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On the northeast coast of Madagascar, near the town of Vohémar, is a large cemetery dating to the fourteenth century. During World War II, French troops excavated the site but left no comprehensive report. University of Michigan archaeologist Henry T. Wright led an intensive archaeological survey in the region, hoping to find evidence of earlier settlements. In four seasons, the researchers found evidence of several settlements dating to different periods: a large port site dating to the same era as the cemetery; early estuarine villages of the 7th and 8th centuries; and a rock shelter with microlithic tools. In this study, Wright presents the survey results in detail, including the evidence for settlements as well as illustrations of the ceramics and stone tools.

Distant Madagascar, the island at the end of the world, has many lessons to teach. The ancestors of the Malagasy people established themselves at least 1500 years ago. Again and again since their arrival, the Malagasy have created new kinds of political communities. This study concerns archaeological survey and excavations in the indigenous state of Imerina in the central highlands.

Henry T. Wright offers a study of economy and production at two Mesopotamian sites dating to the Early Dynastic: Ur, a large town, and Sakheri Sughir, a small rural community. Includes appendices on artifacts, faunal remains, and two burials. Contributions by Sandor Bökönyi, Kent V. Flannery, and John Mayhall.

The Deh Luran Plain is a microcosm of Mesopotamia and important for the study of a variety of processes in cultural evolution. In this volume (the first of three planned on this project), the authors present a detailed archaeological survey covering periods from the earliest occupation of the plain up to the mid-third millennium BC.

In the region of Xuzestan (also “Khuzestan”), in southwestern Iran, early inhabitants domesticated plants and animals and developed permanent settlements and complex political states. In this volume, editor Henry T. Wright presents the results of three archaeological surveys in this important region.Contributors report on findings by time period, including the Paleolithic, Archaic, Susiana, Uruk, Protoelamite, Elamite, and Islamic periods.

The site of Tepe Farukhabad, in southwestern Iran, dates to the fourth millenium BC. In this monograph, editor Henry T. Wright presents archaeological data from the Tepe Farukhabad excavations. For each phase of the site, the authors give detailed descriptions of the structures and artifacts, including ceramics, stone, bone, metal, textile, and faunal remains. With his interpretation of this data, Wright advances our understanding of early exchange in southwest Asia and of development of early states.

The Deh Luran Plain, nestled in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains close to the modern border between Iraq and Iran, had a long and rich prehistory, beginning with the local development of villages dependent upon rainfall farming and herding in the 8th millennium BC. This volume continues the account of the plain from the later 3rd millennium BC to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. It contains detailed site maps and descriptions, aerial and satellite images of major sites, statistics and drawings of ceramics, and discussions of the historical sources.