A. Onur Bamyacı | Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University (original) (raw)

Papers by A. Onur Bamyacı

Arkeoloji Bilimleri Dergisi Turkish Journal of Archaeological Sciences, 2024

The subject of this article is the pottery production workshop unearthed at Ulucak Höyük and date... more The subject of this article is the pottery production workshop unearthed at Ulucak Höyük and
dated to the beginning of the 6th millennium BCE. Ulucak Höyük is located in the town of
Ulucak in Kemalpaşa district of İzmir. As one of the earliest Neolithic settlements of Western
Anatolia, the site was first inhabited in 6850/6800 BCE and the habitation continued un-
interruptedly until 5670 BCE. The pottery production workshop was found in Level IVc of
the Ulucak Höyük sequence, dating to the Late Neolithic Period. It has been suggested that
pottery production became a specialized production activity in Western Asia and the Aegean
during the 6th millennium BCE based on technological analyses of pottery and the discovery
of ceramic kilns at certain sites. Nonetheless, the specialized pottery production workshop at
Ulucak, dating to the early 6th millennium BCE, is the only case so far to suggest that par-
ticular groups of people carried out pottery production. It also provides direct archaeological
evidence for every stage of pottery production; from paste preparing and shaping to surface
treatment and firing of pots. This article discusses the chronological and cultural background
of the workshop, its architectural features, the nature and spatial distribution of the finds, as
well as the results of the fingerprint analyses of ceramics and clay loaves, and the chemical anal-
yses (ICP-MS) of red paint, lime, ash and clay loaves. We interpret these results in the context
of early ceramic specialization.

OLBA XXX, 2022

This study presents a detailed excamination of a metal figurine found during the 2019 excavations... more This study presents a detailed excamination of a metal figurine found during the 2019 excavations at Murat Höyük, located on the bank of the Murat River in the Solhan district of the Province Bingöl in Eastern Anatolia. Because the mound was to be inundated by the Aşağı Kaleköy hydroelectric dam, extensive salvage excavations were conducted at the site in 2019 under the directorship of the Elazığ Museum. Four main settlement phases (Medieval, Middle Iron, Early Iron, Early Bronze) were documented at the site with the earliest habitation dating to the Early Bronze Age III (2500-2200 BC).

While figurines shaped out of clay, stone, and marble are more common in the archaeological record of Early Bronze Age (EBA) Anatolia, and metal figurines are relatively rare, a metal figurine ('statuette’) was discovered in the EBA settlement level of Murat Höyük. In terms of typological and stylistic details, the metal figurine of Murat Höyük appears unique in the 3rd millennium records of Mesopotamia, the Aegean, and the Balkans. The figurine depicts a standing nude with stylized hands and feet. Eye-sockets are marked as shallow pits; while the mouth is not indicated. Arms are stretched out on both sides; head is slightly inclined to the left; breasts are fashioned as appliqué protrusions; and pubic triangle is indicated with incised lines. The fact that stone mold and crucible fragments were found in the same level of the site suggests that the object was most probably produced locally by casting. Casting defects (flash lines) are observable on the surface. In this study, based on a comparative iconographic examinations we propose that a goddess is depicted here. With its unique characteristics, the Murat Höyük goddess figurine is a significant contribution to the repertoire of metal figurines’ in Anatolia Syria and Mesopotamia with broader implications about EBA metallurgy art and belief systems.

Arkeoloji Dergisi, 2021

Two spherical marble stone finds are remarkable in Level Va of Maydos Kilisetepe (1500-1300 BC). ... more Two spherical marble stone finds are remarkable in Level Va of Maydos Kilisetepe (1500-1300 BC). These
artifacts were assumed to be possible pommels belonging to weapons such as swords and bronze dag-
gers, exemplified by very few examples, the presence of the shaft hole and rivet holes on each side, and
very similar examples found around the prehistoric sites of the Aegean. Like these pommels, it is known
from the bronze age levels of the bronze age with a smooth and shiny view, is known from the bronze age
levels of Troia and Beycesultan in Western Anatolia. In the second half of the 2nd millennium BC, such
as unusual pommels seen on the handles of Mycenaean type swords and daggers found in various settle-
ments and graves in Greece, which are recognized as evidence of cultural contacts across the Aegean,
indicate the presence of possible Mycenaean activity in Maydos Kilisetepe. In this study, the function of
sword pommels, which were made from rare and exotic raw materials such as marble, ivory, mountain
crystal, which are mounted on sword and dagger handles, was mostly found in tombs. Therefore, they are
considered to be a kind of prestige or status object. These artifacts represent the wealth of the elites and
can be foreign to many settlements that are rarely seen in western Anatolia and the Aegean. In addition,
the chronological and typological development of Bronze Age swords and pommels found in Aegean and
Anatolia is briefly evaluated.

