BARCIN HÖYÜK NEOLİTİK DÖNEM KEMİK KAŞIKLARI

Abstract

Bone tools constitute an indispensable group of tools and materials for Prehistoric people in particular. The typolog­ical diversity and quantity of bone tools increased during the Neolithic Period. One of the best examples of this diver­sity are the numerous and various types of bone tools obtainedfrom Layer VI of Barcin Hoyuk, dated to the Neolithic Period (cal. 6000-6600 BC) and to Fikirtepe and Pre-Fikirtepe cultures. Spoons in different sizes constitute the most striking group among them. The spoons, generally made from the metapodial bone of cattle, are composed of a round, oval or poplar leaf-shaped bowl and a circular-sectioned shaft, with a few exceptions. Given the typological characteristics of the tools concerned and my macro-observations, I think the spoons were used to cook food, to eat, and in various kinds of kitchen work. Spoons are among the few tools which continued to be used with different functions after various parts of them had broken off. In this context, the spoons whose bowl tips had broken off were converted into spatulas and the broken bowls into new tools like belt hooks, whereas pins were made from the shafts and provided for reuse. At Barcin Hoyuk, bone spoons were generally obtained from various deposits, platforms, pits, and - although much more scarcely - from graves. Analogues of the bone spoons from Barcin Hoyuk, which offer a comprehensive collection, are known from Catalhoyuk in Central Anatolia, from other Neolithic settlements in the Marmara Region, and from Early Neolithic centers in the Balkans.