A tale of two assemblages: Early Neolithic manufacture and use of beads in the Konya plain

Baysal, Emma L.

doi:10.1017/s006615461300001x

Cited by 30 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…This, together with the large number of grinding and abrasive tools present throughout the occupation of Ç atalhöyük, suggests that the required toolkit, experience and technological know-how were available on site and could have been easily incorporated into the chaîne opératoire of flint daggers. Polished stone ornaments and tools have also been recovered from the earlier sites of Pınarbaşı and Boncuklu Höyük located nearby on the Konya Plain (Baysal 2013).…”

Section: Production Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aesthetic, Social, and Material Networks: A Perspective from the Flint Daggers at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

Nazaroff¹,

Tsoraki²,

Vasić³

2016

CAJ

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The Neolithic period bore witness to the emergence of novel engagements between humans and the material world. In the Middle East, these interactions were important components of broader social and ritual developments which came about with the rise of sedentary communities. In this paper, we examine the significance of these processes as represented by elaborate flint daggers at the site of Çatalhöyük in Central Anatolia. Detailed analyses of the manufacture, use and deposition of these items indicate that they were central nodes in multiple social and material relations, and functioned as durable facets of Çatalhöyük's artisanal social fabric. Their presence at the apogee of Çatalhöyük's ritual florescence further identifies their importance to particular segments of the community. Studying the intentionality of dagger production and use, we conclude, allows us to comment on the particulars of material milieu in shaping the social networks necessary for the development of large-scale sedentary communities.

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Section: Production Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aesthetic, Social, and Material Networks: A Perspective from the Flint Daggers at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

Nazaroff¹,

Tsoraki²,

Vasić³

2016

CAJ

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“…A second class of objects-those that were used in the action of drilling or perforating (Carter & Milic, 2013: 448)would have been used for puncturing hides and drilling beads. Beads of stone, shell, clay, and bone were an important component of personal ornamentation and identities at Çatalhöyük and the earlier sites of Boncuklu Höyük, and Pınarbasi (Hamilton, 2005;Baysal, 2013). There is evidence for the manufacture of beads within each of the three communities, including two houses at Çatalhöyük (Buildings 18 and 75), which also include a number of chert drills in association with other bead processing materials (Vasić, personal communication 2013).…”

Section: The Use Of the Sınanlı Locale In Space And Timementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Beads were another category of object embedded in the development of personal identities manifest through specific symbolic attributes. At the nearby site of Boncuklu Höyük, Baysal (2013) has made a convincing case for the role of beads in the expression of self among many of the site's occupants, citing evidence for their curation and placement in specific burial contexts. Given the need to sustain the networks producing such objects, it is understandable that there would be an emphasis on insuring the presence of at least one of the three chert resources examined here.…”

Section: Resource Redundancy and Social Practice At çAtalhöyükmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience and Redundance: Resource Networks and the Neolithic Chert Economy at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

Nazaroff

Baysal

Çiftçi³

et al. 2015

Eur. j. archaeol.

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The polycentric nature of Neolithic developments in the Middle East has prompted several discussions related to the processes driving regional diversification in the emergence of agglomerate societies. Archaeologists have recognized how diverse social, environmental, and material landscapes shaped various communities, resulting in a heterogenous Neolithic world. In this paper, we use portable x-ray fluorescence analysis to determine the use of different chert resources at the site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, and question how their consumption affected, and was affected by, different social and material practices enacted within the community. We adopt a network perspective to examine the range of behaviours that consumed particular resources, and trace how alterations in these networks impacted the social fabric of Çatalhöyük. Ultimately, we conclude that different investments involved in the consumption of each resource either promoted or restricted their use through time. A more complete picture of Neolithic life, we suggest, takes note of the varied relationships that communities developed with nearby social and environmental landscapes, including nuances in the ways in which resources were incorporated into different facets of each community.

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“…The location of piercings in shells can provide information on the placement of the shell bead within the finished adornment (e.g., a necklace; Baysal, 2013; Stiner, Kuhn & Güleç, 2013). Indications of human manipulation can also be detected, such as striations indicating rotary drilling by a tool (Zilhão et al, 2010), notches close to the perforation that might indicate the presence of a suspension system (e.g., cord) and the direction the traction was exerted (Cristiani, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic review of animal predation creating pierced shells: implications for the archaeological record of the Old World

Kubicka¹,

Rosin

Tryjanowski

et al. 2017

PeerJ

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BackgroundThe shells of molluscs survive well in many sedimentary contexts and yield information about the diet of prehistoric humans. They also yield evidence of symbolic behaviours through their use as beads for body adornments. Researchers often analyse the location of perforations in shells to make judgements about their use as symbolic objects (e.g., beads), the assumption being that holes attributable to deliberate human behaviour are more likely to exhibit low variability in their anatomical locations, while holes attributable to natural processes yield more random perforations. However, there are non-anthropogenic factors that can cause perforations in shells and these may not be random. The aim of the study is compare the variation in holes in shells from archaeological sites from the Old World with the variation of holes in shells pierced by mollusc predators.MethodsThree hundred and sixteen scientific papers were retrieved from online databases by using keywords, (e.g., ‘shell beads’; ‘pierced shells’; ‘drilling predators’); 79 of these publications enabled us to conduct a systematic review to qualitatively assess the location of the holes in the shells described in the published articles. In turn, 54 publications were used to assess the location of the holes in the shells made by non-human predators.ResultsAlmost all archaeological sites described shells with holes in a variety of anatomical locations. High variation of hole-placement was found within the same species from the same site, as well as among sites. These results contrast with research on predatory molluscs, which tend to be more specific in where they attacked their prey. Gastropod and bivalve predators choose similar hole locations to humans.DiscussionBased on figures in the analysed articles, variation in hole-location on pierced shells from archaeological sites was similar to variation in the placement of holes created by non-human animals. Importantly, we found that some predators choose similar hole locations to humans. We discuss these findings and identify factors researchers might want to consider when interpreting shells recovered from archaeological contexts.

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A tale of two assemblages: Early Neolithic manufacture and use of beads in the Konya plain

Cited by 30 publications

References 6 publications

Aesthetic, Social, and Material Networks: A Perspective from the Flint Daggers at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

Aesthetic, Social, and Material Networks: A Perspective from the Flint Daggers at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

Resilience and Redundance: Resource Networks and the Neolithic Chert Economy at Çatalhöyük, Turkey

A systematic review of animal predation creating pierced shells: implications for the archaeological record of the Old World

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