Beyond Linear Time: Temporal Plurality of Annales and the Interpretation of the Late Chalcolithic Period in North Mesopotamia

Abstract This article reinterprets continuity and changes in northern Mesopotamia during the Late Chalcolithic period ( c. 4500 – 3000 bc ) by employing the Annales School of History through the concept of temporal plurality. Present interpretations of the Uruk phenomenon suffer from a significant temporal fallacy: they conflate processes operating at different temporal wavelengths into a single explanatory framework. The study demonstrates long-term geographical structures ( longue durée ), medium-term social transformations ( conjoncture ) and distinct historical events ( événement ) unfolded concurrently rather than sequentially. During Late Chalcolithic 1 – 2, indigenous developments established complex administrative and social structures before the Uruk; the Uruk phenomenon represents a conjunctural process shaped by these pre-existing conditions rather than a singular expansionary event. By disentangling archaeological processes operating at different temporal scales, this study challenges core – periphery and hybridization models, revealing patterns that remain concealed in single-scale analyses. This approach offers significant methodological implications for the global study of early complex societies.