The Non-Obsidian knapped stone assemblages from Çatalhöyük West (Central Anatolia, Early Chalcolithic): Contribution of a multi-scale approach at the question of chert sourcing

Abstract

In Central Anatolia, knapped stone assemblages from Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic sites are composed of around 90% obsidian and 10% or less of other raw material often classified under the general term “flint” or “chert”, hiding a much greater mineralogical diversity. Over the last 10 years, new PhD projects developed at Çatalhöyük (Konya Plain, central Anatolia, Turkey) demonstrate the major contribution of chert knapped stone studies to the discussion of local territory and group mobility and underline a complexity in raw materials procurement.This paper presents the preliminary results of a new study of the chert knapped stone assemblage from Çatalhöyük West. This study proposes a multi-scale approach using visual observations, techno-typological analysis and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to understand raw material procurement during Early Chalcolithic at Çatalhöyük West. FTIR method permits us to identify the different silica phases and to quantify the minor mineralogical component as carbonates. Thus in a context in which geological surveys are still rare and offer poor results, a “fringerprint” of the raw material of artefacts is obtained and yielded information concerning the geological formations of them permitting to guide future survey project dedicated to locate the actual sources.