The Bor Plain, occupying a former Pleistocene lake basin in Central Anatolia, contains a notable concentration of Neolithic and Chalcolithic mound settlements, yet the environmental factors affecting site location and the drivers of the marked changes in settlement patterns between periods have not previously been examined through systematic spatial modelling. This study integrates GIS-based analysis of six environmental variables such as elevation, slope, aspect, distance to streams, soil type, and bedrock geology with an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) predictive model trained on 76 known mound settlements to map settlement preferences across the Neolithic, Late Neolithic-Early Chalcolithic (LN-EC), and Chalcolithic periods and to identify potential locations of undiscovered sites across a 9247 km(2) study area. Viewshed analysis of six elevated settlements was additionally conducted to assess the visual control exerted by hilltop sites over the surrounding landscape and road network. The results reveal a chronologically coherent shift from Neolithic and LN-EC communities concentrated on low-lying alluvial lake margins, where fertile soils and permanent water supported agricultural economies, to Chalcolithic settlements clustered at higher elevations on volcanic and pyroclastic terrain in the southern plain - a pattern interpreted as reflecting mid-Holocene lake desiccation, aridification, renewed volcanic activity, and a shift toward pastoralism. The ANN model demonstrated robust predictive performance, with the majority of known settlements falling within high suitability zones; the resulting probability map covers approximately 35% of the study area, providing a spatially targeted framework to guide future archaeological survey. Providing a spatially targeted framework to guide future archaeological survey. Potential archaeological sites correspond to the areas among Kemerhisar, Ulukiscla, and & Ccedil;iftehan in the south, and among & Ccedil;ukurkuyu, Altunhisar, and Nigde in the north of the Bor Plain.

Archaeological investigation at G & uuml;vercinkayas & imath; and K & ouml;& scedil;k H & ouml;y & uuml;k during the 1990s and early 2000s revealed extensive data illuminating the evolution of economic and socio-political organization in Middle Chalcolithic communities in Central Anatolia and at the foothills of the North-Central Taurus Mountains. Both settlements display evidence of early craft specialization, standardized ceramic production, and significant changes in the subsistence economy signaling a shift toward greater social stratification and role delineation. To better understand this shift and its potential drivers, the authors have recently conducted pedestrian surveys in the North-Central Taurus highlands. These efforts have gathered important data regarding Middle Chalcolithic settlement patterns, including systematic expansion into highland regions, increasingly specialized economic patterns, and the potential development of more hierarchical socio-political organization. Current results suggest that Middle Chalcolithic trends in socio-political and economic complexity observed at G & uuml;vercinkayas & imath; and K & ouml;& scedil;k H & ouml;y & uuml;k extended over much of western Cappadocia in a more organized manner than previously considered.

During archaeological survey carried out in 2017-2021 in the highlands of the northern Central Taurus, a new permanent settlement (Hac & imath;bekirli-Karayer) and a number of seasonal sites dated to the Neolithic Period were discovered. This area is characterized by important geological and geographical features, fertile pastures, polymetallic ores and natural passages connecting Central Anatolia and Cilicia (and also the Levant) that may have affected prehistoric cultural development. Particularly in the context of the circulation of obsidian into Southwest Asia during the Epipaleolithic and Neolithic periods and its effects on the Neolithization of Central Anatolia, several questions have been raised for the region. The permanent Neolithic site of Hac & imath;bekirli-Karayer, located in one of the primary natural passes connecting Central Anatolia and Cilicia, and other sites in the highlands may provide information about these questions.

Kapadokya’da mesleki uzmanlaşma Paleolitiğin son evrelerinden itibaren görülmektedir. Hammadde kaynaklarına ulaşılabilirlik nedeniyle gelişen bu sıradışı erken dönem örnekler dışında iş bölümü ve tam zamanlı uzmanlaşmanın, ekonomik ve politik örgütlenmede görülen gelişmelerle bağlantılı olarak, aslında İlk Tunç Çağı’nda oluştuğu anlaşılmaktadır. Anadolu genelinde elde edilmiş çanak çömlek, maden ve mimari buluntular, bu dönemde uzmanlaşmış üretimin ne derecede kurumsallaştığını göstermektedir. Son yıllarda yapılan etnografik ve etnoarkeolojik çalışmalar, arkeolojik materyallerin üretim sürecinde meydana gelen izlerden yola çıkarak, buluntuların ait oldukları uzmanlaşmış üretim modelleri hakkında yeni yorumlar yapılmasına imkan sağlamaktadır. Bu çalışmada, değişik uzman örgütlenme modellerini yansıtabilecek üç farklı çanak çömlek türü değerlendirilmekte, etnografik ve etnoarkeolojik çalışmalarda yapılan yeni çözümlemeler ve tanımlar ışığında, İlk Tunç Çağı’nın uzman üretim örgütlenmesinin niteliğine ilişkin yorumlar yapılmaktadır.

