11:30 AM - 11:45 AM
[MZZ49-04] Construction of continuous composite stratigraphic sequence of the midden deposits and high-resolution analysis of living environment in Catalhoyuk, central Anatolia: A feasibility study
Keywords:Catalhoyuk, Midden deposit, depositional sequence stratigraphy, living environment
Catalhoyuk archaeological site, located in the southwestern side of the Konya Plain, Central Anatolia, is the oldest proto-city characterized by an aggregate of mudbrick houses and was flourished for about 1,500 years from 9,100 to 7,600 years BP. More than 14 building layers are recognized, inside of the buildings are well-preserved, and the site is yielding abundant artifacts and bones that are useful to know the lifestyles, living environment and their temporal changes. The site is designated a world heritage site.
There are several courtyards in the aggregate of mudbrick houses to where wastes were thrown in and accumulated to form deposits called midden. However, the spaces are not merely a garbage dump sites but probably used as public spaces where people temporally kept animals and make fires. Midden deposits occasionally show mm- to cm-scale stratification and their thickness reaches as large as ~2m. Although it is considered that accumulation of one midden deposit took several tens to a few hundred years, precise dating and detailed examination of depositional processes of midden is not yet conducted.
Because midden deposits have been found in almost all building layers, it seems possible to reconstruct perfectly continuous depositional sequence of midden by correlating and splicing individual sequences of midden deposits, which will allow us to reconstruct lifestyle and living activities over 1500 years intervals with annual or even seasonal resolution.
In the archaeological excavation of Catalhoyuk in the past, midden deposits were generally removed and thrown away. As a result, midden deposits excavated till now were mostly disposed, and no archive samples remain except those midden deposits preserved for public display. Midden samples taken by individual researchers were mostly used up and residues are not systematically stored. Consequently, no systematic studies of midden deposits were carried out. In addition, it is almost impossible to export archaeological samples outside Turkey. So, it is necessary to conduct as much analyses as possible on site and in research institutes in Turkey, and also preserve archive samples.
In this preliminary study, we attempted efforts to describe, record, and sample the midden sequence speedy and accurately with minimal disturbance of the site. The sampled midden deposit is ~2m thick, and exposed inside the dome in the North area of the East Mound. We cut out slab samples of approximately 50 cm long, 5cm wide, and 3cm thick using a circular saw with portable aluminum-frame guide rails. Surfaces of slab samples preserved in aluminum cases were water-sprayed, scraped with razor blade, and subject to photography using 4K camera under white light, and then semi-quantitative chemical analysis using a portable XRF (Elio map) was conducted.
RGB values were obtained from each pixel of the photographed images, then color endmembers were extracted using factor analysis, and contribution of each endmember was calculated (for more details, please see a poster by Toshihiro Tada in this session). Compositional endmembers were also extracted from the result of XRF analysis, and we examined interrelationships between color and compositional endmembers.
In our presentation, we hope to demonstrate how much information we can extract from in-situ nondestructive analyses of the midden deposits in Catalhoyuk, Central Anatolia.
There are several courtyards in the aggregate of mudbrick houses to where wastes were thrown in and accumulated to form deposits called midden. However, the spaces are not merely a garbage dump sites but probably used as public spaces where people temporally kept animals and make fires. Midden deposits occasionally show mm- to cm-scale stratification and their thickness reaches as large as ~2m. Although it is considered that accumulation of one midden deposit took several tens to a few hundred years, precise dating and detailed examination of depositional processes of midden is not yet conducted.
Because midden deposits have been found in almost all building layers, it seems possible to reconstruct perfectly continuous depositional sequence of midden by correlating and splicing individual sequences of midden deposits, which will allow us to reconstruct lifestyle and living activities over 1500 years intervals with annual or even seasonal resolution.
In the archaeological excavation of Catalhoyuk in the past, midden deposits were generally removed and thrown away. As a result, midden deposits excavated till now were mostly disposed, and no archive samples remain except those midden deposits preserved for public display. Midden samples taken by individual researchers were mostly used up and residues are not systematically stored. Consequently, no systematic studies of midden deposits were carried out. In addition, it is almost impossible to export archaeological samples outside Turkey. So, it is necessary to conduct as much analyses as possible on site and in research institutes in Turkey, and also preserve archive samples.
In this preliminary study, we attempted efforts to describe, record, and sample the midden sequence speedy and accurately with minimal disturbance of the site. The sampled midden deposit is ~2m thick, and exposed inside the dome in the North area of the East Mound. We cut out slab samples of approximately 50 cm long, 5cm wide, and 3cm thick using a circular saw with portable aluminum-frame guide rails. Surfaces of slab samples preserved in aluminum cases were water-sprayed, scraped with razor blade, and subject to photography using 4K camera under white light, and then semi-quantitative chemical analysis using a portable XRF (Elio map) was conducted.
RGB values were obtained from each pixel of the photographed images, then color endmembers were extracted using factor analysis, and contribution of each endmember was calculated (for more details, please see a poster by Toshihiro Tada in this session). Compositional endmembers were also extracted from the result of XRF analysis, and we examined interrelationships between color and compositional endmembers.
In our presentation, we hope to demonstrate how much information we can extract from in-situ nondestructive analyses of the midden deposits in Catalhoyuk, Central Anatolia.