An archaeobotanical investigation of plant use, crop husbandry and animal diet at early-mid Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Central Anatolia (original) (raw)
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Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology, 2012
In order to better understand how plants were procured and consumed at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, the site’s archaeobotany team examined some of the existing ethnographic examples of “traditional” (non-mechanised) farming in Turkey. The Kastamonu region of north Turkey is an area where some ’ancient’ wheats (einkorn and emmer) are cultivated in a more or less traditional way and on a small-scale. Fieldwork in this part of Turkey provided first-hand knowledge of some off- and on-site agricultural activities which could have been part of prehistoric village life, but also of ways in which modern technologies challenge non-mechanised farming*. Of particular interest were a) information gathered from field-owners on traditional techniques used to grow crops, b) observation of storage facilities and other ways of storing food in einkorn/emmer-growing villages, and c) observations of mills and other buildings/constructions/items relating to crop processing and food preparation (e.g. oil production); the paper presents obtained information relevant to these three key objectives.
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.
Journal of World Prehistory, 2015
The bioarchaeological record of human remains viewed in the context of ecology, subsistence, and living circumstances provides a fundamental source for documenting and interpreting the impact of plant and animal domestication in the late Pleistocene and early to middle Holocene. For Western Asia, Çatalhöyük (7100–5950 cal BC) in central Anatolia, presents a comprehensive and contextualized setting for interpreting living circumstances in this highly dynamic period of human history. This article provides an overview of the bioarchaeology of Çatalhöyük in order to characterize patterns of life conditions at the community level, addressing the question, What were the implications of domestication and agricultural intensification, increasing sedentism, and population growth for health and lifestyle in this early farming community? This study employs demography, biogeochemistry, biodistance analysis, biomechanics, growth and development, and paleopathology in order to identify and interpret spatial and temporal patterns of health and lifestyle under circumstances of rapid population growth and aggregation and changing patterns of acquiring food and other resources. The record suggests that the rapid growth in population size was fueled by increased fertility and birthrate. Although the household was likely the focus of economic activity, our analysis suggests that individuals interred in houses were not necessarily biologically related. Predictably, the community employed resource extraction practices involving increased mobility. Although oral and skeletal indicators suggest some evidence of compromised health (e.g. elevated subadult infection, dental caries), growth and development of juveniles and adult body size and stature indicate adjustments to local circumstances.
Scientific Reports, 2021
Southeast Anatolia is home to some of the earliest and most spectacular Neolithic sites associated with the beginning of cultivation and herding in the Old World. In this article we present new archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data from Gusir Höyük, an aceramic Neolithic habitation dating to the 12th-late 11th millennia cal BP. Our results show selective use of legume crop progenitors and nuts during the earlier part of this period, followed by the management of cereal and legume crop progenitors from the mid-11th millennium cal BP. This contrasts with data available from other Anatolian habitations indicating broad spectrum plant use with low crop progenitor inputs. Early aceramic Neolithic Anatolian plant and animal exploitation strategies were site-specific, reflecting distinctive identities and culinary choices rather than environmental constraints. A multivariate evaluation of wheat grain metrics alongside botanical and radiometric data indicate that early wheat domestication in southeast Anatolia occurred at a faster pace than predicted by current hypotheses for a protracted transition to farming in Southwest Asia. We argue that this phenomenon is best explained as a corollary of the increasing importance of cereals in feasting at southeast Anatolian sites characterised by increasing architectural complexity and elaboration during the 11th millennium cal BP.
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.
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
Archaeobotanical Studies at Sumaki Höyük (Batman, Turkey) in 2014
Eurasian Journal of Forest Science
Our study focuses on the archaeobotanical analyses of 2014 season of the Sumaki Höyük, which is located east of Beşiri town in Batman province. It was excavated within the framework of Ilısu Dam and HES project by the Batman Museum at the charge of Dr. Aslı Erim Özdoğan. Sumaki Höyük yields Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (LPPNB) and Early Pottery Neolithic, namely Pre-Proto Hassuna and Proto Hassuna phases, dated to 7310-7040 cal BC-6480-6400 cal BC. The uppermost phase is a small farm or a district belongs to Abbasid / Hamdani Periods dated to cal. 770-890 AD. Most of the 2014 botanical samples are collected from the phases dated between cal. 7030-6580 BC and cal. 6830-6470 BC. The archaeobotanical remains were obtained by flotation of 348 lt soil of 45 samples that were collected from different loci at Sumaki Höyük. The remains are preserved either by carbonizing or mineralizing. Two domesticated families Poaceae and Fabaceae are predominant. The earliest domesticated form of wheat Triticum dicoccon (Schrank) Schübl. grains, as well as pieces of spikelet forks, are determined. Among the Fabaceae family Lens culinaris Medik. (lentil), Vicia ervilia (L.) Willld. (bitter vetch), Pisum sativum L. (garden pea) and Cicer arietinum L. (chickpea) species were vegetal source of nutrition of seminomadic inhabitants of Sumaki Höyük. The existence of Linum L. (Linen) might be the indicator of weaving and/or oil consumption.