Fossil hunting in the Neolithic: Shells from the Taurus Mountains at Çatalhöyük,Turkey

The Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Turkey contains thousands of mollusk shells, among them about 200 fossils. About 25 fossil gastropods and bivalvesoriginate in a Miocene fauna from the Mediterranean Tethys province, and are known from several localities in the Taurus Mountains, dating to the Miocene. The rest are scaphopods belonging to two species of Dentalium and dating to the Pliocene. The gastropods and bivalves were likely collected in the Karaman‐Mut Basin at adistance of about 50km from Çatalhöyük, while the scaphopods were brought from the Hatay Basin. Most of the fossil mollusks at the site were discovered in the upper phases, that is, late in the Pre‐Pottery Neolithic B sequence, and are associated with feasting activities. They may have been collected and brought to the site by the inhabitants as part of transhumance activities, or by visitors. © 2010Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Importance of Chert in Central Anatolia: Lessons from the Neolithic Assemblage at Çatalhöyük,Turkey

This paper is a presentation of three sources of artifact‐quality chert in Central Anatolia. A previous dearth of research focused on locating and characterizing such raw material sources has incorrectly colored our view of prehistoric economic practices. To remedy this situation, we have conducted a survey of various locales within Central Anatolia to test for the presence of artifact‐quality materials. We make use of Individual Attribute Analysis (IAA) and Energy Dispersive X‐ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis to discriminate among these materials, and suggest their use by the Neolithic occupants of Çatalhöyük through similar analyses of artifactual materials. We argue that the presence and characterization of these new sources allows us to better understand the intricacies of Neolithic practices by illustrating the ways in which the consumption of these materials was variably entwined with the exploitation of other resources, as well as embedded within social relations outside of Central Anatolia. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Geoarchaeology of Mudbricks in Architecture: A Methodological Study from Çatalhöyük,Turkey

This article provides a methodology for extracting social information through an analysis of mudbrick compositions, using a case study from Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Particle size analysis, loss on ignition, and magnetic susceptibility were used to examine variability in mudbrick recipe. The analysis revealed that neither magnetic susceptibility nor calcium carbonate were significantly altered through tempering. The results suggest that the greatest degree of compositional variability was a result of the manufacture process and not raw materials used in production. Mudbricks are products of deliberate human actions, similar to any other artifact assemblage, but have been long overlooked. Examining the technology involved with mudbrick manufacture highlights aspects of Neolithic social life through shared resources, production choices, and organization of labor. The analysis of mudbrick compositions considers how raw materials were used within and between groups of houses, represented in 1000 years of uninterrupted occupation at Çatalhöyük.     

Geoarchaeological Investigations of Midden‐Formation Processes in the Early to Late Ceramic Neolithic Levels at Çatalhöyük,Turkey ca. 8550–8370 cal BP

Anthropogenic midden deposits are remarkably well preserved at the Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük and provide significant archaeological information on the types and nature of activities occurring at the site. To decipher their complex stratigraphy and to investigate formation processes, a combination of geoarchaeological techniques was used. Deposits were investigated from the early ceramic to late Neolithic levels, targeting continuous sequences to examine high resolution and broader scale changes in deposition. Thin‐section micromorphology combined with targeted phytolith and geochemical analyses indicates they are composed of a diverse range of ashes and other charred and siliceous plant materials, with inputs of decayed plants and organic matter, fecal waste, and sedimentary aggregates, each with diverse depositional pathways. Activities identified include in situ burning, with a range of different fuel types that may be associated with different activities. The complexity and heterogeneity of the midden deposits, and thus the necessity of employing an integrated microstratigraphic approach is demonstrated, as a prerequisite for cultural and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.     

Identification and origin of bitumen in Neolithic artefacts from Demirköy Höyük (8100 BC): Comparison with oil seeps and crude oils from southeastern Turkey

Two ring-like artefacts from the aceramic Neolithic site of Demirköy Höyük in southeastern Turkey were analysed using geochemical techniques in order to determine whether they were prepared using a bitumen amalgam or not. The artefacts, dated 8100 BC, are early evidence of the innovative use of a petroleum-based material to prepare pieces of ornaments (beads, rings, etc.) for the elite of a Neolithic settlement. In order to trace the source of the presumed bitumen, two oil seeps, Boğazköy and Yeşilli, were sampled. To complete the genetic references, geochemical data on crude oils from the main oil fields from the area were compiled.Basic geochemical data show that bitumen is present in the artefacts. Sterane and terpane patterns, as well as carbon isotopic data on C₁₅₊ saturated and C₁₅₊ aromatic hydrocarbons, allowed us to conclude that the Demirköy Höyük bitumen and the Boğazköy oil seep were generated from a Silurian source rock. The detailed geochemical characteristics show, however, that the Demirköy Höyük bitumen does not correlate perfectly with the Boğazköy oil. This discrepancy suggests several explanations: the real bitumen source may be elsewhere in the vicinity and has not been discovered or was at the Boğazköy oil seep location but with slightly different properties in Neolithic times, or has disappeared. Another possibility is that the slight molecular differences are due to weathering effects, which affected the pristine bitumen within the archaeological sample.     

Earliest Triassic microbialites in Çürük Dag,southern Turkey: composition,sequences and controls on formation

The Permian–Triassic Boundary sequence at Çürük Dag, near Antalya, Turkey, begins with a major erosion surface interpreted as being the Late Permian lowstand, on which lies ca 0·4 m of grainstone/packstone composed of ooids, peloids and bioclasts. Most ooids are superficial coats on fragments of calcite crystals presumed to be eroded from crystal fans which are no longer present. The erosion surface is smooth and shows no evidence of dissolution; the grainstone/packstone contains intraclasts of the underlying wackestone, proving erosion. Next are 15 m of microbialite comprised of interbedded stromatolites, thrombolites, plus beds of planar limestones with small‐scale erosion. The latter comprise a complex interlayering of stromatolitic, thrombolitic and peloidal fabrics and precipitated crystal fans, which form a hybrid of microbialite and inorganic carbonate, together with bioclastic debris and micrite. The Çürük Dag microbialite sequence is repetitious; the lower part is more complex, with abundant stromatolites and hybrid microbialites. Some of the stromatolites are themselves hybrids composed of peloids and crystal fans. In the upper part of the sequence stromatolites are missing and the rock is composed mostly of recrystallized thrombolites that develop upwards from tabular to domal form. The domes form directly below small breaks in microbialite growth where very thin shelly micrites and grainstones/packstones are deposited. Repetition of facies may be controlled by sea‐level change; a deepening‐up model is consistent with the evidence. Stromatolites (with abundant crystal fans) dominate in shallower water, deepening through hybrid microbialite and interlayered sediments to thrombolite, probably no more than a few tens of metres deep, followed by breaks and renewal of microbialite growth. An interpretation of open marine fully oxygenated waters for microbialite growth is consistent with ongoing parallel work that has identified Bairdioid ostracods in the microbialite, a group known to be open marine. However, other researchers have proposed low oxygen conditions for Permian–Triassic boundary facies globally, so work continues to confirm whether the Çürük Dag microbialite grew in dysoxic or normally oxygenated conditions. The principal stimulus for post‐extinction microbialites is likely to be carbonate supersaturation of the oceans. The microbialite sequence is overlain by a further 25 m of grainstone/packstone (without microbialite), followed by Early Triassic shales. Overall, microbialites form a thin aggradational sequence during an overall relative sea‐level rise, consistent with global eustatic rise following the Late Permian lowstand.