TÜBA-AR: Türkiye Bilimler Akademisi Arkeoloji Dergisi, 2020

Electronic Journal of Social Sciences, 2019

In recent years, ethnographic research, which includes modern pastoral sites or recently abandone... more In recent years, ethnographic research, which includes modern pastoral sites or recently abandoned, has become a curious field of archaeological research. The aim of this study was to investigate the modern material culture ethnographically as a source of archeological hypotheses about the past behaviors. Rural mixed economic activities at the coastal Troad region of Çanakkale are mainly dominated by stock-breeding. In the light of the ethnographic data such as the animal-related structures that still continue to be used today, in the same area and similar environmental factors, it is thought that the people of the region continue their similar economic exploitation of the rural land use habits like as prehistoric communities. Considering that the ethnographic data on rural land-use, rural economic factors and traditional agrarian practices of present-day behavior will contribute to our understanding of past mode of the rural economy of prehistoric societies.

TÜRKİYE BİLİMLER AKADEMİSİ ARKEOLOJİ DERGİSİ / TURKISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, 2018

The Early Chalcolithic 2 (Gülpınar II) and Middle Chalcolithic period (Gülpınar III) settlements ... more The Early Chalcolithic 2 (Gülpınar II) and Middle Chalcolithic period (Gülpınar III) settlements identified at Smintheion (Sanctuary of Apollo Smintheus) in the southwestern corner of the modern Biga Peninsula (ancient Troad) in north-western Anatolia have revealed new evidence regarding ground stone tool typology. Evaluation of the ground stone tool assemblages from these two consecutive Chalcolithic phases at Gülpınar have resulted in identification of a unique class of tools that could be considered as stone weights or net sinkers. Such tools were previously unknown in the archaeological record of northwestern Anatolia. This assemblage of ground stone tools is examined here via ethnographic analogy based on parallels with North America and Oceania, where they were mainly classified as sinkers for fishing lines and nets. The function of these tools is controversial because they have often been identified as loom weights or miscellaneous objects in studies of western Anatolian archaeology because direct evidence for fishing gear is relatively scarce. For the first time, these Chalcolithic Gülpınar stone weights, found in situ along with a pile of shells, support the opinion of them being used as net sinkers. Beside ethnographic analogy, other examples reported from various sites in the Near East, Aegean, and Anatolia were also examined in order to explain the function of these ground stone tools. This study also proposes that the sinker stones of Chalcolithic Gülpınar could be added to Anatolian ground stone typology. It is hoped that these tools will contribute to our understanding of long-term conventions in the fishing methods of prehistoric people and in the functional use and variability of these objects.

The Early Chalcolithic 2 (Gülpınar II) and Middle Chalcolithic period (Gülpınar III) settlements ... more The Early Chalcolithic 2 (Gülpınar II) and Middle Chalcolithic period (Gülpınar III) settlements identified at Smintheion (Sanctuary of Apollo Smintheus) in the southwestern corner of the modern Biga Peninsula (ancient Troad) in north-western Anatolia have provided important evidence about textile production of Anatolian Early and Middle Chalcolithic societies. Several types of spindle whorls, loom weights, spools and pot bases with negative impressions of woven textiles, mats, and baskets are accepted as indirect evidence of textile production in prehistoric Anatolia. Nevertheless, the direct evidence of textile production is scarce and only represented by carbonized textile remains which were rarely found in archeological contexts. The excavations conducted at Chalcolithic settlements of Gülpınar have resulted in identification of clay objects identified as spindle whorls, pot bases with negative impressions of woven textiles, mats, and baskets mostly related to the textile production. According to these findings it is understood that textile production including mat making was an important craft activity at the settlement. Thirty-nine clay objects including referred to as spindle whorls were catalogued from the 2004-2014 excavations. Spindle whorls at Gülpınar shows that they were represented in six different types. The most common forms are biconical, hemispherical and truncated conical types. The spindle whorls in various weights and shapes demonstrate the possibility of different types of width of threads, were produced for weaving. In addition, the spindle whorls are also evaluated with ethnographic examples based on traditional weaving techniques in Gülpınar and its vicinity. It is hoped that these tools will contribute to our understanding of long-term conventions in textile production of prehistoric people and in the functional use of these objects.

