Geoarchaeological research at Barcın Höyük: Implications for the initial Neolithic occupation of northwest Anatolia

Groenhuijzen, Mark R.; Kluiving, Sjoerd; Gerritsen, Fokke; Künzel, Michiel

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.014

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…(Çilingiroğlu, Çevik, & Çilingiroğlu, ). Other famous sites of comparable age are Ulucak Höyük ≈20 km east of Izmir (Çilingiroğlu et al., ), Çukuriçi Höyük and Arvalya Höyük near Selçuk/Ephesos (Horejs, ; Stock et al., ) and Barcın Höyük (Groenhuijzen, Kluiving, Gerrtsen, & Künzel, ). All of these mounds are located in fertile plains in proximity to the coast and a mountainous hinterland, and are thus located in strategically important positions.…”

Section: Regional Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bronze Age settlement mounds on the Colchian plain at the Black Sea coast of Georgia: A geoarchaeological perspective

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Situated between the Enguri and Khobistskali rivers, more than 30 settlement mounds (locally named Dikhagudzuba) provide evidence for a relatively densely populated landscape in the coastal lowlands of western Georgia during the Bronze Age. Compared to older mounds in eastern Georgia and other regions, these mounds differ not only in age but also in their average size and spatial distribution. Based on the interpretation of nine sediment cores, drone survey and structure‐from‐motion photogrammetry techniques, our study aims at (i) establishing a chronostratigraphic framework for the mounds based on 14C dating; (ii) reconstructing possible phases and gaps in human occupation; (iii) determining potential source areas of the mounds’ construction material; and (iv) identifying the environmental conditions at the time of their use. The three investigated mounds are similar in dimension and stratigraphy. Anthropogenic layers could clearly be identified and separated from the natural alluvial deposits below. According to the 14C age estimates, the mounds date to the first half of the 2nd millennium B.C.; this confirms the archaeological interpretation of their Bronze Age origin. While only one construction phase is assumed for two of the mounds, stratigraphic analysis suggests a successive enlargement of a third mound over at least 470 years. Paleoenvironmental conditions in the vicinity of the mounds were dominated by swampy, fluvial (channel) to alluvial (overbank) processes, as attested by river‐bank deposits and floodplain alluvium.

show abstract

Section: Regional Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bronze Age settlement mounds on the Colchian plain at the Black Sea coast of Georgia: A geoarchaeological perspective

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1-2). This observation is widespread and has been made for Neolithic sites in western Macedonia (Lespez, 2008;Karkanas et al, 2011;Kouli and Dermitzakis 2008;Kouli, 2015;Gkouma et Karkanas, 2016), Northwestern Anatolia (Boyer et al, 2006;Groenhuijzen et al, 2015;Stock et al, 2015) and the Balkan region generally (Filipovic et al, 2014). On the contrary, the defensive character of the Dikili Tash site was not a priority because more than half of the Late Neolithic sites on the Philippi-Drama plain are flat, unprotected sites located on the gentle slopes of the piedmont (Lespez, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…On the contrary, the defensive character of the Dikili Tash site was not a priority because more than half of the Late Neolithic sites on the Philippi-Drama plain are flat, unprotected sites located on the gentle slopes of the piedmont (Lespez, 2008). As observed at Dikili Tash, the inhabitants chose to settle only at low elevations between 1-5 m above the alluvial zone (Lespez et al, 2013;Groenhuijzen et al, 2015;Stock et al, 2015). This position provided safety against water level fluctuations and flood flows of torrential streams (Renfrew et al, 1986;Filipovic et al, 2014;Schneider et al, 2014;Stock et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human-shaped landscape history in NE Greece. A palaeoenvironmental perspective

Glais

Lespez

Vannière

et al. 2017

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Following palaeobotanical, sedimentological and archaeological research recently conducted on and around the tell of Dikili Tash (Eastern Macedonia, Greece), we present continuous palaeoenvironmental data on this multi-period site. This study combines pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs), macro-charcoal and sedimentological analyses that are compared with archaeological data from the Middle Neolithic to Antiquity period. It provides an overview of the local environment near the former Tenaghi-Philippon marsh and a comprehensive view of human impact on vegetation cover in lowlands. As early as ca. 4550 cal BC, an initial phase of change in vegetation cover, has been recorded. This period, in the Eastern Mediterranean region, is one of intensifying human activities and social interactions into the Balkan region, which resulting in the foundation and transformation of early Late Neolithic societies. Although the palynological record does not show the crops species grown, the intensive clearance resulted in the increase of open herbaceous landscapes with anthropogenic indicators. This, as well as the increase of macro-charcoal values strongly supports a more or less continuously shaping of the landscape by human induced fires. New tree species that also became established at this time include Olea and Castanea.. The presence of three main formations can be argued from the Early Neolithic to Antiquity: (1) riparian vegetation, (2) oak woodlands and (3) open vegetation in the form of wooded grasslands. Beyond the responses to climate changes, the vegetation composition reflects a regionally diversified land management system as indicated by a greater diversity in cultivated or harvested plants. The study reveals two phases of decline in land use directly on the edge of the marsh, although indicators of anthropogenic disturbance of the vegetation never entirely disappear during these periods between 3900-3300 cal BC at the transition from the Late Neolithic (LNII) to the Bronze Age and from 1650-800 cal BC when we observe a reorganization of the settlement on the higher slopes. In contrast, four periods are characterized by an increase in land use extension and intensification: Late Neolithic (4500-3900 cal BC); Early to Middle Bronze Age (3000-1600 cal BC), the Iron Age (1000-800 cal BC) and Antiquity during the Macedonian (ca. 357-148 cal BC) and Roman periods (148 cal BC-cal AD 395).

show abstract

“…in Fig. 3 ; Gerritsen et al 2013a , b ; Groenhuijzen et al 2015 ). It is the oldest Neolithic site in the region, making it of particular interest regarding the spread of farming from the regions of origin (southeast and central Anatolia) to northwest Anatolia (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

How geoarchaeology and landscape archaeology contribute to niche construction theory (NCT)

Kluiving

2015

Water Hist

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper a review is given of examples of geoarchaeological and landscape archaeological research from four locations throughout Europe. Case-studies from the North Sea coastal zone in the Netherlands and the Eastern Mediterranean are presented to illustrate the potential contribution of geoarchaeology and landscape archaeology to niche construction theory (NCT) studies. Typical landscapes as coast lines, lake shores and rivers as example of small and large scale use of the natural landscape and/or topography are discussed with implications for NCT, mainly over the Holocene period. Through environmental reconstruction, we provide relative dates for starting points when humans (a) were altering their own selective environment as an inceptive change, or (b) responded to a (deteriorated) selective environment in a counteractive change. Geoarchaeology and landscape archaeology valuable contribution to NCT studies is the focus of the disciplines on landscape gradients. NCT phase transitions from inceptive to counteractive changes are proposed as useful alternative in the debate about the onset of the Anthropocene.

show abstract

Geoarchaeological research at Barcın Höyük: Implications for the initial Neolithic occupation of northwest Anatolia

Cited by 14 publications

References 32 publications

Bronze Age settlement mounds on the Colchian plain at the Black Sea coast of Georgia: A geoarchaeological perspective

Bronze Age settlement mounds on the Colchian plain at the Black Sea coast of Georgia: A geoarchaeological perspective

Human-shaped landscape history in NE Greece. A palaeoenvironmental perspective

How geoarchaeology and landscape archaeology contribute to niche construction theory (NCT)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About