Comments on the Early/Middle Iron Age Chronology of Lake Van Basin

Köroğlu, Kemalettin; Konyar, Erkan

doi:10.2143/anes.45.0.2033167

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The existence of both inhumation and cremation in the same grave and only the last body kept its original position creating a pile of older skeletons at the back of the grave are also characteristics of the Urartian graves 25 . 23 It suggested that, cemeteries of Yoncatepe, Karagündüz and Dilkaya must be belong to the Urartian period based on two bronze fibulae found in the Yoncatepe grave M3, an arrowhead from the grave M6 (see Konyar 2005;Köroğlu/Konyar 2005;Köroğlu/Konyar 2008). Published material of Yoncatepe contains a large number of pinkish buff ware and the lesser number of red slipped ware found just like in Karagündüz and Dilkaya which is typical EIA pottery of the region as pointed out by Sevin (2014: 359-360).…”

Section: Discussion-summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Early Iron Age Cemeteries of the Lake Van Basin: An Overview of Burial Tradition of Pre-Urartians

Özfirat¹

2018

TUBAAR

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The aim of this article is to evaluation of the burial tradition of pre-Urartians in the basin of Lake Van. After the Middle Bronze Age, which had a strong pastoral character, and towards the end of the Late Bronze Age, new pottery, architectural and metallurgical traditions, new settlement pattern and new burial customs emerged in the highland of eastern Anatolia in the Early Iron Age. One of the most remarkable changes is the settlement system, great numbers of fortresses and their cemeteries in the highlands and foothills have been recorded in eastern Anatolia which is also the case southern Caucasia and northwestern Iran. A ruling elite together with a hierarchical social structure and the steps towards the sedentary life started to form around the socioeconomic centers, a lifeway between pastoralism and sedentary had taken place in the whole region. Lake Van Basin is the most investigated area, excavations at cemeteries of Ernis (Ünseli) Karagündüz, Yoncatepe, Dilkaya, and a great number of cemeteries which is mainly connected with the highland fortresses found in the survey represent the Early Iron Age burial tradition in the basin. The graves and stelae from Hakkari are quite remarkable finds of the pre-Urartian elite, or the rulers of Uruatri and Nairi lands. This paper also emphasizes the role of Early Iron Age investigations in the basin which is important for the foundation period of the Urartian Kingdom as well as understanding the local polities of pre-Urartians.

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Section: Discussion-summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Early Iron Age Cemeteries of the Lake Van Basin: An Overview of Burial Tradition of Pre-Urartians

Özfirat¹

2018

TUBAAR

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“…The high proportion of iron relative to bronze in these tombs has led some to suggest an earlier adoption in eastern Anatolia relative to the South Caucasus (Çevik, 2008:10). However, the chronology of these sites is contentious, as some have dated them to the Urartian period (c. 900-600 BC) (Köruoğlu and Konyar, 2008). In present day Armenia and Eastern Georgia, iron artifacts are reported from late 2nd millennium graves (Abramishvili, 1957;Khanzadian, 1995:67), but radiocarbon dates are lacking.…”

Section: Iron Innovation In the Caucasusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Direct evidence for the co-manufacturing of early iron and copper-alloy artifacts in the Caucasus

Erb‐Satullo

Jachvliani

Kakhiani

et al. 2020

Journal of Archaeological Science

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Models for iron innovation in Eurasia are predicated on understanding the relationship between the bronze and iron industries. In eastern Anatolia, South Caucasus, and Iran, the absence of scientific analyses of metallurgical debris has obscured the relative chronology, spatial organization, and economic context of early iron and contemporary copper-alloy industries.Excavation and surface survey at Mtsvane Gora, a fortified hilltop site close to major polymetallic ore sources in the Lesser Caucasus range, recovered metallurgical debris dating to the 8th-6th centuries BC. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy and wavelength dispersive spectrometry revealed evidence for both iron and copper-alloy metallurgy, including smithing and alloying. Metal particles trapped within clear iron smithing slags were contaminated with copper, arsenic, and tin, suggesting that iron and copper-alloy working took place in the same hearths. The discovery of a small fragment of unprocessed material consisting of pyrite and jarosite, minerals typical of major nearby polymetallic ore deposits, links the secondary smithing and alloying at Mtsvane Gora with nearby mining activities, though the nature of those connections remains unclear. While the earliest iron in the region probably predates the Mtsvane Gora assemblage, the remains date to a period when iron use was still expanding, and they are at present the earliest analytically confirmed, radiocarbon-dated iron metallurgical debris in the Caucasus. The remains are therefore significant for understanding the spread of iron innovation eastward from Anatolia and the Levant. When considered in light of evidence from other Near Eastern sites, the results support a model for innovation in which early iron manufacturing was at least partially integrated with the copper-alloy metallurgical economy.

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“…In eastern Anatolia, graves at Karagündüz are notable for the preponderance of iron artifacts over those made from copper alloys. While radiocarbon assays provide a 12th-century BC date for some of the bones, the ceramic chronology has been questioned by some scholars, who see similarities with pottery found at later sites (Çevik 2008;Köruoğlu 2003;Köruoğlu and Konyar 2008;Sagona and Zimansky 2009, p. 319;Sevin 2003, p. 195). McConchie (2004, pp.…”

Section: Anatoliamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Innovation and Adoption of Iron in the Ancient Near East

Erb‐Satullo

2019

J Archaeol Res

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This review synthesizes field research, textual analysis, and archaeometric data to evaluate different explanations for the spread of iron in the ancient Near East. Current evidence supports an Anatolian origin for extractive iron metallurgy on a limited scale sometime in the early 2nd millennium BC. However, the first major expansion of iron, both in Anatolia and across the wider Near East, occurred in the late second and early first millennium BC. Explanations that place iron adoption within its broader social context are favored over those that consider material or geological properties in isolation. A recurring theme is the importance of comparative analysis, both geographically and between the iron and bronze economies, to explore how social, political, and economic conditions affected adoption patterns.

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Comments on the Early/Middle Iron Age Chronology of Lake Van Basin

Cited by 12 publications

References 14 publications

The Early Iron Age Cemeteries of the Lake Van Basin: An Overview of Burial Tradition of Pre-Urartians

The Early Iron Age Cemeteries of the Lake Van Basin: An Overview of Burial Tradition of Pre-Urartians

Direct evidence for the co-manufacturing of early iron and copper-alloy artifacts in the Caucasus

The Innovation and Adoption of Iron in the Ancient Near East

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