Assessing the pattern of subsistence strategies in Late Neolithic settlements in the northern Mesopotamian region Lubna Omar Department of Anthropology Ahi Evran University lubnaomar@gmail.com Introduction H uman communities shited towards complex social entities in gradual steps over hundreds of years of economic and cultural development within several regions in the Near East. Archaeological projects in central south-eastern Anatolia have provided several lines of evidence concerning the emergence of socially complex human entities much earlier in time than was once perceived by archaeologists (Arbuckle 2008; Hongo and Meadow 1998; Kansa et al. 2009; Zimmermann-Holt 2006). he importance of zooarchaeological research conducted within north Mesopotamia stems from the role of animal resources in the development of ancient societies. Hence, animal economy illustrates the socio-economic identity of human communities (for example, hunter-gatherer communities, agricultural villages, pastoral nomadic tribes, etc.). Archaeological Review from Cambridge | 28.2 | 2013 |