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Publication Open Access Aegean trees and timbers: dendrochronological survey of the island of Symi(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2020) Christopoulou, Anastasia; Gminska-Nowak, Barbara; Wazny, Tomasz; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Özarslan, Yasemin; Researcher; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Graduate School of Social Sciences and HumanitiesThe current study presents the results of the first dendrochronological survey performed over the East Aegean island of Symi. Research Highlights: Dendrochronological research of the East Aegean region is of paramount importance since dendrochronological data from the region, and especially the islands, are still limited. Background and Objectives: The main aim of the study is to explore the dendrochronological potential of the island, focusing on the dating of historical wood and buildings as well as dendroprovenancing. Materials and Methods: A total of 57 wood samples were collected from historical timber from windmills and architectural elements, including doors and warehouse planks, while 68 cores were collected from the three dominant tree species of the island—Cupressus sempervirens, Pinus brutia, and Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis—in an attempt to develop local reference chronologies that could be useful in dating historical timber Results: Of the historical timber, at least nine different species have been detected, with conifers representing the majority of the collected material. In total, 56% of the dendroarchaeological samples, belonging to four different species, were dated absolutely. According to cross-dating and dendroprovenancing results, Pinus nigra, Cedrus sp., and Quercus sp. represent timber imported from present-day Turkey while the fir samples collected from the windmills originate from Central Europe. The use of local timber is also highly probable although it could not be confirmed by the reference chronologies developed for the three dominant tree species of the island. Conclusions: The results of the study reveal the dendrochronological potential of the island from both dendroarchaeological and dendroecological perspectives. The finding that most of the wood was imported mainly from Turkey highlights the importance of timber trade with the Turkish mainland during the mid-18th and 19th centuries. Chronologies developed from living trees could be used in future studies for dating historical material while further research would increase our understanding of past timber trade and the island’s history.Publication Open Access Archaeogenetic analysis of Neolithic sheep from Anatolia suggests a complex demographic history since domestication(Nature Portfolio, 2021) Yurtman, Erinç; Özer, Onur; Yüncü, Eren; Dağtaş, Nihan Dilşad; Koptekin, Dilek; Çakan, Yasin Gökhan; Özkan, Mustafa; Akbaba, Ali; Kaptan, Damla; Atağ, Gözde; Vural, Kıvılcım Başak; Gündem, Can Yümni; Martin, Louise; Kılınç, Gülşah Merve; Ghalichi, Ayshin; Açan, Sinan Can; Yaka, Reyhan; Sağlıcan, Ekin; Lagerholm, Vendela Kempe; Krzewinska, Maja; Gunther, Torsten; Miranda, Pedro Morell; Pişkin, Evangelia; Sevketoğlu, Müge; Bilgin, C. Can; Atakuman, Ciğdem; Erdal, Yılmaz Selim; Sürer, Elif; Altınışık, N. Ezgi; Lenstra, Johannes A.; Yorulmaz, Sevgi; Abazari, Mohammad Foad; Hoseinzadeh, Javad; Baird, Douglas; Bıcakcı, Erhan; Çevik, Özlem; Gerritsen, Fokke; Gotherstrom, Anders; Somel, Mehmet; Togan, İnci; Özer, Füsun; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Özbal, Rana; Faculty Member; Department of Archeology and History of Art; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 55583Sheep were among the first domesticated animals, but their demographic history is little understood. Here we analyzed nuclear polymorphism and mitochondrial data (mtDNA) from ancient central and west Anatolian sheep dating from Epipaleolithic to late Neolithic, comparatively with modern-day breeds and central Asian Neolithic/Bronze Age sheep (OBI). Analyzing ancient nuclear data, we found that Anatolian Neolithic sheep (ANS) are genetically closest to present-day European breeds relative to Asian breeds, a conclusion supported by mtDNA haplogroup frequencies. In contrast, OBI showed higher genetic affinity to present-day Asian breeds. These results suggest that the east-west genetic structure observed in present-day breeds had already emerged by 6000 BCE, hinting at multiple sheep domestication episodes or early wild introgression in southwest Asia. Furthermore, we found that ANS are genetically distinct from all modern breeds. Our results suggest that European and Anatolian domestic sheep gene pools have been strongly remolded since the Neolithic.