This essay aims to examine a small assemblage of anthropomorphic clay objects recovered from the ... more This essay aims to examine a small assemblage of anthropomorphic clay objects recovered from the prehistoric settlement in the Smintheion (Sanctuary of Apollo Smintheus) at the town of Gülpınar in northwestern Anatolia. Smintheion is known as the Sanctuary of Apollo Smintheus (Smintheion) dating to Hellenistic and Roman periods. The Middle Chalcolithic settlement where the anthropomorphic clay objects introduced here were found is temporally placed into circa 5000 BC on the basis of radiocarbon dating. The small assemblage clay anthropomorphic objects introduced here is constituted of seven protomae placed on top of the rims of cultic vessel and one anthropomorphic handle. These anthropomorphic objects are curious find no identical parallels among the examples of the Balkan cultures of this period

Books by A. Onur Bamyacı

Tenedos/Bozcaada is a small island encompassing an area covering approximately 36 sq km. It simpl... more Tenedos/Bozcaada is a small island encompassing an area covering approximately 36 sq km. It simply resembles a triangle in shape, 11 km long in east-west and 6.5 km wide in north-south directions. The present topography of the island is largely the result of complex geological activities occurred at different ages. Prior to its separation from the mainland by narrow and shallow water, the island was apparently an extension of the northwestern Anatolian massif. The landscape of the island is mainly covered maquis vegetation dominated by prickly junipers (Juniperus oxycedrus), mastic trees (Pistachia lentiscus), kermes oaks (Quercus coccifera), and a variety of shrubs. The negative human impact is also responsible for the change in the vegetational cover. For example, the crew of the British Naval Air Forces cleared a vineyard on the island to create a 600 m. long airstrip during the Gallipoli campaign.
Bozcaada/Tenedos is located on the mouth of the Dardanelles Strait just west of the coastline of ancient Troy in northwestern Anatolia which has been geographically very important point near the shoreline of the ancient Troad. The island had a strategic importance because of this geographic location on the mouth of the Dardanelles Strait that gave access to the Sea of Marmara and beyond. The island probably played some key role in maritime exchange as early as the Early Bronze II period, since the settlement of this period is found very close this main harbor of the island. The importance of the island derives from the epics of Homer. The island acted as a base site for the Achaean fleet during the Trojan wars of the Late Bronze Age. Ships of modest size took shelter here before they made their voyage to the Sea of Marmara when the wind conditions allow a safe route. In this context, this study examines the possible zones that might have served as bases for the ships before they made their way through the Dardanelles Strait.
This easternmost point of the island which yielded nearly an uninterrupted sequence of archaeological evidence for settlement dating from the Early Bronze Age to the Ottoman times. Preference for this location near natural bays was apparently due to the suitability of this area for seafaring activities and the harbors’ strategically important position facing the mouth of the Dardanelles. The earliest archaeological evidence for settlement on the island dates back to the Early Bronze II period (Takaoğlu and Sevinç 2004).
The major center of population is located on the easternmost point of the island near small bays which apparently served as natural harbors for landing ships of modest sizes. Lack of natural harbors on the western coast of the Troad made the natural harbors of Tenedos/Bozcaada an important sheltering location. Preference for this location near natural bays was apparently due to the suitability of this area for seafaring activities and the harbors’ strategically important position facing the mouth of the Dardanelles. The harbor or the town area of the island gained some commercial importance during the Byzantine times. The cargo ships transporting grain from Egypt to Constantinople stopped at Tenedos when they encountered head winds and contrary currents in the Dardanelles Strait in the sixth century A.D. The grain brought from Egypt was kept here until there was a favorable wind.
The island located on the mouth of the Dardanelles Strait just west of the coastline of ancient Troy in northwestern Anatolia, has traditionally been perceived as an area of little past agricultural activity. The past populations of the island appears to have chosen a nucleated settlement pattern in which the major center of population located on the easternmost point of the island exploits the countryside through isolated seasonal field houses scattered over the landscape. The past economy of the island has often been linked to fishing and maritime commerce. The common belief is that the island acted as a base site or shelter for millennia for the ships of modest sizes before they made their ways to the Sea of Marmara (ancient Propontis) and beyond when the wind conditions permit a safe passage through the Dardanelles Strait. It is therefore whether or not this strategically important small island was ever exploited for agrarian purposes in the past remains a curious issue, in particular when one considers the fact that grape cultivation has been the most important feature of the island’s rural economy for centuries.
The depiction of grapes and wine amphorae on the fourth century B.C. Tenedian coins clearly highlights the economically important role of grapes and wines in the life of the islanders. The accounts of the travelers confirm that grape production continued despite the prohibition generated by the Islamic tradition. For example, the French traveler Joseph Pitton de Tournefort who visited the island in 1702, mentions the reputaion of the Tenedian vine in his Relation d’un Voyage de Levant (1717). British traveler Richard Chandler also visited the island in 1764 and cited the good quality of the island’s wine in his Travels in Asia Minor (1775). The Malerische Reise in einigen Provinzen des Osmanischen Reichs (1825) of the Polish traveler Edward Racczynski also provides similar information. E.M. Cousinery, another French traveler who served as French consul in Thessaloniki in the early nineteenth century, mentions in his Voyage dans la Macédoine (1851) that the wine of Tenedos was the best in the Ottoman Empire. Although the accounts of these travelers of eighteenth and nineteenth centuries clearly show the economic importance of wine production, they are unfortunately not informative about the ways how the grape production took place on Tenedos.
Briefly this study aims to examine the role of the island of Bozcaada (ancient Tenedos) within the ancient maritime trade network, explore the patterns of coastal use of the island and finally reconstructs the settlement history of the island from Early Bronze Age to the end of the classical antiquity on the basis of archaeological remains and ancient written sources. It also examines the use of these anchorages from a diachronic point of view in relation to the socio-economic changes of the island.

