Sea shells on the riverside: Cowrie ornaments from the PPNB site of Tell Halula (Euphrates, northern Syria)

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) site of Tell Halula in the middle Euphrates valley has yielded large quantities of cowrie shells used in the composition of belts and diadems. These shells were discovered in burials as complete items composing ornaments and in outdoor contexts as broken halves. In this paper we shed light on a little known PPNB ornamental practice; the acquisition and display of exotic cowrie shells. Through the multi-approached study of these ornaments, the objective is to contribute to the understanding of the socioeconomic, technological, and symbolic behaviors of the earliest farming societies in northern Mesopotamia and the Levant.