The paper focuses on the analysis of the so-called tholos, a circular building widespread – but not exclusively – during the Halaf period. Taking into account most of the remains of tholoi present at many Halaf sites (31 in all), including data relating to the transitional periods (Proto-Halaf and Post-Halaf/HUT), in the first section a classification of types of tholos is proposed and their possible functions are discussed, with reference to previous work. The second section deals with some related socio-economic issues, considering settlement layout and the distinction between sites with long and short occupation, and small and larger villages. Particular attention is given to: family structure or pattern, that is the arrangement in extended or nuclear households; storage facilities, i.e. the adoption of communal or domestic storage practices; the type of mobility, namely the compatibility of the current interpretations with models of long-term and short-term mobility on one hand, or with certain models of ‘nomadism’ and pastoralism on the other. A final question concerns to what extent these aspects are related to differences in pottery production recognizable, in part, at local and regional scales – and therefore to the issue of ‘socio-cultural identity’.