In Cappadocia, craft specialization has been observed from the end of the Paleolithic. Apart from such extraordinary early examples, which probably developed due to the local availability of raw materials, it is understood that division of labor and full-time specialization actually occurred during the Early Bronze Age, in connection with developments in economic and political organization. In this period, pottery, metal and architectural findings throughout Anatolia show that specialized production had become more institutionalized than ever. In this study, three distinctive pottery ware groups are evaluated that reflect the specialized production models of the period. In the analysis of these ceramics, it is understood that each group reflects different production models. In this study, the nature of the organization of specialized production in the Early Bronze Age will be interpreted in light of new definitions and analysis in ethnographic and ethnoarchaeological studies.

This study presents new information and interpretation of pot marks applied specifically on “Anatolian Metallic Ware” that are dated to the 3rd millennium BC, and distributed in the southern Konya Plain and the southwestern region of Cappadocia. While many specialists have studied this ware group, also referred to as “Darboğaz” vessels, detailed studies have not been conducted on the pot marks themselves. The finds from the Göltepe excavations, when combined with other research data and ethnographic/ethnoarchaeological records, have helped to classify and interpret this signage. According to our preliminary results, there is no relationship between the pot marks and vessel type, sub-ware group, or ownership. Taking into account the general characteristics of the Anatolian EBA and the production techniques of Anatolian Metallic Ware, we discuss whether the pot marks reflect quality control over the production process and serve interregional connectivity.

2017 yılında başlanılan Niğde İli Dağlık Alan Yüzey Araştırması’nın 2018-2019 yılları çalışmalarında Orta Toroslar’ın Bor Ovası’na ulaşan kuzey etekleri araştırılmıştır. Bu alanda yapılan incelemelerde projenin öncelikli amaçları arasında yer alan Kalkolitik ve İlk Tunç Çağı’na ilişkin önemli bulgular elde edilmiştir. Bunlardan en dikkat çekeni Orta Anadolu’nun geleneksel ince ve açkılı mal gruplarından farklılık gösteren ve literatürde Coba Kasesi olarak adlandırılan, çanak-çömlekte ilk kez seri üretime işaret eden kaba, açık renkli ve tarazlı/scraped yüzeye sahip kaseler ile Saman Yüzlü Sıkma Boyunlu Çömleklerin tespit edilmesidir. Benzer buluntular Ubaid yayılımı ile ilişkili olarak daha çok Kuzey Mezopotamya, Doğu Anadolu ve Kuzey Suriye yerleşmelerinde, üç kısımlı/bölümlü (tripartite) yapılar, labret’ler, token’lar, mühür ve mühür baskıları ile birlikte değişen sosyo-ekonomik ve politik örgütlenmenin işaretleri olarak Geç Ubaid evresinden itibaren görülmektedir. Orta Anadolu’nun güneyinde, giderek artan sayıda arkeolojik alanda tespit edilen Ubaid-ilişkili (?) buluntular, Orta Anadolu’nun yanı sıra Yakın Doğu Kalkolitiğine ilişkin mevcut değerlendirme ve yorumları büyük oranda değiştirecek/geliştirecek niteliktedir. Bu çalışmada, Orta Anadolu’nun Geç Kalkolitiğe geçiş sürecine ilişkin, Orta Torosların kuzey sınırından elde edilen yeni bulgular paylaşılacak ve bu bulguların Yakın Doğu Kalkolitiği için ne anlama geldiği tartışılacaktır.

Recent archaeological survey in south-western Cappadocia reveals Middle Chalcolithic expansion into the highlands, where there is no known evidence of earlier permanent settlement.

1980’li yillarin sonlarinda A. Yener tarafindan Orta Toroslarin kuzeyinde baslatilan arkeolojik arastirma, sadece Anadolu’nun degil, tum Yakindogu’nun 3. binyil madenciligine iliskin bilgilerimizi tekrar gozden gecirmemizi sagladi1. Elde edilen veriler erken maden uretimi asamalarinin yaninda, kalayli tunc denemelerinin ilk kez Anadolu insaninin kendi kalayini kullanarak yaptigini gostermistir.

