Patterns of Iron Age interaction in central Anatolia: three sites in Yozgat province

Abstract

The cultural and political changes that happened in Anatolia after the collapse of the Hittite Empire have only recently been recognised as a significant, but as yet unexplained, phenomenon. Here we present the results of analyses of ceramics from three sites south and southwest of the present-day town of Sorgun – Çadır Höyük, Kerkenes Dağ and Tilkigediği Tepe – to identity how regional groups within the Hittite core area regrouped in the aftermath of the collapse. Ceramic analyses provide a means to assess both cultural continuity and the scale and nature of interaction in a region. Results suggest some evidence of cultural continuity at Çadır Höyük from the Late Bronze Age into the Middle Iron Age, and highlight the variable local responses in the aftermath of Hittite collapse.

Production requires water: Material remains of the hydrosocial cycle in an ancient Anatolian city

“…However, because all of the ceramics sampled for the NAA study came from the Palace Complex and the Cappadocia Gate, the reason for the larger number of imports could simply be because the vessels sampled came from areas where elites had access to imported goods. The one cooking pot that was analyzed was locally produced (Kealhofer et al , 87), confirming that potters made vessels using local raw materials in the city. We have not yet located local ceramic workshops, but future research aims to excavate sectors where workshops might be located.…”

“…The large number of vessels for handling liquids at Kerkenes is not uncommon for the region or the time period. In many archaeological surveys and excavations of Central Anatolian Iron Age sites, jars, pitchers, and jugs constitute a large proportion of the ceramic containers recovered (Grave et al ; Kealhofer et al ). In Tumulus MM at the Phrygian site of Gordion, a royal feast was left for the dead, including many pouring and serving vessels (McGovern ).…”

“…The rocky, granitic terrain erodes into sediments on slopes and in the alluvial fans along waterways. Sediment particles range in size from gravel to sand fragments, while finer silts and clays are available near water drainage areas and in the Sorgun valley below the site, where there are abandoned clay pits in the Eocene clastics that cover granitic bedrock (Kealhofer et al , 75). The abundance of clay lenses in the valley provides the opportunity to produce ceramics locally.…”

“…Neutron activation analysis (NAA) of select ceramic containers from Kerkenes indicated that most vessels analyzed were imported from outside the region, especially when compared to local sediments (Kealhofer et al ). Kealhofer and her colleagues argue that the ceramics were essentially containers and that the contents of the containers, rather than the vessels themselves, were what held social value for the consumers (Kealhofer et al , 90). We know Kerkenes acted as a trade center because valuable raw materials from outside the region, such as ivory (Dusinberre ) and copper alloy (Lehner ), were found in the city.…”

The Archaeology of Achaemenid Power in Regional Western Anatolia

“…To address the second issue, we analyse the pattern of production and distribution of Achaemenid-style ceramics thought to be associated with politically motivated feasting. This study is part of the Anatolian Iron Age project (AIA), a multi-institutional international collaborative research project to understand the pattern of Iron Age interaction across western Anatolia (Grave et al 2009;2014;Kealhofer et al 2010;.…”