From prehistoric shores: Marine shell ornaments, landscape, interaction and the Neolithic transition in Anatolia

Abstract

As one of the most portable of artefacts, marine shells used as personal ornaments help archaeologists define the relationships of prehistoric communities with landscapes. The transition from mobile hunter-gatherer to largely sedentary lifeways that lies at the centre of the Neolithic process transformed human-landscape relationships. In this article we collate marine and freshwater shell ornament distribution data and multiple variables in ornament choice and production for the Epipalaeolithic-Neolithic transition period in Anatolia. This produces a diachronic perspective on changes in human interactions with the landscape through the Neolithic transition process. We compare this with existing interpretations of the western spread of Neolithic populations and lifeways to determine both the sustainability of marine resource procurement through the sedentarization process and investigate multi-directional interactions and influences through time.