Made from Mud: functional categorization and analyses of Bronze Age earthen materials from Western Turkey

Abstract

This contribution presents the results of a pilot study of earthen materials excavated at the Middle to Late Bronze Age site of Kaymakçı, located in western Anatolia. It argues that systematic collection and analysis of fragmentary and difficult­ ‑to­ ‑identify earthen materials is challenging, yet crucial. These materials inform on activities of which traces are preserved in the archaeological record but which have been largely under‑researched. Flourishing studies on earthen findings foreground architectural materials, such as mudbrick, and well­ ‑preserved features and objects. However, earthen objects and architectural features were utilized more widely than in building architecture and only a small portion of excavated sites has good preservation. We, therefore, present the different categories of earthen materials discovered at Kaymakçı, specifically architecture, installations, and portable items. Our work demonstrates that by incorporating new knowledge of archaeological remains at the site and re­ ‑studying the earthen assemblage it is possible to gain a better understanding of the morphological, functional, and social aspects of this dataset.