Book Sections by A. Onur Bamyacı

Lithic Studies: Anatolia and Beyond, 2022

Erken Tunç Çağı'nda Murat Höyük, İstanbul: Ege Yayınları, 2021

Erken Tunç Çağı'nda Murat Höyük İstanbul: Ege Yayınları, 2021

Arkeolojide Taşları Konuş(tur)uyoruz. Taş Aletler, Yorum ve Yaratıcılık, İstanbul: Ege Yayınları,, 2021

Murat Nehri Kıyısında Bir Urartu Yerleşimi: MURAT TEPE, 2021

Murat Tepe, located along the banks of the Murat River which lies on the catchment area of Aşağı ... more Murat Tepe, located along the banks of the Murat River which lies on the catchment area of Aşağı Kaleköy Dam in Solhan district of modern Bingöl province in Eastern Anatolia. The salvage excavations were conducted in 2018 which was the first systemical excavation of Bingöl. There were only two cultural layers identified during the excavations. The earliest habitation Level I dates to Byzantine Period (9 –10th cent.) and the second level attested to Middle Iron Age / Urartian Kingdom (8 –7th cent. BC) identified on the bedrock. Unfortunately, the first level not gives a distinct plan and displays only irregular and ruined wall remains. Despite, Level II preserves the foundations of a rectangular structure with projecting buttresses on the corners; shows the characteristic of way-station building sites in the region. The identification of both cultural levels from Murat Tepe excavations contributes much to our understanding of Eastern Anatolian archaeology.

Anadolu Arkeolojisinde Taş Aletler: Teori, Metot, Pratik, İstanbul: Ege Yayınları, 2018

Bamyacı, A. O. (2018). Öğütme Taşları: Tipolojik Gelişim, Sorunlar, Çalışma Metodolojisi Ve Anali... more Bamyacı, A. O. (2018). Öğütme Taşları: Tipolojik Gelişim, Sorunlar, Çalışma Metodolojisi Ve Analitik Bir Yaklaşım Modeli. In A. Baysal (Ed.), Anadolu Arkeolojisinde Taş Aletler: Teori, Metot, Pratik (pp. 272-303). İstanbul: Ege Yayınları.