Publication Metadata only Archaeology, assistance, and aggression along the Euphrates: reflections from Raqqa(Taylor & Francis, 2019) Meskell, Lynn; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Roosevelt, Christina Marie Luke; Faculty Member; Department of Archeology and History of Art; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 235112This paper traces the cultural missions and salvage archaeology programs along the Euphrates River around Raqqa from the 1950s onwards. We suggest that the varied investments from international expeditions, conservation programs, and technical assistance in Syria have an important, untold history that is relevant to recent developments and conflicts in northern Syria. We explore the intersecting practices of archaeology and assistance, illuminated by archives drawn from international agencies such as UNESCO, as well as companies, consultants, bureaucrats, and archaeologists. Our focus is upon foreign intervention around imperiled heritage, considering not only internal politics but also UNESCO's 1960s shift from fully funded campaigns to global appeals reliant on foreign governments, corporations, and universities. The outsourcing of salvage allowed specific patrons - national and international - to privilege particular pasts; and it is these histories and legacies that further require us to reassess the place of Raqqa in the current civil war.Publication Open Access Bioarchaeology of Neolithic Çatalhöyük reveals fundamental transitions in health, mobility, and lifestyle in early farmers(National Academy of Sciences, 2019) Department of Archeology and History of Art; Haddow, Scott Donald; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Graduate School of Social Sciences and HumanitiesThe transition from a human diet based exclusively on wild plants and animals to one involving dependence on domesticated plants and animals beginning 10,000 to 11,000 y ago in Southwest Asia set into motion a series of profound health, lifestyle, social, and economic changes affecting human populations throughout most of the world. However, the social, cultural, behavioral, and other factors surrounding health and lifestyle associated with the foraging-to-farming transition are vague, owing to an incomplete or poorly understood contextual archaeological record of living conditions. Bioarchaeological investigation of the extraordinary record of human remains and their context from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (7100–5950 cal BCE), a massive archaeological site in south-central Anatolia (Turkey), provides important perspectives on population dynamics, health outcomes, behavioral adaptations, interpersonal conflict, and a record of community resilience over the life of this single early farming settlement having the attributes of a protocity. Study of Çatalhöyük human biology reveals increasing costs to members of the settlement, including elevated exposure to disease and labor demands in response to community dependence on and production of domesticated plant carbohydrates, growing population size and density fueled by elevated fertility, and increasing stresses due to heightened workload and greater mobility required for caprine herding and other resource acquisition activities over the nearly 12 centuries of settlement occupation. These changes in life conditions foreshadow developments that would take place worldwide over the millennia following the abandonment of Neolithic Çatalhöyük, including health challenges, adaptive patterns, physical activity, and emerging social behaviors involving interpersonal violence.Publication Metadata only Cultural dynamics and ceramic resource use at Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age Troy, northwestern Turkey(Elsevier, 2013) Grave, Peter; Kealhofer, Lisa; Hnila, Pavol; Marsh, Ben; Thumm-Dograyan, Diane; Rigter, Wendy; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Aslan, Carolyn Chabot; Faculty Member; Department of Archeology and History of Art; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; N/AChanges in resource use over time can provide insight into technological choice and the extent of long-term stability in cultural practices. In this paper we re-evaluate the evidence for a marked demographic shift at the inception of the Early Iron Age at Troy by applying a robust macroscale analysis of changing ceramic resource use over the Late Bronze and Iron Age. We use a combination of new and legacy analytical datasets (NAA and XRF), from excavated ceramics, to evaluate the potential compositional range of local resources (based on comparisons with sediments from within a 10 km site radius). Results show a clear distinction between sediment-defined local and non-local ceramic compositional groups. Two discrete local ceramic resources have been previously identified and we confirm a third local resource for a major class of EIA handmade wares and cooking pots. This third source appears to derive from a residual resource on the Troy peninsula (rather than adjacent alluvial valleys). The presence of a group of large and heavy pithoi among the non-local groups raises questions about their regional or maritime origin. