The Cultural Development of Western Anatolia in the Third and Second Millennia BC and its Relationship with Migration Theories

Abstract

Western Anatolia is fairly rich in gold and silver deposits. Important changes occur in the cultural and possibly political structure of western Anatolia during the late EB III (2200-1900 BC), or in other words, during the Transitional Period into the Middle Bronze Age (MBA): the Aegean coastline was in more intense relations with the Aegean World, while inland northwestern Anatolia culturally and most probably politically aligned with central Anatolia. The position of western Anatolian lands of the 2nd millennium BC roughly coincides with the distribution areas of 'cultural regions' and sometimes 'pottery groups' which most probably indirectly reflect political structuring. The cultural/political formation of the west Anatolian Early Bronze Age (EBA) continued uninterrupted through the 2nd millennium BC. The 'western Anatolian lands' mentioned in the Hittite texts correspond to a new political identity that the cultural/political entities of the EBA gained during the MBA. Keywords: Aegean coastline; Early Bronze Age (EBA); Hittite texts; Middle Bronze Age (MBA); pottery groups; western Anatolia