ANADOLU PLATOSU GEÇ NEOLİTİK ÇANAK ÇÖMLEĞİNİN YENİDEN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ: ÇATALHÖYÜK'TEN MEVCUT KANITLAR

Abstract

Research at has identified that from the middle levels, around 6500 BC onwards, the Catalhoyuk of VI-V changed significantly from the point of view of economy, society and material culture. This paper investigates and interprets evidence, from both the Mellaart and Hodder period excavations, of changes in pottery technology for the Late Neolithic occupation of Catalhoyuk, while at the same time comparing these developments with those in other areas of the Anatolian plateau; western and northwestern Anatolia. According to ceramic studies at Catalhoyuk, the Late Tradition period, the last of the three phases of pottery devel­opment, corresponds with the Late Neolithic period in the Anatolian plateau. From an interregional perspective, the forms of the Late Neolithic ceramics are more distinctive than raw material or fabric groups. The pottery of lived its most active period during the Middle Tradition, particularly in levels VI-IV. As well as the basic vessel forms a number of features, such as S-profiled developed forms, ring and footed bases, basket handles and incised decoration, specific to the Late Tradition are tried. These entered the repertoire in very small numbers from the Middle Tradition onwards. Although during the Late Tradition period, cooking vessels/jars reduced significantly in number while many sizes of bowl showed an increase, classic Dark Gritty Ware holemouth jars of the Middle Tradition are still the most domi­nant jar group in the Late Tradition period. Light Local Ware red slipped, S-profiled developed vessels increased from the previous period at Catalhoyuk, while from the second half of the 7th millennium BC onwards this pottery tradition came to be the most common and typical one in a wide region including the Lakes District, Beysehir-Sugla basin, northwest Anatolia, west Anatolia, and the Aegean shores. Meanwhile although potters included certain of the elements ceramic tradition seen during the Late Tradition, they seem to be more involved in their own tradition. A large portion of the Late Neolithic pottery assemblage at the settlement is made up of straight-profiled vessel forms. There were some innovations in the repertoire such as developed S-proiles, thinned everted rims and well-adhering slip in various tones of red as well as thick and large diameter vessels, but the quantities were very limited. Among the thousands of sherds at Catalhoyuk, long cylindrical and/or outturned necked jars, and carinated bowls that are seen as being typical in this period are represented by only a couple of examples. The vertically perforated cylindrical lug tradition that influenced nearly the whole of the Anatolian Plateau and the western Anatolia during this period did not impact at all. From the point of view of varieties of decoration and rare forms is one of the richest settlements, though they are represented in small numbers of examples. Even though many aspects of the wider ceramic tradition are reminiscent of Catalhoyuk's tradition, the ceramic as­semblages of the settlements in the Beysehir-Sugla basin and northwest Anatolia acquired many elements from the tradition of the Lakes District. However, holemouth jars, vertically perforated lugs, unperforated hooked lugs and crescent knobs are a shared feature of the pottery industry of with Erbaba and northwest Anatolia. The limited number of S-profiled developed, long necked, carinated, and painted vessels, perforated cylindrical lugs in the pottery at is a display of the lack of establishment of an influence seen in the ceramic tradition of a widespread geographical area in the second half of the 7th millennium BC. Meanwhile at other settlements such as Erbaba the forms continue to develop, moreover, during the Late Neolithic period in the Nigde-Aksaray region, Beysehir-Sugla basin, the Lakes District, northwest and west Anatolia pottery and other material culture elements continue to increase and accelerate in development. Particularly many symbolic and narrative elements of appear in the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic ceramics of Nigde-Aksaray settlements such as Tepecik-Ciftlik and Koskhoyuk. Likewise, the material culture similarities between and Beysehir-Sugla basin and northwestern Anatolian communities are very conspicuous. These afinities between and its neigbours may have been of relevance in the dispersal of a part of this crowded metropolitan population from the middle of Konya plain at the end of the Neolithic. Apparently, data ob­tained from pottery studies is a source of evidence to support a theory of the spread of farming populations from the core regions of the Neolithic, including Catalhoyuk, into northwestern Anatolia and Europe.