Kaletepe Deresi 3 (Turkey): Archaeological evidence for early human settlement in Central Anatolia

• Published in: Journal of human evolution 2008, Vol.54 (1), p.99-111
• Main Authors: Slimak, Ludovic, Kuhn, Steven L., Roche, Hélène, Mouralis, Damase, Buitenhuis, Hijlke, Balkan-Atlı, Nur, Binder, Didier, Kuzucuoğlu, Catherine, Guillou, Hervé
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Archaeology; Biological Evolution; Forensic anthropology; Fossils; Geological Phenomena; Geology; Glass; Hominidae; Human settlements; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Lithic technology; Lower Paleolithic; Metal industry; Methodology and general studies; Middle Paleolithic; Migration; Obsidian; Paleoanthropology; Paleolithic Age; Paleontology; Prehistory; Prehistory and protohistory; Raw material exploitation; Technological evolution; Technology; Tephrochronology; Turkey; Typology, technology and attribute analysis
• ISSN: 0047-2484; 1095-8606
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.07.004

Located in the Central Anatolian Volcanic Province, Kaletepe Deresi 3 was discovered in the summer of 2000 and has been under investigation since that time. Volcanic activity in the region generated a number of obsidian intrusions that have attracted humans to the area throughout prehistory. The stratigraphic sequence at Kaletepe Deresi 3, more than 7 m in depth, presents a series of archaeological horizons representing the Lower and Middle Paleolithic. The site contains the longest open-air Paleolithic sequence excavated in Turkey, as well as the first in situ Acheulean industry documented in Anatolia. Tephras in the upper Middle Paleolithic horizons and the rhyolithic bedrock bracket the timespan represented at Kaletepe Deresi 3. The lithic industry at the site illustrates a wide range of technological behaviors and documents changes in raw-material exploitation and artifact manufacture through the Lower and Middle Paleolithic.