balfet, Lounget, Lafuma and Terrier some time ago (Balfet et al. 1969) and somewhat later by Mellaart (1975) and De Contenson (1971). More thorough scientifc material investi- gations involving chemical and physical analyses were con- ducted by Kingery, Vandiver and Pricket (1988) and Rehof et al. (1990). WHITE WARE AT LATE NEOLITHIC TELL SABI ABYAD Tell Sabi Abyad lies close to the small village of Hammam et- Turkman, 30 km south of the Syro-Turkish border. Te four rather small mounds of 1 ha to 5 ha in size sit like small hills in EARLY POTTERY NEOLITHIC WHITE WARE FROM TELL SABI ABYAD Bonnie Nilhamn (Free University Amsterdam, Institute for Geo- and Bioarchaeology) and Ewout Koek (Instituut Collectie Nederland Amsterdam)