Metal consumption of a middle-range society in the late 3rd millennium BC Anatolia: A new socioeconomic approach

Abstract

This article discusses the socioeconomic dynamics of metal consumption patterns in the 3rd millennium BC north-central Anatolian site of Resuloğlu (Çorum, Turkey). The socio-political structure of the site confirms a nonstate, socially complex community with a range of hierarchical and heterarchical expressions. This study presents the results of archaeological, compositional (n = 307), and isotopic (n = 45) analyses of the complete metal collection of Resuloğlu uncovered through two decades of systematic excavations with a well-established chronology. The elemental compositions of metal objects obtained with pXRF combined with lead isotope analysis denote a high diversity in alloy types and sources. The compositional analysis highlights the consumption of various binary and ternary alloys for different object types. The lead isotope ratios confirm the use of both in proximity to metallic sources and access to macro-regional trade extending from the Black Sea coast towards the Taurus Mountain range. The site appears as a part of linkages whereby goods and valuables were exchanged within decentralized networks of middle-range societies. The diversity in metal consumption suggests group-driven choices and networks rather than top-down control of social elites. This allows us to confront the conventional approach to the role of metals as the primary motivator for social complexity and inequality in all parts of the 3rd millennium BC Anatolia.

A Model of Salt Production and Consumption Patterns in Bronze Age Anatolia

“…Salt, an invisible actor, may have been part of this circulation. The availability of local sources may have prompted the communities to exploit more salt for trade and exchange among the socio economic activities of the third-millennium non-state societies of northern-central Anatolia (Dardeniz & Yıldırım, 2022) (Figure 5). This assessment of salt consumption in northern-central Anatolia in the third millennium BC implies an immense circulation.…”

Smelting Metals, Enacting Rituals. The Interplay of Religious Symbolisms and Metallurgical Practices in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean

“…Far from representing solely a powerful means of social status' representation, these often embodied pivotal aspects related to the negotiation of ethnic affiliation and identity, economic strategies, cultural changes, and systems of economic and ritual value 1 . The sophisticated metalwork known from EBA funerary contexts in central, north, and southeastern Anatolia well represents this point (Frangipane et al 2001;Dardeniz and Yıldırım 2022). On the other hand, the phenomenon of the so-called 'smiths' burials' is another element bridging the funerary and metallurgical spheres that has caught scholars' attention.…”

Identification of Haplogroups and Molecular Markers in Skeletal Samples Excavated from the Ancient City of Resuloğlu (Uğurludağ, Çorum)

“…According to surface finds in the southeast, north and northwest of the cemetery, it is dated to the last period of the Early Bronze Age (EBA III) (Atamtürk & Duyar, 2009). Carbon 14 samples taken from different parts of the settlement yielded dates of 2500/2400-2100/2050 BC (Dardeniz & Yıldırım, 2022).…”