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Publication Metadata only Cup-marks and citadels: evidence for libation in 2nd-millennium B.C.E. western Anatolia(American Schools of Oriental Research, 2017) Department of Archeology and History of Art; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Roosevelt, Christina Marie Luke; Roosevelt, Christopher Havemeyer; Faculty Member; Faculty Member; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED) / Anadolu Medeniyetleri Araştırma Merkezi (ANAMED); College of Social Sciences and Humanities; College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 235112; 235115Shallow conical depressions hewn into bedrock, known as cup-marks, have been documented at and around 2nd-millennium B.C.E. citadels in the Marmara Lake basin of the Gediz Valley, western Anatolia. These rupestral features are among the best indications of the presence of libation ceremonies in the region and provide evidence that local communities shared in cultural traditions spread over western and central Anatolia. Libation rituals in the basin were probably intended to summon the divine for protection, stewardship of the dead, and/or assurance of agricultural prosperity through maintenance of stable environmental conditions. Periodic catastrophes, resulting from massive inundations and/or droughts typical to the region, weigh in favor of an environmental interpretation. We frame our discussion of the topography and archaeology of the Gediz Valley and the evidence for Middle to Late Bronze Age cup-marks within the context of historical geography and the archaeology of Anatolia.Publication Metadata only Dendroarchaeology in Greece – from humble beginnings to promising future(Elsevier Gmbh, 2024) Christopoulou, A.; Elzanowska, A.; Moody, J.; Ważny, T.; Tsakanika, Eleftheria; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Özarslan, Yasemin; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities; College of Social Sciences and HumanitiesIt was back in the early 1960 s when Bryant Bannister recognized the potential of dendrochronological research on wooden cultural heritage in Greece. More than two decades later, in the late 1980 s, P.I. Kuniholm and C.L. Striker started collecting and analyzing tree-ring series from several historical buildings, forests, and archeological sites in Greece and the surrounding Aegean region. Despite highly promising results, especially from the northern and western parts of the country, dendroarchaeology did not attract much attention in subsequent decades. It was only near the end of the 2000 s that dendroarchaeology was reintroduced: first in Crete through the Cretan Dendrochronology Project, and then by another independent project concerning the restoration of a historical building on the island of Euboea. These isolated case studies inspired a five-year systematic research program called the “Balkan-Aegean Dendrochronology Project: Tree-Ring Research for the Study of Southeast-European and East Mediterranean Civilizations” (BAD project). Dendroarchaeological surveys of historical buildings and archaeological sites were conducted throughout Greece with an emphasis on regions that had been previously ignored, such as the southern part of the country and the Aegean islands. Priority was given to buildings under restoration since in such cases original timbers were usually accessible and the architects, structural engineers, and archaeologists in charge were willing to collaborate. Our goals were not only to date timbers or provide information about the species used or the possible origin of the wood, but also to document the date, evolution, interventions and even the construction phases of historical buildings, as well as to help all those interested parties (academics, non-academics, researchers, professionals, local communities, etc.,) see the value of such information and how dendroarchaeology can contribute to the reconstruction of local history and the protection of cultural heritage. Tree-ring analysis led to the development of 18 chronologies from historical timbers and forests for six different species and different areas of the country from remote mountainous areas to small islands across the Aegean. The current dataset covers more than a thousand (1000) years and demonstrates the further potential of dendroarchaeology in the region.Publication Metadata only Don't abhor your neighbor for he is a pastoralist: the GIS-based modeling of the past human-environment interactions and landscape changes in the Wadi el-Hasa, west-central Jordan(Academic Press Ltd- Elsevier Science Ltd, 2012) Department of Archeology and History of Art; Arıkan, Bülent; Teaching Faculty; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED) / Anadolu Medeniyetleri Araştırma Merkezi (ANAMED); College of Social Sciences and Humanities; 29752Recently developed modules in GRASS