Area 678
Main Information
| Area ID | 678 |
| Site |
Mersin-Yumuktepe |
| Area type | settlement |
| Area NR | |
| Period | Anatolia: Late Neolithic |
| Dating method | material culture |
| Radiocarbon dated | None |
| Earliest date: Lab Number | |
| Earliest date: 14C age (BP) | |
| Earliest date: Calibration | None |
| Earliest date: 14C age calibrated (BC) | |
| Earliest date: Date of calibration | None |
| Earliest date: Standard deviation | None |
| Earliest date: Delta 13C | None |
| Earliest date: Dated by | |
| Latest date: Lab Number | |
| Latest date: 14C age (BP) | |
| Latest date: Calibration | None |
| Latest date: 14C age calibrated (BC) | |
| Latest date: Date of calibration | None |
| Latest date: Standard deviation | None |
| Latest date: Delta 13C | None |
| Latest date: Dated by | |
| Period Reference |
Özdoğan, Mehmet, The Neolithic in Turkey. New Excavations & New Research. Central Turkey, None, None Caneva, I., Mersin-Yumuktepe in the Seventh Millennium BC: an updated view, 2012, None, None |
| Comment | |
| Settlement type | tell |
| Settlement structure | |
| Settlement building type | |
| Settlement building shape |
rectangular-apsidal |
| Settlement building technique |
pavement pisé plaster wall stone lining |
| Settlement archaeological features |
courtyard fireplace paved area post hole storage building storage pit waste pit |
| Cave/rockshelters type | None |
| Cave/rockshelters: Evidence of graves/human remains | |
| Cave/rockshelters: Evidence of occupation | |
| Quarry exploitation type | None |
| Quarry raw material | |
| Cemetery/graves topography | |
| Cemetery/graves mortuary features | |
| Grave: number of graves | |
| Grave type |
cist grave pit grave |
| Grave: type of human remains |
inhumation |
| Grave: estimated number of individuals | |
| Grave: age groups |
adult mature (41-60) subadult |
| Grave: sexes | |
| Grave: number of female sex | 1 |
| Grave: number of male sex | None |
| Grave: number of not specified sex | None |
| Grave: disturbance of graves | |
| Description | difference in village planning and building techniques in comparison with the earlier Middle Neolithic phase; large storage areas and human burials within the village; manufactures: spinning, weaving, making of ornaments; remarkable change in pottery (appearance and decorations); Village planning: leveling of the earlier deposits, starting a series of terraced houses and working areas on the slopes of the mound (from a height of ca. 10 m, which was the height of the summit at that time, down to the foot of the höyük ); the houses were oriented north-south, were rectangular with rounded corners (--> apsidal shape), had thicker walls than before (60 cm) and were built with smaller stones which were laid in several lines; size (inside): ca. 2 x 4 m; Inside one house, a rectangular hearth and a smaller fireplace were found; on the floor there were pottery vessels scattered around, the stonewalls showed traces of thick plaster --> all these finds indicate that the houses had been used for domestic purposes rather than animal stables; The village was re-arranged at the end of this phase: over the house level lay a large stone wall system, besides it was a stone-paved road which climbed the slope from west to east. Post-holes beside the road were indicators for fences or light structures. Deposits: contained thin layers of ashes and clayey soil (alternating) and no solid structures; concentration of pottery and bone fragments, antlers and stone artifacts (e.g. shafts, beads, bracelets) --> it was probably used as a dumping area for specialized workshops (stone and bone working confirmed through wear trace analysis) Storage structures: many round silos with a pisé wall and outer stone lining, paved with river pebbles were found between the houses, their diameter was between 80 and 130 cm (depending on their function), they were frequently, often partially, superimposed which indicates that they were rebuilt often; other storage structures: simple cylindrical earth pits, about 60 cm deep, were scattered in the area; one contained a stone quern, another one had a child's grave dug into the side wall (this grave contained a necklace of disk beds and a small globular beaker with a flaring neck, decorated with the yıldırım motif in red/brown, on an unburnished buff surface) other graves: child graves often found scattered between the houses, two of them were accompanied only by necklaces (one with truncated dentalium shells, one with different types of disk stone beads); In the same area (south of building A41), there was a double adult burial with intertwined, very poorly preserved bones in the same position, which suggests that they had been buried together, in a circular pit, lying on the right side in a contracted position; gifts: a small pot, a cup with a painted yıldırım motif in red on an orange burnished surface; Other graves in this area were dug deeply into the Early Neolithic deposits on the slopes of the mound; the skeleton always were in a tightly contracted position, lying either on the left or the right side, sometimes with gifts (e.g. pottery vessels, stone pendants, necklaces with disk-shaped stone beads); One skeleton belonged to an middle-aged woman. She showed use wear traces on her teeth, deriving from intensive use in basketry making. |
| Comment |
Location of the Site
Bibliography
Finds in this Area
| Finds |
ID 1682 animal remains ID 1683 lithics ID 1684 small finds tool ID 1685 small finds jewellery ID 1686 pottery Cup ID 1687 pottery Collared Jar ID 1688 pottery ID 1689 botany |
Interpretations related to this Area