Dataset and R scripts for: The emergence of urban scaling in Ancient Southwest Asia

This repository contains the dataset and R analysis scripts used in Chelazzi and Lawrence (2026), "The emergence of urban scaling in Ancient Southwest Asia," submitted to PLOS One. The dataset includes all records classified as "Southwest Asia" in the GINI Project Database (Kohler et al. 2025; https://doi.org/10.48512/XCV8496853), complemented by a curated subset of records from Squitieri and Altaweel (2022). The dataset spans the Late Epipalaeolithic to the Iron Age (c. 13,100–580 BCE). After filtering applied within the analysis scripts, the analytical sample comprises 1,852 buildings from 80 sites. The R scripts (main_text.R and supplementary_material.R) reproduce all results reported in the main text and Supporting Information of the manuscript. See README.md for detailed documentation, variable descriptions, filtering criteria, and instructions for reproducing the analyses. Data sources:- The Global Dynamics of Inequality (GINI) Project Database. doi:10.48512/XCV8496853- Squitieri and Altaweel (2022). doi:10.1007/s12520-022-01659-3- Basri and Lawrence (2020). doi:10.1017/S0959774320000177