ANATOLICA XXXV, 2009 THE UPPER TIGRIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROJECT (UTARP): A Preliminary Report from the 2007 and 2008 Field Seasons at Kenan Tepe Bradley J Parker, Catherine P. Foster, Kathleen Nicoll, Jason R. Kennedy, Philip Graham, Alexia Smith, David E. Hopwood, Marie Hopwood, Kristen Butler, Elizabeth Healey, M Barr/j Uzel and Reilly Jensen 1 INTRODUCTION During the summers of 2007 and 2008, members of the Upper Tigris Archeological Research Project (UTARP) undertook an eighth and ninth season of fieldwork in the Upper Tigris River region of southeastern Turkey (figure I)? The 2007 field season was aimed at completing the excavations of the Ubaid period domestic structures partially unearthed at Kenan Tepe in previous seasons. The 2008 field season was the first of three study seasons aimed at completing the analysis of our excavated material and preparing it for publication. The 2007 season, which was our last season of excavation, took place between June 15t and July 6 th . Excavations concentrated on the 1 This report is very much the product of teamwork. Bradley J. Parker researched and composed the introduction as well as the trench summaries of the 2007 excavations. He also compiled and edited this report. Bradley Parker and Reilly Jensen are responsible for the subsection on the Ubaid microdebris. The section on Ubaid ceramics is the work of Bradley Parker and Jason Kennedy. Catherine Foster researched and composed the subsection on the Late Chalcolithic microdebris and helped copy edit this report. Kathleen Nicoll researched and composed the section on the geomorphology of the area. She also helped copy edit this report. Philip Graham and Alexia Smith researched and composed the archaeobotanical remains. Elizabeth Healey is responsible for the lithics analysis. David Hopwood researched and composed the section on the burials. The section on small finds is the work of Marie Hopwood and Kristen Butler. M. Uzel aided in the microdebris and ceramic sections. He was also instrumental in the project's success in the field. . 2 We would like to thank the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism for granting us pennission to conduct this research. We would also like to thank Mehmet Arif Bilici of the DiyarbakIr Museum for his assistance to the project. This report is dedicated to Necdet inal, the fonner director of the Diyarbaklr Musuem, for his support and dedication to UTARP during the first decade of its existence. I would like to give my deepest thanks to our government representatives: Resul (aka: "the-best-rep-ever") in the 2007 season, and Suat Sahin (Resul's competition for the above title) during the 2008 field season. UTARP's 2007 field season was funded by a generous grant from the Curtiss T. and Mary G. Brennan Foundation to whom we owe our deepest thanks. The geomorphological research was supported by Royal Society (UK) and Brasenose College, University of Oxford. UTARP's 2007 team was made up of Bradley Parker (University of Utah), Catherine Foster (UC Berkeley), Lynn Dodd (University of Southern California), Jason Kennedy (SUNY Binghamton), Mila Hover (University of Utah), Liz Clark (University of Utah), M.M. Uzel (Ege University), Jonathan Vidar (University of Southern California) and Kristen Butler (University of Southern California). The 2008 field season was again partially funded by the Curtiss T. and Mary G. Brennan Foundation. Funding was also obtained from the University of Southern California and the University of Utah. The 2008 team consisted of Bradley Parker (University of Utah), Catherine Foster (UC Berkeley), Lynn Dodd (University of Southern California), Marie Hopwood (SUNY Binghamton), David Hopwood (SUNY Binghamton), Jason Kennedy (SUNY Binghamton), Mila Hover (University of Utah), Ashley Sands (University of Southern California), Kristen Butler (University of Southern California), Jon Vidar (University of Southern California), and M. Uzel (Ege University).