Unveiling Neolithic Economic Behavior: A Novel Approach to Chert Procurement at Çukuriçi Höyük, Western Anatolia

Abstract

The expansion of the Neolithic way of life triggered the most profound changes in peoples’ socioeconomic behaviors, including how critical resources for everyday life were managed. Recent research spearheaded by ancient DNA analysis has greatly contributed to our understanding of the main direction of Neolithisation spreading from western Anatolia into central Europe. Due to the diverse processes involved in Neolithisation, which resulted in a high diversity of regional and local phenomena, the underlying mechanisms of these developments are still largely unexplored. One of these mechanisms is economic behavior and resource management. Neolithic economic behavior is the result of social processes involving the physical actions of the procurement, processing, use, discard, and distribution of raw materials as well as finished products for utilitarian needs and to create and maintain social relations. Within this continuum, the key for tracing meaningful behavioral patterns is the identification of raw material procurement. Since stone tools are among the most ubiquitous and stable finds at Neolithic sites, they are ideally suited for this endeavor. Here, we present the results of a case study from the Neolithic site of Çukuriçi Höyük in western Anatolia tracing lithic raw material procurement. We employ a novel approach using geochemical provenance analyses coupled with quantitative technological and econometric methods. The key finding of this diachronic study covering almost 700 years revealed patterns of socioeconomic dynamics undetectable through conventional analytical approaches. We demonstrate that technological concepts fluctuate over time and are subject to innovations, whereas raw material procurement remains a stable element.