Between Anatolia and the Aegean: Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic Foragers of the Karaburun Peninsula

The Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic periods of Turkey are poorly understood. The discovery of two sites (Kocaman and Kayadibi) in the Karaburun Peninsula in coastal western Turkey opens a whole new window into our understanding of these periods in Turkey and beyond by providing the first solid eviden...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of field archaeology 2020-10, Vol.45 (7), p.479-497
Main Authors: Çilingiroğlu, Çiler, Kaczanowska, Malgorzata, Kozłowski, Janusz K., Dinçer, Berkay, Çakırlar, Canan, Turan, Didem
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Izmir
lithics
Neolithization
prehistoric Anatolia
Turkey
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Summary:The Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic periods of Turkey are poorly understood. The discovery of two sites (Kocaman and Kayadibi) in the Karaburun Peninsula in coastal western Turkey opens a whole new window into our understanding of these periods in Turkey and beyond by providing the first solid evidence for pre-Neolithic foragers. This article presents typological and technological properties of the lithics from these two open-air sites in terms of raw material selection, tool types, and technological preferences and discusses the results in relation to contemporary Anatolian, Aegean, southwest Asian, and southeast European industries. Typological and technological analyses suggest that Kocaman lithics were part of the eastern Mediterranean and northern Aegean Epipalaeolithic traditions; the Kayadibi lithics, on the other hand, correspond well with the Aegean Mesolithic assemblages. The lack of any affinity between the Kayadibi and Initial Neolithic lithic assemblages from western Turkey has important implications about the Neolithization process of western Turkey and the Aegean.
ISSN:0093-4690
2042-4582
DOI:10.1080/00934690.2020.1786929