Anatolia and the Balkans, Once Again – Ring‐shaped Idols From Western Asia and a Critical Reassessment of Some ‘Early Bronze Age’ Items From İki̇ztepe, Turkey

Abstract

The ring-shaped idol pendant, a distinctive type of Chalcolithic ritual (?) jewellery, is discussed with regard to its chronology in the Balkans in light of its occasional appearance in Asia Minor. Known from domestic contexts, funerals and hoards (?), none of the so far documented Anatolian pendants (clearly another aspect testifying to the well-known Anatolian-Balkan connections in the fourth millennium BC) can be dated later than the Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age I. This fact provides further evidence for the developing hypothesis that certain inventories from İkiztepe, the only prehistoric reference site on the Turkish Black Sea coast excavated on a large scale, need some profound chronological redating. Selected features and levels dated to 'Early Bronze Age II-III' at İkiztepe seem to be several centuries older than currently believed, which has implications for the overall chronological range of these pendants.Tracing cultural interaction between Asia Minor and the south-eastern European landscapes is one major focus of prehistoric research both in Anatolia and beyond the Bosporus. Thanks to numerous collaborations, a different light has been shed on the flux and exchange of technological innovations, the adaptation of settlement patterns, and the possible periods of larger-scale migration that forged the cultural and ideological outline of the Orient and the Occident on their boundary in prehistoric times (cf. Özdogan 1989;Nikolov 1993;Srejović 1993; Özdogan 1999). The 'transitional' periods in particular, or what we consider 'transitional' for lack of better understanding, have been extensively discussed: the dynamics of change in the Neolithic/ Chalcolithic (seventh/sixth millennium BC) together with the discussion of Late Chalcolithic features are the two issues which have been developed most by scholars over the past two decades (cf. Bankoff and Winter 1990;Parzinger 1992;Steadman 1995; Maran 1998 with further literature). This paper will contribute another on Balkan-Anatolian relations, by drawing attention to an item that has not been appreciated sufficiently so far: the ring-shaped idol.In a broader chronological dimension, these distinctive, tentatively 'ritual' items (assumed through their frequent association with elaborate burials and hoards; cf. below) might OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 26(1) 25-33 2007

MEGALO NISI GALANIS (6300–1800bc): CONSTRUCTING A CULTURAL SEQUENCE FOR THE NEOLITHIC OF WEST MACEDONIA, GREECE

“…Gold jewellery comparable to that from MNG is known from Anatolia (especially the Pontic region), continental Greece and the Balkans (see, e.g., Zimmermann 2007; Dimakopoulou 1998; Leusch et al 2015). The great majority of pieces derive from illicit excavations.…”

Αntler artifacts from the Neolithic lakeside settlement Anarghiri IXb, Western Macedonia, Greeece

“…In Greece ring shaped idols, shaped on various raw materials, have been found mainly in Thessaly (Theopetra Cave, Pefkakia, Visviki Magoula, Palioskala, Paliomafoules, Dimini, Mandra) and in Macedonia (Anarghiri IXb, Dispilio, Platamonas, Aravissos, Megalo Nisi Galanis, Paliampela, Makriyalos) and less in other regions (Strofila in Andros, Euripides Cave in Salamina, Ftelia in Mykonos) (Αlram-Stern and Duraer 2015;Sampson 2002;Televantou 2017;Toufexis 2016;Γραμμένος 1991;Καραμήτρου-Μεντεσίδη 2007a;Κυπαρρίση-Αποστολίκα 2001;Κωτσάκης και Halstead 2004;Μερούσης και Στεφανή 2006;Παππά 1998;Τσούντας 1908;Υφαντίδης 2018;Χρυσοστόμου 2016). In Bulgaria, ring idols have been found as burial offerings in the chalcolithic cemetery of Varna (Todorova 1999;Ivanov and Avramova 2000;Zimmerman 2007) and in Romania in the Cucuteni A settlement of Trusesti in Romania (Dergacev 2002). The two Anarghiri IXb antler ring idols (fig.9.112) are partially preserved but it can be inferred that these rings had almost the same morphology as the others that were shaped on other materials.…”