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The Importance of Chert in Central Anatolia: Lessons from the Neolithic Assemblage at Çatalhöyük, Turkey
Author(s) -
Nazaroff Adam Joseph,
Baysal Adnan,
Çiftçi Yahya
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.21446
Subject(s) - artifact (error) , assemblage (archaeology) , prehistory , archaeology , quality (philosophy) , consumption (sociology) , history , computer science , sociology , social science , artificial intelligence , philosophy , epistemology
This paper is a presentation of three sources of artifact‐quality chert in C entral A natolia. A previous dearth of research focused on locating and characterizing such raw material sources has incorrectly colored our view of prehistoric economic practices. To remedy this situation, we have conducted a survey of various locales within C entral A natolia to test for the presence of artifact‐quality materials. We make use of I ndividual A ttribute A nalysis ( IAA ) and E nergy D ispersive X ‐ray F luorescence ( EDXRF ) analysis to discriminate among these materials, and suggest their use by the N eolithic occupants of Ç atalhöyük through similar analyses of artifactual materials. We argue that the presence and characterization of these new sources allows us to better understand the intricacies of N eolithic practices by illustrating the ways in which the consumption of these materials was variably entwined with the exploitation of other resources, as well as embedded within social relations outside of C entral A natolia. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.