Trade Activities of Bayraklı Höyük in the Early Bronze Age and Its Place in Interregional Network

Project no. 31962 · Status: Kapanmış (Yayın bekleniyor) · 2023

Summary

<p>The&nbsp;cultural&nbsp;and&nbsp;socio-economic&nbsp;structure&nbsp;of&nbsp;Bayraklı&nbsp;Höyük&nbsp;during&nbsp;the&nbsp;Early&nbsp;Bronze&nbsp;Age&nbsp;(3rd&nbsp;millennium&nbsp;BCE)&nbsp;has&nbsp;been&nbsp;evaluated&nbsp;in&nbsp;light&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;archaeological&nbsp;evidence&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;project&nbsp;framework.&nbsp;Ceramic&nbsp;data,&nbsp;the&nbsp;stone&nbsp;tool&nbsp;industry,&nbsp;and&nbsp;metal&nbsp;finds&nbsp;were&nbsp;examined&nbsp;together&nbsp;in&nbsp;order&nbsp;to&nbsp;analyze&nbsp;the&nbsp;settlement’s&nbsp;production&nbsp;organization,&nbsp;raw&nbsp;material&nbsp;procurement&nbsp;strategies,&nbsp;and&nbsp;its&nbsp;connections&nbsp;to&nbsp;trade&nbsp;networks.&nbsp;The&nbsp;ceramic&nbsp;assemblage&nbsp;demonstrates&nbsp;Bayraklı’s&nbsp;cultural&nbsp;links&nbsp;with&nbsp;Western&nbsp;Anatolia&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Aegean&nbsp;world,&nbsp;as&nbsp;well&nbsp;as&nbsp;its&nbsp;position&nbsp;within&nbsp;contemporary&nbsp;production&nbsp;technologies.&nbsp;The&nbsp;stone&nbsp;tools&nbsp;provide&nbsp;evidence&nbsp;not&nbsp;only&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;use&nbsp;of&nbsp;local&nbsp;raw&nbsp;materials&nbsp;but&nbsp;also&nbsp;for&nbsp;external&nbsp;connections&nbsp;indicated&nbsp;by&nbsp;the&nbsp;procurement&nbsp;of&nbsp;obsidian.&nbsp;The&nbsp;marble&nbsp;idol&nbsp;of&nbsp;ritual&nbsp;character&nbsp;reflects&nbsp;the&nbsp;settlement’s&nbsp;relationship&nbsp;with&nbsp;regional&nbsp;belief&nbsp;systems&nbsp;and&nbsp;symbolic&nbsp;traditions.&nbsp;The&nbsp;hoard&nbsp;of&nbsp;silver&nbsp;jewelry,&nbsp;on&nbsp;the&nbsp;other&nbsp;hand,&nbsp;highlights&nbsp;Bayraklı’s&nbsp;significance&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;acquisition&nbsp;and&nbsp;circulation&nbsp;of&nbsp;precious&nbsp;metals.</p><p>The&nbsp;findings&nbsp;indicate&nbsp;that&nbsp;Bayraklı&nbsp;was&nbsp;not&nbsp;merely&nbsp;a&nbsp;local&nbsp;coastal&nbsp;settlement&nbsp;during&nbsp;the&nbsp;Early&nbsp;Bronze&nbsp;Age,&nbsp;but&nbsp;rather&nbsp;an&nbsp;economically&nbsp;and&nbsp;culturally&nbsp;active&nbsp;center&nbsp;positioned&nbsp;along&nbsp;both&nbsp;maritime&nbsp;and&nbsp;overland&nbsp;trade&nbsp;routes.&nbsp;Owing&nbsp;to&nbsp;its&nbsp;geographical&nbsp;location,&nbsp;the&nbsp;settlement&nbsp;occupied&nbsp;a&nbsp;strategic&nbsp;point&nbsp;that,&nbsp;particularly&nbsp;during&nbsp;the&nbsp;Bronze&nbsp;Age,&nbsp;connected&nbsp;Inner&nbsp;Western&nbsp;Anatolia&nbsp;via&nbsp;caravan&nbsp;routes&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;Aegean&nbsp;islands&nbsp;through&nbsp;maritime&nbsp;trade&nbsp;across&nbsp;the&nbsp;Gulf&nbsp;of&nbsp;Izmir.&nbsp;The&nbsp;archaeological&nbsp;data&nbsp;obtained&nbsp;through&nbsp;this&nbsp;project&nbsp;have&nbsp;been&nbsp;evaluated&nbsp;within&nbsp;the&nbsp;framework&nbsp;of&nbsp;interregional&nbsp;interactions,&nbsp;and&nbsp;various&nbsp;analytical&nbsp;methods&nbsp;have&nbsp;enabled&nbsp;more&nbsp;precise&nbsp;conclusions.&nbsp;In&nbsp;light&nbsp;of&nbsp;these&nbsp;results,&nbsp;Bayraklı&nbsp;holds&nbsp;an&nbsp;important&nbsp;role&nbsp;within&nbsp;the&nbsp;trade&nbsp;networks&nbsp;and&nbsp;economic&nbsp;organization&nbsp;of&nbsp;Early&nbsp;Bronze&nbsp;Age&nbsp;Western&nbsp;Anatolia.</p>

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