Academic literature on the topic 'Neolithic site; Turkey'

This chapter presents a first overview of zooarchaeological research in western Turkey, a vast region between the Anatolian Plateau and the Aegean Sea. The reason for this overview is twofold. First, although zooarchaeological research began early on within the history of archaeology in the region, almost all zooarchaeological studies have been site-based, masking their potential contribution to the cultural and environmental narrative of the region and beyond. Second, recent zooarchaeological research has shown that the region carries path-breaking potential for elucidating patterns of human–

An important city in the Roman and early Christian period, Philippi exists today only as an archaeological site. The impressive remains of this once flourishing city on the Via Egnatia, the important Roman highway in the area, are frequently visited by modern pilgrims retracing the steps of the Apostle Paul, who started a Christian church in the city. The ruins of ancient Philippi are easy to find. The archaeological site is located in the region of Macedonia, alongside highway 12 between Kavala and Drama, next to the village of Krenides. Settlement in the area occurred as early as the Middle Neolithic period (ca. 5000 B.C.E.). In 360 B.C.E., Greek colonists from the island of Thasos, led by the exiled Athenian politician Kallistratos, founded the colony of Krenides on the site of what later became Philippi. The colony at Krenides (which means “spring,” because of the abundant streams in the area) provided the Thasians with access to the rich resources of the area, particularly its silver and gold mines. Threatened by the Thracian tribes in the area, the colonists at Krenides asked Philip II of Macedonia for military assistance in 356 B.C.E. Eager to gain control of the area, and particularly its rich resources, Philip conquered the city and renamed it Philippi in his honor. Philip fortified the city with new walls, increased the city’s population with Macedonian mercenaries, and extracted large amounts of gold and silver from the mines in the area. Although little is known of the city during the Hellenistic period, this was apparently a prosperous time for Philippi. In the 2nd century B.C.E., the Romans occupied Macedonia and turned the area into a Roman province. During the Roman period, the most i important event associated with Philippi took place. In 42 B.C.E. the forces of Octavian (later known as Augustus) and Mark Antony defeated the armies of Brutus and Cassius (the murderers of Julius Caesar) on the plains just outside the west wall of Philippi. This battle brought to an end the Roman Republic.

Tarsus, best known as the home of the Apostle Paul, was the principal city of the eastern Cilician plain. A city renowned in antiquity as a center of culture and learning, Tarsus was visited by such figures as Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Cleopatra. Recent excavations have uncovered more remains of the city from Hellenistic and Roman times, including a paved, colonnaded street. Tarsus, the capital of the ancient province of Cilicia, is located near the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Situated today 10 miles inland from the sea, Tarsus served as a port city because the Cydnus River (today the Tarsus Çayï) passed through Tarsus on its way to the sea. The river was navigable by ships from the Mediterranean coast to Tarsus. Lake Rhegma, a lagoon near the Mediterranean coast into which the river flowed, served as the harbor for Tarsus. During the 6th century C.E., Emperor Justinian moved the course of the Cydnus River to the east of Tarsus, while leaving several minor branches of the river to flow through the city. The city of Tarsus belonged to the region of Asia Minor known as Cilicia. Ancient Cilicia was composed of two parts, Cilicia Pedias (“flat” or “smooth” Cilicia) and Cilicia Trachaei (“rough” Cilicia). Cilicia Pedias was a fertile plain in the eastern part of the region, whereas Cilicia Trachaei was a rugged, heavily forested mountainous region in the western part, dominated by the Taurus Mountains. Tarsus, the major city of Cilicia Pedias, was located just south of the Cilician Gates, the main pass through the Taurus Mountains. Through this pass ran the major road connecting Syria to Asia Minor, thus providing Tarsus access to trade and travel over land as well as over the Mediterranean. The earliest settlement at Tarsus was likely at Gözlü Kule, a tumulus on the southeast side of modern Tarsus. Excavations under the direction of Hetty Goldman of Princeton University before and immediately after World War II at the tumulus discovered evidence that the site was occupied from Neolithic to Islamic times. At least as early as the 3rd millennium B.C.E., a fortified town existed at the site of Tarsus.

By the 5th millennium BC people in the Middle East were dependent for their meat on four domestic ungulates: sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs, all considerably smaller than their wild ancestors (Bökönyi 1977; Uerpmann 1979; Flannery, K.V. 1983; Laffer 1983; Meadow 1983; Stampfli 1983; Grigson 1989; Ducos 1993; Horwitz & Tchernov 1998; Vigne & Buitenhuis 1999; Peters et al. 2000; Ervynck et al. 2001; and many others). It is uncertain whether equids had been domesticated at this date, but their remains are so few in most sites of the 5th, 4th, and 3rd millennia that they can be discounted in any discussion relating to the domestic economy. On the small number of sites where their remains are plentiful they are thought to be derived from wild onagers or wild asses (Uerpmann 1986). In these three millennia the numerical proportion of pig remains compared with those of other domestic artiodactyls varies from site to site. In view of the later pig prohibitions of Islam and Judaism it is of particular interest to know, for the prehistory of the area, when and where pigs were present or absent, and if absent whether this can already be accounted for by any developing social or cultural attitude, in the millennia before the establishment of these religions, or whether it must be explained by simpler economic or environmental factors. All dates in the present work are based on uncalibrated radiocarbon years BC, simply because even when radiocarbon dates for the sites are available (which is by no means always the case), many have not been published in calibrated form. The period studied in the present work starts with the later pottery cultures of the 5th millennium BC which are usually designated as Early Chalcolithic (Late Halaf, Amuq E, and Ubaid 2 and 3) although in the southern Levant most authorities refer to the contemporary Wadi Rabah culture as the Late Neolithic. The 4th millennium is the period of the Chalcolithic (or Late Chalcolithic), typically the Ghassoul-Beersheva culture of the southern Levant and the Uruk and Late Ubaid periods in Mesopotamia, northern Syria, and south-eastern Turkey.