GIS combine a wide variety of spatial data such as climatic, geological, and cultural in order to estimate how long-term interactions among these factors contribute to the evolution of natural environment and anthropogenic landscapes. Additionally, these modules allow users to visualize anthropogenic impacts of extensive agropastoralism on landscapes by subjecting the pre-defined catchment areas to repeated land use activities. The results emphasize the economic and ecological value of extensive agropastoralism in the marginal landscapes, which make anthropogenic activities more sustainable in the long-term. The results of this research are not only significant for its methodological contributions in anthropological archaeology but also have broader significance for researchers interested in interdisciplinary approaches in assessing the long-term dynamics of human-environment relations. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Publication Metadata only Early Byzantine fish consumption and trade revealed by archaeoichthyology and isotopic analysis at sagalassos, Turkey(Elsevier, 2024) Van Neer, Wim; Fuller, Benjamin T.; Fahy, Geraldine E.; De Cupere, Bea; Bouillon, Steven; Richards, Michael P.; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Uytterhoeven, Inge; Department of Archeology and History of Art; College of Social Sciences and HumanitiesWe document the dietary and economic role of fish at Sagalassos, a town in ancient Pisidia (southwest Turkey) for the Early Byzantine period (c. 550 – 700 CE) through a detailed analysis of animal bones and stable isotopes. The role of fish in the diet is quantified, for the first time, based on large samples of sieved remains retrieved during the excavation of a number of spaces in an urban residence. The table and kitchen refuse from the mansion shows that fish was a regular part of the diet. However, past isotopic work focused on human individuals excavated in the city's necropolises, slightly postdating the faunal remains examined, did not reflect this consumption of aquatic food. The studied assemblage comprises at least 12 different fish taxa, including five marine species, a Nilotic fish and six Anatolian freshwater species. Since the origin of the freshwater fishes could not be unambiguously determined by zoogeography alone, we analyzed carbon, nitrogen and sulphur stable isotope ratios in archaeological fish bones from Sagalassos as well as in bones of modern fish collected at different sites in Turkey. We show that most freshwater fish, i.e., all cyprinid species, came from Lake Eğirdir. No evidence was found for fish from the local Aksu River basin. The exact origin of pike, which account for 3% of all freshwater fish, could not be directly determined due to a shortage of modern comparative data. Using the data obtained on the provenance of the fish, the ancient trade routes possibly used in the Early Byzantine period are reconstructed using a combination of archaeological, numismatic and historical data on past commercial relations.Publication Metadata only From bowls to pots: the dairying revolution in northwest Turkey, a view from Barcın Höyük, 6600 to 6000 BCE(Public Library Science, 2024) Ozbal, Hadi; Thissen, Laurens; Gerritsen, Fokke; van den Bos, Elisha; Galik, Alfred; Doğan, Turhan; Cergel, Muhiddin; Şimşek, Adnan; Turkekul, Ayla; Department of Archeology and History of Art; Breu, Adria; Özbal, Rana; Department of Archeology and History of Art; ; College of Social Sciences and Humanities;Research has identified Northwest Turkey as a key region for the development of dairying in the seventh millennium BCE, yet little is known about how this practice began or evolved there. This research studies Barc and imath;n H and ouml;y and uuml;k, a site located in Bursa's Yeni and scedil;ehir Valley, which ranges chronologically from 6600 BCE, when the first evidence of settled life appears in the Marmara Region, to 6000 BCE, when Neolithic habitation at the site ceases. Using pottery sherds diagnostic by vessel category and type, this paper aims at identifying which ones may have been primarily used to store, process, or consume dairy products. Organic residue analysis of selected samples helped address the process of adoption and intensification of milk processing in this region over time. The lipid residue data discussed in this paper derive from 143 isotopic results subsampled from 173 organic residues obtained from 805 Neolithic potsherds and suggest that bowls and four-lugged pots may have been preferred containers for processing milk. The discovery of abundant milk residues even among the earliest ceramics indicates that the pioneer farmers arrived in the region already with the knowhow of dairying and milk processing. In fact, these skills and the reliance on secondary products may have given them one of the necessary tools to successfully venture into the unfarmed lands of Northwest Anatolia in the first place.