2:45 PM - 3:00 PM
[HQR05-17] Investigation of Midden Deposits at Kaman-Kalehöyük in Central Anatolia: Towards the Reconstruction of Changes in Resource Use Patterns over the Past 5,000 Years
Keywords:Anatolia, Midden deposits, Kaman-Kalehöyük, ITRAX
Kaman-Kalehöyük, located in central Anatolia (Türkiye), preserves cultural layers ranging from at least the Early Bronze Age (around 5,000 years ago) through the Ottoman Period (around 300 years ago), as revealed by previous excavations (Omura, 2011). Because the site spans such a long period, it is crucial for studying diachronic changes in technology and lifestyles (e.g., Kucukarslan et al., 2023). Midden deposits, which are refuse deposits accumulated at an archaeological site, are considered to preserve information about the resources used by ancient inhabitants (e.g., Shillito et al., 2011, 2013). However, previous excavations at Kaman-Kalehöyük have tended to focus on artifacts and architectural remains, leaving the sediments that bury them relatively underexamined. Against this background, we aim to clarify how resource use at Kaman-Kalehöyük changed over the last 5,000 years by investigating midden deposits at the site.
At Kaman-Kalehöyük, midden deposits are known to fill circular features referred to as “pits,” which were often cut by later pits (Fairbairn and Omura, 2005). By examining these cutting relationships of pits, we can reconstruct the stratigraphic sequence of the midden deposits. From 2022 to 2024, we observed and described 49 pits exposed on the trench sections in the North Sectors IV, V, and XVIII, thereby recovering a composite stratigraphic sequence of the midden deposits up to ~20 m thick. These deposits primarily consist of brown, medium- to coarse-grained sand containing pottery sherds, bone fragments, mudbrick fragments, and charcoal, intercalated with gray to grayish-white silt to fine sand layers of a few millimeters to a few centimeters thick.
To characterize components of the midden deposits and investigate diachronic changes, we conducted X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses on samples collected from the midden deposits at the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) in Türkiye. In addition, we collected 20 slab samples, each 50 cm long, from the trench sections and performed high-resolution (1 mm interval) chemical analyses using an XRF core scanner (ITRAX). Independent component analysis (ICA) using the counts of major elements and copper (Al, Si, P, K, Ca, Ti, Fe, Cu) yielded components enriched in K+Ca+Si+Fe, Si, Cu, Fe, P+K, and Ca. These components likely correspond to plant ash, phytoliths, anthropogenic copper, anthropogenic iron, dung, and plaster, respectively. This presentation will highlight these analytical results and discuss how resource use at Kaman-Kalehöyük changed through time.
At Kaman-Kalehöyük, midden deposits are known to fill circular features referred to as “pits,” which were often cut by later pits (Fairbairn and Omura, 2005). By examining these cutting relationships of pits, we can reconstruct the stratigraphic sequence of the midden deposits. From 2022 to 2024, we observed and described 49 pits exposed on the trench sections in the North Sectors IV, V, and XVIII, thereby recovering a composite stratigraphic sequence of the midden deposits up to ~20 m thick. These deposits primarily consist of brown, medium- to coarse-grained sand containing pottery sherds, bone fragments, mudbrick fragments, and charcoal, intercalated with gray to grayish-white silt to fine sand layers of a few millimeters to a few centimeters thick.
To characterize components of the midden deposits and investigate diachronic changes, we conducted X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses on samples collected from the midden deposits at the General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA) in Türkiye. In addition, we collected 20 slab samples, each 50 cm long, from the trench sections and performed high-resolution (1 mm interval) chemical analyses using an XRF core scanner (ITRAX). Independent component analysis (ICA) using the counts of major elements and copper (Al, Si, P, K, Ca, Ti, Fe, Cu) yielded components enriched in K+Ca+Si+Fe, Si, Cu, Fe, P+K, and Ca. These components likely correspond to plant ash, phytoliths, anthropogenic copper, anthropogenic iron, dung, and plaster, respectively. This presentation will highlight these analytical results and discuss how resource use at Kaman-Kalehöyük changed through time.