Area 787
Main Information
| Area ID | 787 |
| Site |
Musular |
| Area type | undefined |
| Area NR | |
| Period | Anatolia: Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Anatolia: Pre-Pottery Neolithic C |
| Dating method | material culture radiocarbon dating |
| Radiocarbon dated | yes |
| Earliest date: Lab Number | GrN-25901 |
| Earliest date: 14C age (BP) | |
| Earliest date: Calibration | yes |
| Earliest date: 14C age calibrated (BC) | |
| Earliest date: Date of calibration | None |
| Earliest date: Standard deviation | 50 |
| Earliest date: Delta 13C | None |
| Earliest date: Dated by | |
| Latest date: Lab Number | GrN-23518 |
| Latest date: 14C age (BP) | |
| Latest date: Calibration | yes |
| Latest date: 14C age calibrated (BC) | |
| Latest date: Date of calibration | None |
| Latest date: Standard deviation | 220 |
| 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 Özbaşaran, M. - Duru, G. - Kayacan, N. - Erdoğu, B. - Buitenhuis, H., , Musular. The 8th Millennium cal. BC Satellite Site of Aşıklı; Istanbul 2012, None, None |
| Comment | Aceramic Neolithic; C14 dates between 7595 and 6550 ca. BC. |
| Settlement type | None |
| Settlement structure |
houses: free-standing |
| Settlement building type | |
| Settlement building shape |
rectangular |
| Settlement building technique |
stone |
| Settlement archaeological features |
bench channel hearth paved area pit plastered floor post base post hole stone setting wall |
| 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 | |
| Grave: type of human remains | |
| Grave: estimated number of individuals | |
| Grave: age groups | |
| Grave: sexes | |
| Grave: number of female sex | None |
| Grave: number of male sex | None |
| Grave: number of not specified sex | None |
| Grave: disturbance of graves | |
| Description | The deposits of the Aceramic Neolithic lie directly on the soft tufa bedrock on a generally flat and even surface, but there also were shallow depressions and prominences. One of these shallows was chosen deliberately by the community, and the deposits from this depression (ca. 2000 m², located in squares M-P 11-13) were relatively well-preserved, whereas the rest of the site was heavily eroded and disturbed (ploughing). "Unusual" structures were discovered in the exposed area, e.g. Structure Z (see below). Building A (in plan square N 12) showed similarities to the special function/communal building T at Aşıklı Höyük; channels, built (in M-N 14) and rock-cut (in M-N 12); in plan square M 13 there was a stone wall that enden with a small channel made up by two pairs of stones; there was an enclosed space, AC, south of the built channel, Structure N, in M-N 13-14; there was a midden area (AD) east of the channel, in plan square M 14. Building A was quadrangular, had benches along the three walls (recognized as traces), and a hearth in the north-east. The heart was squarish and 1,6 x 1,7 m in size. The hearth's walls were thick, up to 36 cm. Four kerpiç blocks were identified (between 20 x 50 and 12 x 32 cm big). A lot of small to medium-sized limestone and cobbles seemed to fill the hearth rather than pave it (--> abandonment process?) Along the east-west axis of the building, there were two post-holes and pits on the floor. Two flat stones on a north-south axis maybe were bases for posts. Building A was poorly preserved with no outer walls left standing, there were only traces of kerpiç blocks at the floor level --> the walls were probably made of kerpiç. The building's floor was relatively well-preserved, lime-plastered and painted red. The northern and southern part were separated by a plastered partition wall; in the north there was a red lime-plastered floor with a bench at the west; the floor had been renewed twice. There were small post-holes on the earlier floor of the northern room that were covered with plaster, therefore out of use, during the renewal. The building lies on the slope of the bedrock (the western and southern parts lay directly on it, the eastern ground was filled with earth to level the surface). There were some channels (presumably draining off water) carved into the bedrock that seemed to be a part of the same system. A stone wall enclosed the structures at the north; it was terminated in a small channel lined by two pairs of large upright slabs of stone. The built-channel was unlike the other ones. It was 14 m long, 35 - 40 cm wide, skillfully built and lined on either side by large flat stones of regular dimensions placed vertically side by side. The northeast end was covered by flat stones, laying horizontally. The east end of the channel lead to the Melendiz River but had been destroyed, but the southeast was associated with a rectangular structure (N), that had been built together with the channel. Structure N had kerpiç walls on stone foundations. The walls also circumscribe a space (AC) with burnt and ashy fill which was later covered with compact soil. Inside this fill, there were animal bones in groups, rarely articulated bones (legs of hunted animals, cut and thrown here); obsidian finds: borers, scrapers, splintered pieces, retouched blades, used pieces, but mostly unretouched tools (70%). Space AD lay east of the built channel and was one of the deepest depressions of the bedrock. In it, there were large amounts of animal bones, obsidian tools and wastes, deposited in regular layers. On top of the fill there was a thick layer of soil. Space AC could have been an area used for butchering the hunted animals, and the hollow (AD) was used as midden. Building Z lies about 10 m southwest of Building A in square plan O-P 11, is one of the unusual structures of Musular, and its function is unknown. There are no known comparable examples from other sites. The building stands independently (no apparent relation to other structures) and is made up of two walls cut from the bedrock on the same axis, with a pavement between these walls (Pavement: a line of flat stones stretched down the middle, bordered by two narrow grooves; at either end ere small holes carved into the bedrock). The western face of the walls originally was paved with large upright stone slabs and presumably formed the facade of the structure. Fill: animal bones and obsidian; Also, two rock-cut basins were discovered (rectangular, 4 x 0,8 and 2 x 0,8 m, depth ca. 35 cm) --> used for storage (?) The scarce and poorly varied botanical remains suggest that processing of plants did not take place at Musular. Only few cereal remains: naked barley (Hordeum vulgare), bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum); little more variety in gathered pulses, fruits and wild plants Archaeozoological Remains: huge quantities; cattle dominated (57%; small, medium and large cattle, e.g. aurochs, Bos primigenius), then sheep and goat (39 % together); also horse/ass, fallow, red deer, boar, dog/wolf; minimal amounts of tortoise, fox, hare, rodents; almost all of the hunted animals were more than one year old, 50% of the animals older than three/four years --> generally the adult population was hunted and slaughtered. Chipped stone industry: primarily obsidian, rarely flint; 6 groups of obsidian: transparent (from Kayırlı and Kömürcü/Kaletepe on Göllüdağ), smoky grey, striped green-grey (from Nenezi Dağı), opaque grey-green, striped grey, black with smoky stripes. mostly naviform and bidirectional blade production (very few cores cores found, but more crescented blades, tablets, lateral blades, central blades, upsilon blades) The obsidian from Nenezi was used for large and thick blades, the Göllüdağ obsidian for smaller blades; Retouched tools: lots of scrapers and end-scrapers (mostly made on flakes, only 6 % on blades); also 19% retouched blades and 17% retouched flakes; 14 % projectiles (4-6 cm long, oval, pressure retouched, mostly unifacial, rarely bifacial); also splintered pieces (6%), borers (2%), burins (1%) and notched (1%) flint: only 20 pieces found, all yellowish fine-grained, good quality; almost all were retouched blades (one exception: a borer on a flake), some had silica sheen on the edges; no indication, that flint was worked in Musular --> probably brought here as finished tools; |
| Comment |
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Finds in this Area
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