Goltepe, excavated under the direction of A. Yener between 1990 and 1993, and the Kestel Mine, whose excavation began in 1987, have both allowed us to review our knowledge about mining in the 3rd millennium B.C. Goltepe and Kestel are located in the mountainous area to the north of the Central Taurus Mountains within the borders of Celaller Village, camardi County, Nigde (Figs. 1-3). The two sites are approximately two kilometers from each other. The sites of Goltepe and Kestel Mine are in mountainous terrain approximately 1700-2000 m. above sea level. One of the rare natural passages providing transportation between the regions, the Ecemis corridor created by the Ecemis fault line fracture connects Central Anatolia to Cilicia and, by extension, to the entire Near East (Figs. 1, 4). Due to this geographical structure, prehistoric cultures of Central Anatolia were able to experience their own cultural development without being excessively influenced by the evolved cultures of the Near East. As of 2012, studies resumed on the wares of the Goltepe settlement located in such a critical area. Among the wares of the Early Bronze Age, a certain group identified as "Anatolian Metallic Wares" stands out both in terms of quantity and quality. Vessels of this group of wares feature angular profiles, omphalos bases, and thin, hard walls. Apart from all these features, they are distinguished from other groups of contemporaneous ware by the decorative paint on the exterior. Besides locations to the north of Central Taurus Mountains, vessels of this ware group have so far been discovered in surface studies conducted in Konya and Cilicia, as well as in the excavations of Tarsus, Kilisetepe, Acemhoyuk, Kultepe, and Topak Hoyuk, albeit in fewer numbers. Many of the vessels unearthed in settlements considerably far from these are quite similar, both in terms of form and production technique. The significant number of Anatolian metallic ware examples obtained in the Goltepe excavations has yielded new data on the said ware's emergence, production, and period of use, as well as quantity in the mountainous terrain. Particularly, the fractured pieces with production flaws indicate that vessels in this group went through a production process that encompassed certain standardized stages and that they were manufactured by a specialized segment of society. If these new characteristics observed in the production of the ware are evaluated in light of metal production and the natural passages in the region, it becomes quite evident that they reflect the transformation in the social structure of the period. The indications of "specialization" and "control" observed in Anatolian metallic wares can thus simultaneously be interpreted as indicators of a newly formed economic, social, and political structure as well.

Abstract An unexpected new source of tin was recently located at Hisarcık, in the foothills of the Mount Erciyes volcano in the Kayseri Plain, close to the Bronze Age town of Kültepe, ancient Kanesh and home to a colony of Assyrian traders. Volcanoes in Turkey have always been associated with obsidian sources but were not known to be a major source of heavy metals, much less tin. X-ray fluorescence analyses of the Hisarcık ores revealed the presence of minerals suitable for the production of complex copper alloys, and sufficient tin and arsenic content to produce tin-bronze. These findings revise our understanding of bronze production in Anatolia in the third millennium BC and demand a re-evaluation of Assyrian trade routes and the position of the Early Bronze Age societies of Anatolia within that network.

Güvercinkayası is located in the southwest of Çatalsu village, Gülağaç in Aksaray province. During the excavations which have been in progress since 1996, a Middle Chalcolitic Age settlement dated back to 5200-4700 BC (cal.C14) has been unearthed. The structure of Güvercinkayası, which is in the upper and lower settlement form, has shed light on the process of urbanization. It is crucial to preserve the remains of Güvercinkayası for the future generations as it consists of traces of social transformation in the Chalcolithic Age. For this reason, after a multi-directional study carried out between the years 2008-2011, a site management plan has been prepared aiming at the sustainable preservation of the remains surrounding the area of Güvercinkayası. Furthermore, as a necessity of holistic preservation, documentation and preservation of traditional lifestyles of local community has been given place in the decisions of the plan. This study consists of the analysis of current condition of the site and the decisions and implementations of the management plan.

Aksaray ili, Gulagac ilcesi, Catalsu Koyu sinirlari icerisinde yer alan Guvercinkayasi yerlesmesindeki kazi calismalari 1996 yilindan itibaren araliksiz devam etmektedir. Kazi calismalarinda MO 5200-4750 (cal.C14) yillarina tarihlenen Orta Kalkolitik Cag yerlesmesi aciga cikarilmistir. Guvercinkayasi'nin asagi ve yukari yerlesme tarzindaki plan tipi, insanlik tarihinin kentlesme surecine isik tutmaktadir. Etkileri gunumuze yansiyan Kalkolitik Donem'deki toplumsal donusumun izlerini bunyesinde barindiran Guvercinkayasi buluntularinin, gelecek nesillere ulastirilmasi zorunludur. Bu amacla 2008-2011 yillarinda yapilan cok yonlu bir calisma ile Guvercinkayasi ve cevresindeki diger kultur varliklarinin surdurulebilir korunmasini hedefleyen Yonetim Plani hazirlanmistir. Plan kararlarinda, butuncul korumanin geregi olarak, alan icerisinde kalan yerel halkin geleneksel yasam tarzlarinin belgelenmesi ve korunmasina yonelik hukumler de yer almistir. Bu calismada alanin mevcut durum analizleri, Yonetim Plani kararlari ve bu gune kadar yapilan uygulamalar hakkinda bilgi verilecektir.