Current studies on ground stones, both in Anatolia and in the world of archaeology generally, have shown that important data can be obtained from these artifacts. In studies that were carried out prior to the eighties, findings on such stones were largely neglected and were not been considered particularly remarkable in terms of contribution of social and economic histories of past societies. The advent of different approaches to archaeology in the eighties, for example, the explanatory models of ethnoarchaeology, saw attempts being made to explain the close link between cultural processes and production systems, coupled with an increase in the world’s interest in the ground stone industry. It is important to remember that prehistoric artifacts can provide important data about socioeconomic structures and behavior patterns, and in particular, they help to clarify the behavior patterns of the prehistoric communities involved in the ground stone industry, which reflects the socioeconomic and technological processes.
In this study, an attempt is made to explain the role of grinding stones in the archaeological materials culture, with an initial focus on how the typological variations transformed from the simplest form to more complex forms. The problem with most ground stone studies is the fact that the actual artifacts were neglected, when in reality, they comprise the most abundant and durable findings in archaeological records. In addition, the study looks at how ground stone tools can be studied systematically and what type of data can be obtained from such artifacts. A model based on an analytical approach is also proposed.

Anadolu Arkeolojisinde Taş Aletler: Teori, Metot, Pratik İstanbul: Ege Yayınları, 2018

Özdemir, A., & Bamyacı, A. O. (2018). Kuzey Doğu Ege Buluntusu Taş Aletleri̇n İşlevlendi̇ri̇lmesi... more Özdemir, A., & Bamyacı, A. O. (2018). Kuzey Doğu Ege Buluntusu Taş Aletleri̇n İşlevlendi̇ri̇lmesi̇ ve Etnografi̇k Analoji. In A. Baysal (Ed.), Anadolu Arkeolojisinde Taş Aletler: Teori, Metot, Pratik (pp. 304-323). İstanbul: Ege Yayınları.

This paper introduces three different types of ground stone tools that were identified at several major Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in the North East Aegean during the last two decades. They were previously considered as relatively uncommon ground stone tools in the archaeological record of this region. The first type is a pan-shaped vessel with a large flat bottom, which could have been conveniently held with one hand. The pan-shaped vessel also has a four-footed variety. An analogy drawn with ar¬chaeological and ethnographic examples from North American Indian cultures may help to illustrate that these mundane stone vessels were used in tasks such as grinding edible or inedible substances. The second type is the grooved stone axe, which is a functionally efficient percussor with a beveled cutting edge opposite a rounded peen. The most charac¬teristic feature of this type of axe is the groove that encir¬cles the body close to its distal end, intended for hafting the tool onto a wooden handle in order to increase its effectiveness. According to analogy with North American Indian cultures, such grooved axes were not only used in ore extraction but also in various other tasks such as the removal of large flakes on large, thick nod¬ules of flint, chopping down trees, splitting wood, clearing shrubbery for farming, and breaking up bones of large game animals. The third type is longitudinally-grooved stone implements that could be identified as fishnet sinkers on the basis of parallels with North American Indian cultures. Benefiting from the ethnographic and archaeological record of American Indians cultures in this context may broaden our understanding of the function and use of ground stone tools casually identified at Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in the North East Aegean.

Ethnoarchaeological Investigations in Rural Anatolia, Volume 2, İstanbul: Ege Yayınları, 2005

Takaoğlu, T., & Bamyacı, A. O. (2005). Continuity and Change in Rural Land-Use on Tenedos/Bozcaad... more Takaoğlu, T., & Bamyacı, A. O. (2005). Continuity and Change in Rural Land-Use on Tenedos/Bozcaada. In T. Takaoğlu (Ed.), Ethnoarchaeological Investigations in Rural Anatolia, Volume 2 (pp. 113-136). İstanbul: Ege Yayınları.

Smintheion: Apollon Smintheus'un İzinde , İstanbul: Ege Yayınları, 2013

Bamyacı, A. O., & Özdemir, A. (2013). Gülpınar ve Çevresi Kırsal Mimari Araştırmalar. In C. Özgün... more Bamyacı, A. O., & Özdemir, A. (2013). Gülpınar ve Çevresi Kırsal Mimari Araştırmalar. In C. Özgünel (Ed.), Smintheion: Apollon Smintheus'un İzinde (pp. 157-170). İstanbul: Ege Yayınları.

Bozcaada Değerleri Sempozyumu, Canakkale: COMU Yayınları No:77, 2008

Takaoğlu, T., & Bamyacı, A. O. (2008). Antik Çağda Bozcaada (Tenedos). In A. Akdemir, O. Demircan... more Takaoğlu, T., & Bamyacı, A. O. (2008). Antik Çağda Bozcaada (Tenedos). In A. Akdemir, O. Demircan, S. Yılmaz, T. Takaoğlu, & E. Erginal (Eds.), Bozcaada Değerleri Sempozyumu (pp. 71-82). Canakkale: COMU Yayınları No:77.