5:15 PM - 6:45 PM
[HQR05-P13] Stratigraphic Reconstruction of Early Bronze Age to Iron Age Midden Deposits at the Kaman-Kalehöyük Site, Central Anatolia
Keywords:Anatolia, Midden deposits
The Kaman-Kalehöyük, a hill-shaped archaeological site located in central Anatolia, has been excavated for the past 36 years, revealing stratified architectural remains (architectural layers) dating from at least ~5,000 years ago in the Early Bronze Age up to the era of the Ottoman Empire. Notably, in the northern area of the site, trenches exceeding 10 meters in depth have been dug, exposing a large outcrop of the archaeological deposits.
The midden deposits within the site, formed from accumulated waste, include ash, charcoal, bone, dung, fragments of plaster, and sun-dried bricks, believed to contain information about the diet and technology of the people at the time. By reconstructing and describing the stratigraphy of these midden deposits and systematically sampling and analyzing them along their stratigraphic sequence, it can be expected that continuous reconstruction of lifestyle and technological changes through the ages can be achieved.
In the Kaman-Kalehöyük site, numerous pits, ranging in diameter from several tens of centimeters to about one meter and in the depth of several tens of centimeters, are found within each architectural layer, with the midden deposits filling these pits. Many of the pits are cut by other pits dug later, allowing the chronological sequence of pits to be estimated by their intersecting relationships.
In this study, 35 pits on the north trench wall of the Kaman-Kalehöyük site were observed and described, and by rearranging them according to their chronological relationships, a cumulative stratigraphy of midden deposits spanning approximately 15 meters thick from the Early Bronze Age through the Iron Age was reconstructed. The midden deposits primarily consist of brown medium to coarse sand, with numerous fragments of pottery, bone, sun-dried bricks, pebbles, and charcoal, and intermittently, thin layers of gray to white silt ranging in thickness from several millimeters to several centimeters.
To elucidate the composition of the midden deposits and their chronological changes, chemical and mineralogical analyses using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and an ITRAX XRF core scanner were conducted on samples taken from the midden deposits at the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA), Türkiye. The presentation will also report on these analysis results. Especially we found the concentrations of copper in the midden deposits from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age. In contrast, from the Middle and Late Bronze Age onwards, concentrations of iron were also observed. The concentrations of metal elements in the midden deposits may reflect changes in metal utilization techniques within the site.
The midden deposits within the site, formed from accumulated waste, include ash, charcoal, bone, dung, fragments of plaster, and sun-dried bricks, believed to contain information about the diet and technology of the people at the time. By reconstructing and describing the stratigraphy of these midden deposits and systematically sampling and analyzing them along their stratigraphic sequence, it can be expected that continuous reconstruction of lifestyle and technological changes through the ages can be achieved.
In the Kaman-Kalehöyük site, numerous pits, ranging in diameter from several tens of centimeters to about one meter and in the depth of several tens of centimeters, are found within each architectural layer, with the midden deposits filling these pits. Many of the pits are cut by other pits dug later, allowing the chronological sequence of pits to be estimated by their intersecting relationships.
In this study, 35 pits on the north trench wall of the Kaman-Kalehöyük site were observed and described, and by rearranging them according to their chronological relationships, a cumulative stratigraphy of midden deposits spanning approximately 15 meters thick from the Early Bronze Age through the Iron Age was reconstructed. The midden deposits primarily consist of brown medium to coarse sand, with numerous fragments of pottery, bone, sun-dried bricks, pebbles, and charcoal, and intermittently, thin layers of gray to white silt ranging in thickness from several millimeters to several centimeters.
To elucidate the composition of the midden deposits and their chronological changes, chemical and mineralogical analyses using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and an ITRAX XRF core scanner were conducted on samples taken from the midden deposits at the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA), Türkiye. The presentation will also report on these analysis results. Especially we found the concentrations of copper in the midden deposits from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age. In contrast, from the Middle and Late Bronze Age onwards, concentrations of iron were also observed. The concentrations of metal elements in the midden deposits may reflect changes in metal utilization techniques within the site.