The Ubaid period (ca.

6500 to 3800 BCE) is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia.

The tell (mound) of al-`Ubaid west of nearby Ur in southern Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate has given its name to the prehistoric Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic culture, which represents the earliest settlement on the alluvial plain of southern Mesopotamia.

The Ubaid culture had a long duration beginning before 5300 BCE and lasting until the beginning of the Uruk period, c. 4000 BCE.

The adoption of the wheel and the beginning of the Chalcolithic period fall into the Ubaid period.