Plants as material culture in the Near Eastern Neolithic: Perspectives from the silica skeleton artifactual remains at Çatalhöyük (original) (raw)
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Journal of Archaeological Science, 2024
In archaeology, the study of past plant processing activities in domestic spaces has hitherto relied greatly on the observed distribution of macrobotanical and artefactual remains. However, the surfaces where such activities took place can themselves preserve microscopic remains, potentially traceable to the activity that originated them. This paper presents new aspects of plant-related tasks, and the use of living space, at household level, in Neolithic Çatalhöyük through spatial analyses of phytoliths and starch grains recovered from two house floors. Results have revealed plant-related tasks such as crop processing, the use of plant-based crafts, and the management and culinary use of wild resources previously unrepresented in the archaeobotanical assemblage. These distinctive uses of vegetal resources in domestic spaces identified through microbotanical remains have shed light on new complex aspects of household social organisation in one of the earliest farming communities in Western Asia.
Recovery of archaeologIcal plant remaIns at Kaman-kalehoyuk
Essays on ancient Anatolia and its surrounding civilizations 8, 1995
In 1991 a salvage excavation was begun at Hallan Cemi Tepesi, a largely aceramic site in the Taurus foothills of eastern Turkey.' The results of the 199 1 through 1993 field seasons permitted some preliminary observations concerning the material culture of the site's early Neolithic inhabitants. Of particular note was the relatively high degree of cultural complexity implied by that material culture (see . Also of note was the evidence suggesting that, at its earliest stages, the Neolithic tradition in eastern Anatolia evolved with only minimal influence from the contemporaneous Levantine complex.
Plant stores at Pottery Neolithic Höyücek, southwest Turkey
Eleven samplcs comprising an estimated 39,000 plant remains were analysed f h m a bumt destruction level at the pottery Ncolithic site of Hoyiicek. so~~thwcst Turkey (radiocarbon dated 7550-7350 uncalibrated bp, 6400-6100 calibrated BC). Large stores of ernmer (?i.itictmt ciic.occiir~r), lice threshing wheat (Gilictrnl ne.stivirrr~/ditr-LIIII). lentils (Lmls cdirtcrris), bitter vetch (I4cic1 crvilicr) and chickpea (Cicw cirirfinrrtn) wwc identified and these plants were interpreted as crops. The low levels of weeds and crop processing by-products suggest most of the samples were remains ol'stores of human food. Two san~plcs in which wild components (lbr cxa~nple, 7kiticum boeticun~, Mcdiccrgo, Aegilops) dominated were interpreted as crop processing by-products, presumably stored for fodder. The presence ol'thcse stores in a structure interpreted as having a religious fiinction shows that domestic activities also took place there. Comparison with otlia-Ncolithic and Chalcolithic sites ol'wcst central Turkey demonstrates a good correspondence in the range of crops. The poor representation of barley at Hoyiicek cloubtlcss reflects the small number of sainplcs liom the site.
Recent archaeological examinations include an increasing amount of natural science analyses. They are often carried out by external specialists and their results are often accepted by archaeologists without question. This may lead to incomplete integration of the results into an archaeological context. One of those methods, increasingly employed in the field of archaeology, is phytolith analysis. Phytoliths, microscopic silica bodies from genera-specific plant cells, allow searching for traces of plant material in archaeological contexts where methods based on macroscopic analysis have reached their limits. This paper combines natural science approaches with archaeological data by examining the social life of artefacts via phytolith analyses that can provide data to precisely determine the interpretation and variety of grinding stones, which are often misinterpreted. In this pilot study, the analyses confirmed the macroscopic observations for grinding plant material in some cases, but also opened new areas of study such as mineral-related activities, possible use of wooden implements and the connection between the different archaeological and botanical information. The analysed objects are grinding stones from Monjukli Depe, a small village in modern southern Turkmenistan that was occupied in the Neolithic and Aeneolithic periods. The site was excavated in the 1960s by Soviet archaeologists and restudied since 2010 by a team from the Free University Berlin.
