COLOUR SYMBOLISM IN THE PREHISTORIC ARCHITECTURE OF CENTRAL ANATOLIA AND RAMAN SPECTROSCOPIC INVESTIGATION OF RED OCHRE IN CHALCOLITHIC ÇATALHÖYÜK

Summary The use of red ochre in the prehistoric architecture of Central Anatolia has long been recognized. Scholars have often argued that its use in architecture has a symbolic role, and that it has been used in sacred parts of ritual buildings. This paper examines red‐painted buildings in the preh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oxford journal of archaeology 2011-02, Vol.30 (1), p.1-11
Main Authors: ERDOGU, BURCIN, ULUBEY, AYDIN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ancient civilizations of the near east
Archaeology
Architecture
Art and archaeology
Asia
Building materials
Human settlements
Mesopotamia and Near East
Minor Asia and Hittites
Near East
Neolithic and chalcolithic
Pigments
Praehistorical epochs
Prehistoric dwellings
Prehistory and protohistory
Ritual
Turkey
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Summary:Summary The use of red ochre in the prehistoric architecture of Central Anatolia has long been recognized. Scholars have often argued that its use in architecture has a symbolic role, and that it has been used in sacred parts of ritual buildings. This paper examines red‐painted buildings in the prehistoric settlements of Central Anatolia. Recently, a building with red‐coloured plastered walls and floors was found in Chalcolithic Çatalhöyük West. The technique of Raman Spectroscopy has been applied to identify the red pigment and results show that it is red ochre, which contains predominantly hematite, Fe2O3.
ISSN:0262-5253
1468-0092
DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0092.2010.00356.x