New tin mines and production sites near Kültepe in Turkey: a third-millennium BC highland production model

Yener, K. Aslıhan; Kulakoğlu, Fikri; Yazgan, Evren; Kontani, Ryoichi; Hayakawa, Yuichi S.; Lehner, Joseph W.; Dardeniz, Gonca; Öztürk, Güzel; Johnson, Michael L.; Kaptan, Ergun; Hacar, Abdullah

doi:10.15184/aqy.2015.30

Cited by 37 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…While Bronze Age tin mining is discussed for the sites of Kestel (Figure .2; Yener, Özbal, Kaptan, Pehlidotvan, & Goodway, ) and Hisarcık (Figure .3; Yener et al, ) in Anatolia, evidence for the exploitation of smaller tin deposits in Eastern Europe like Mount Cer (Serbia; Figure .5) is limited (Huska et al, ). Recent investigations at mining sites in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan (Garner, ), and Iran (Nezafati, Pernicka, & Momenzadeh, ), as well as the still contested reading of Assyrian cuneiforms texts from Karum Kanesh (Klengel, ), Mari (Joannes, ) and Tell al‐Rimah (Faist, ; Reiter, ), may indicate substantial tin supply in the Near East from eastern sources during the second millennium BC.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for Bronze Age and Medieval tin placer mining in the Erzgebirge mountains, Saxony (Germany)

et al. 2019

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Tin is an essential raw material both for the copper–tin alloys developed during the Early Bronze Age and for the casting of tableware in the Medieval period. Secondary geological deposits in the form of placers (cassiterite) provide easily accessible sources but have often been reworked several times during land‐use history. In fact, evidence for the earliest phase of tin mining during the Bronze Age has not yet been confirmed for any area in Europe, stimulating an ongoing debate on this issue. For this study, a broad range of methods (sedimentology, pedology, palynology, anthracology, OSL/14C‐dating, and micromorphology) was applied both within the extraction zone of placer mining and the downstream alluvial sediments at Schellerhau site in the upper eastern Erzgebirge (Germany). The results indicate that the earliest local removal of topsoil and processing of cassiterite‐bearing weathered granite occurred already in the early second millennium BC, thus coinciding with the early and middle Bronze Age period. Placer mining resumed in this area during the Medieval period, probably as early as the 13th century AD. A peak of alluvial sedimentation during the mid‐15th century AD is probably related to the acquisition of this region by the Elector of Saxony and the subsequent promotion of mining.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for Bronze Age and Medieval tin placer mining in the Erzgebirge mountains, Saxony (Germany)

et al. 2019

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“…Since a lot of archaeological sites are found and investigated in the area (Kontani et al, 2014;Yener et al, 2015), the assessments of the relationships between DAD and surrounding paleoenvironments including human activities will provide further insights for the potential disaster and its mitigation in the study area, such as floods, volcanism, landslides, and fault-induced earthquakes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of debris avalanche deposits inferred from source volume estimate and hummock morphology around Mt. Erciyes, central Turkey

Hayakawa

Yoshida

Obanawa³

et al. 2018

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Debris avalanches caused by volcano sector collapse often form characteristic depositional landforms such as hummocks. Sedimentological and geomorphological analyses of debris avalanche deposits (DADs) are crucial to clarify the size, mechanisms, and emplacement of debris avalanches. We describe the morphology of hummocks on the northeastern flank of Mt. Erciyes in Kayseri, central Turkey, likely formed in the late Pleistocene. Using a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) and the structurefrom-motion and multi-view stereo (SfM-MVS) photogrammetry, we obtained high-definition digital elevation model (DEM) and orthorectified images of the hummocks to investigate their geometric features. We estimated the source volume of the DAD by reconstructing the topography of the volcano edifice using a satellite-based DEM. We examined the topographic cross sections based on the slopes around the scar regarded as remnant topography. Spatial distribution of hummocks is anomalously concentrated at a certain distance from the source, unlike those that follow the distance-size relationship. The high-definition land surface data by RPAS and SfM revealed that many of the hummocks are aligned toward the flow direction of the debris avalanche, suggesting that the extensional regime of the debris avalanche was dominant. However, some displaced hummocks were also found, indicating that the compressional regime of the flow contributed to the formation of hummocks. These indicate that the flow and emplacement of the avalanche were constrained by the topography. The existing caldera wall forced the initial eastward flow to move northward, and the north-side caldera wall forced the flow into the narrow and steepened outlet valley where the sliding debris underwent a compressional regime, and out into the unconfined terrain where the debris was most likely emplaced on an extensional regime. Also, the estimated volume of 12-15 × 10 8 m 3 gives a mean thickness of 60-75 m, which is much deeper than the reported cases of other DADs. This suggests that the debris avalanche must have flowed further downstream and beyond the current DAD extent. Assessments of the DAD incorporating the topographic constraints can provide further insights into the risk and mitigation of potential disasters in the study area.

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“…At present, we have the Early Bronze Age site of Göltepe-Kestel that provides us with a body of evidence pointing to the mining and processing of tin ore within a defined cultural context (Yener, 2000;Özbal, 1987, Yener andVandiver, 1993). New reseach on the Hisarc›k province of Kayseri also provided promising evidence for the Early Bronze Age tin resources of Anatolia (Yener et al, 2015). The corollary that links settlements with the relatively isolated mining sites is crucial to the understanding of the metallurgical industry in the ancient past.…”

Section: Late Chalcolithic Beginningsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Tin bronze tends to appear on the central Anatolian plateau, in southern Anatolia and along the Mediterranean coast. The Early Bronze Age tin mine at Kestel and/or Hisarc›k could have provided tin metal for a good portion of this region (Yener and Vandiver, 1993;Yener et al, 2015). Of course arsenical copper and tin bronze artifacts crossed these regional boundaries as a result of trade and human migration.…”

Section: Early Bronze Age Metallurgymentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological and Geological Concepts on the Topic of Ancient Mining

Jesus¹,

Dardeniz²

2015

Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration

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Geological and archaeological research on ancient mining and metallurgy are actually targeting the same goals: understanding the nature and value of a mining operation. Geologists are intent on locating and qualifying ores and minerals for future use, whereas archaeologists strive to link ores to relevant historic and prehistoric metal artifacts and activities. This article discusses research into ancient Anatolian metallurgy by underscoring the overlap between geological and archeological practices. The work of archaeologists and geologists can be mutually beneficial through a close collaboration on the collection and analysis of field data. Their accumulated and combined knowledge would accelerate the progress towards placing ancient mining activities in a chronological and meaningful context.

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New tin mines and production sites near Kültepe in Turkey: a third-millennium BC highland production model

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 37 publications

References 24 publications

Evidence for Bronze Age and Medieval tin placer mining in the Erzgebirge mountains, Saxony (Germany)

Evidence for Bronze Age and Medieval tin placer mining in the Erzgebirge mountains, Saxony (Germany)

Characteristics of debris avalanche deposits inferred from source volume estimate and hummock morphology around Mt. Erciyes, central Turkey

Archaeological and Geological Concepts on the Topic of Ancient Mining

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