Çatalhöyük 2008 Аrchive Report - Macro Botanical Remains
• Herding practices in Neolithic Çatalhöyük: the use of oxygen isotopes and microwear in sheep teeth-Elizabeth Henton Worked Bone Report-Nerissa Russell 2008 Human Remains-Lori D. Hager, Başak Boz Macro Botanical Remains-Amy Bogaard, Mike Charles Research Projects: • Exploring plant use and husbandry in the site's lower-middle phases-Dragana Filipović 1 4 • The archaeobotany of a burned house: Building 63, Istanbul Area-Müge Ergun • Study of botanical inclusions in mudbrick • Ethnobotanical work in the Konya region and beyond • NSF-funded project, 'Economic integration and cultural survival at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey' • NERC-funded project, 'Crop stable isotope ratios: new approaches to palaeodietary and agricultural reconstruction' Woven and Twisted Fibres-a statement-Shahina Farid
GAZİANTEP UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, 2024
The archaeobotanical study on the plant remains from the Early Chalcolithic grave of the earliest known human of the Upper Porsuk Valley and Central Western Anatolia at Kanlıtaş Höyük provides valuable information about the burial customs, diet and economy of the region and the settlement. The grave, dated to the first half of the 6th millennium BC, contains a rich variety of plant remains, including cereals such as einkorn wheat, emmer wheat, bread wheat and seeds of wild species such as goosefoot and bitter vetch. In addition to these plant remains, the presence of grave goods and the careful placement of flat stones on certain parts of the skeleton indicate a burial ritual that reflects the sociocultural structure and belief system of the period. The study concludes that society at Kanlıtaş Höyük agriculture and plants have played a role in their spiritual life as indicated by the various plant remains found in the grave. These findings are very important because of the limited archaeobotanical data from excavations in Anatolia, especially from graves, and because they provide invaluable information about the funerary practices and rituals of ancient societies. The study also draws attention to the increased use of plants in burial customs in the Early Bronze Age compared to the results of other settlements in Anatolia after the Chalcolithic Period. The archaeobotanical analysis of the Kanlıtaş Höyük grave provides a rare glimpse into the daily lives, sociocultural structures and belief systems of the region's earliest inhabitants, contributing to our understanding of the relationship between plants and burial customs in prehistoric Anatolia.
PLOS ONE, 2021
Çatalhöyük is a renowned archaeological site in central Anatolia, best known for its Neolithic occupation dated from 7100 to 6000 cal BC. The site received worldwide attention early on for its large size, well-preserved mudbrick architecture, and elaborate wall paintings. Excavations at the site over almost three decades have unearthed rich archaeobotanical remains and a diverse ground stone assemblage produced by what once was a vibrant farming community. The study presented here adds to our understanding of crops and plant processing at Çatalhöyük by integrating phytoliths and starch analyses on grinding implements found at three domestic contexts attributed to the Middle (6700-6500 cal BC) and Late (6500-6300 cal BC) period of occupation. Our results reveal a rich microbotanical assemblage that testifies the use of a wide range of geophytes and wild seasonal resources previously unknown at the site. Moreover, by comparing results from the microbotanical proxies and microscopic wear patterns on artefacts, we are also able to discern various plant processing practices the analysed artefacts were employed for. In sum, this work further expands our understanding of plants and crop processing activities performed by the inhabitants of Neolithic Çatalhöyük.
Macro-botanical evidence for plant use at Neolithic Catalhöyük south-central Anatolia, Turkey
Vegetation History and …, 2002
Analysis of charred plant macro-remains, including wood charcoals, cereals, seeds, tubers and fruits from the Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk has indicated complex patterns of plant resource use and exploitation in the Konya plain during the early Holocene. Evidence presented in this paper shows that settlement location was not dictated by proximity to high quality arable land and direct access to arboreal resources (firewood, timber, fruit producing species). A summary of the patterns observed in sample composition and species representation is outlined here together with preliminary interpretations of these results within their broader regional context.