The Chalcolithic Age in Turkey (5,500 – 3,000 BC)

This article is one in the Cultural History of Turkey series. For the description of any cultures or tribes please read that article.

Originally the definition of the Chalcolithic period in Turkey was clear. The beginning of the Chalcolithic age meant that humankind started using copper. The definition of the end, on the other hand, meant that the copper and tin are mixed to make bronze – hence Bronze age. However, later discoveries (e.g., Yumuktepe, circa 4300 BC) showed that before the Chalcolithic age started the humans were using copper. Also in the Chalcolithic period there was already experimentation to mix copper and tin. So the current definition of the Chalcolithic age seems to be out of date. It is also worth mentioning that, in addition to copper, use of stone and obsidian was common in this period.

Obsidian is glass naturally forming around volcanoes when lava cools and solidifies fast before it crystallizes. Obsidian was used as a cutting tool in ancient times. Still in modern day it finds use as a cutting tool in some surgeries because of its superior sharpness compared to steel scalpel.

Another distinguishing feature of this era was the sophistication in pottery making. Earthenware was decorated with variety of motifs (e.g., geometric) and paint was used in the process. The Chalcolithic artists spent their time mostly making monochrome and color painted pottery instead of drawing and painting the walls of the dwellings. As a continuation of the Neolithic era, terra cotta figurines of mother-goddess were common too.

The Chalcolithic men used stone, adobe, and mud-bricks to build houses. They also learned how to use limestone for whitewash1. The houses had stone foundations. The roofs, however, were flat.

Beautiful metal tools attracted people who do not have them but have other valuable things to give, such as textile and ceramic. So trade started between people from different villages and tribes. Trade created new needs, such as keeping an inventory, making contracts between the traders. All these needs caused the invention of writing – not in Anatolia (Asia Minor) though.

Around 4,000 BC (the Late Chalcolithic period) the cities started to appear. Trading, the invention of writing, and relatively large size of population of human beings living in a close proximity were the beginning of the development process of modern societies that we have come to know now.

Also circa 4,000 BC (the Late Chalcolithic age), migration to Anatolia (Asia Minor) from the Balkans brought new people creating a heterogeneous cultural environment. Possibly, this development also helped promote the creation of modern societies. There were migrations from the Southeast too. And as in the rest of the history there were problems. During the droughts, for example, the tribes experiencing famine attacked and looted other tribes who had food.

In the Early Stone Age, Anatolia (Asia Minor) had the most advanced civilization. From the artifacts found it is known that the Chalcolithic men of Asia Minor interacted with the people in North Syria and Mesopotamia. However, towards the end of this period it lost its superiority. Egypt and Mesopotamia took the lead by improving trade and inventing writing. Asia Minor was a thousand years late in harnessing the power of writing. So at the end of the Chalcolithic Age the people of Asia Minor had a primitive life style compared to their neighbors, Egypt and Mesopotamia5.

In the text the term “höyük” (mound) is used frequently. So it might be a good idea to explain what it means. In prehistoric times the dwellers of Anatolia (Asia Minor) were building mud-brick houses on flat areas and lowlands, near rivers or creeks. When these houses were destroyed during earthquakes, wars, or just become unusable over the time, they were flattened and new ones were built on top of the previous ones. As the time passed the mounds were growing tall. When they reached 20-30 meters tall (66 – 98 ft.) climbing up and down used to become difficult so they were abandoned and new ones were built. Höyüks may reach to a diameter of 100 – 500 meters (328 – 1640 ft.). Since the new houses were built on top of the old demolished ones, they were in some sense recording the history, layer by layer over thousands of years.

Since höyüks were dwellings of common people as opposed to the tumuli (tombs) of prominent individuals there are some main differences between höyüks and tumuli. Höyüks grow taller over a long period of time. If excavated, artifacts, such as common household tools, might be unearthed in its layers.

Findings in the Hacılar settlement near Burdur and in Mersin-Yümüktepe area are some examples of the Chalcolithic age in Anatolia (Asia Minor). Among many other known Chalcolithic settlements in Anatolia (Asia Minor) Noruntepe, Tepecik, Kalaycık, Kuruçay, Canhasan, Köşkhöyük, Tülintepe, Korucutepe, Samsat, and Tilkitepe can be mentioned. For other sites please see the references.

Sources

  1. The book titled as “The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations,”
  2. Akurgal, Ekrem, “Anadolu Kültür Tarihi,” TÜBİTAK Popüler Bilim Kitapları, April 2008, ISBN 978-975-403-107-2.
  3. Kaptan, Ergun, “Türkiye Madencilik Tarihine Ait Buluntular,” MTA Dergisi 111, 175-186, 1990. Date Submitted for Publishing March 3, 1989.
  4. Yigit, Turgut, Dr., “Tarih Öncesi ve Hitit Döneminde Isuwa Bölgesi”, Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Araştırma Görevlisi.
  5. Caneva, Isabella, “The 2003 Excavation Campaign at Mersin-Yumuktepe”.
  6. Okse, Tuba A., Doç. Dr. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Arkeoloji Bölümü “Sivas’da Hitit Çağı Öncesi Yerleşim Sistemlerinde Devamlılık ve Değişim,” Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 2005/Cilt: 22 Sayı: 1/ss.63-72.
  7. Kartal, Metin, “Excavations at Karain Cave in 2006”.
  8. Akman, Suheyl M., Prof. Dr., “Yapı Malzemelerinin Tarihsel, Gelişimi,” TMH – Türkiye Mühendislik Haberleri sayı 426 – 2003/4, pp 31-32.
  9. Arslantaş, Yüksel, Yrd. Doç. Dr. Fırat Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Tarih Bölümü, “The Relationships of Elazı ğ Region with its Vicinity Areas in Prehistoric Times,” pp 384-385, Electronic Journal of Social Sciences.
  10. Tahberer, Selma, “Adana Arkeoloji Müze’sindeki Helenistik ve Roma Dönemleri, Terracotta Figürinlerin Yapım Tekniklerinin Araştırılması ve Uygulanması,” T.C. Çukurova Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Seramik Anasanat Dalı. Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Adana, 2006, pp 12-13.
  11. Harmankaya, Savaş, Dr. “Türkiye Kalkolitik Araştırmaları Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme”.
  12. Gümüş, Ergin Yrd.Doç. Dr. “Türkiye’de Yerleşme,” Unit 7, Aç ıkoğretim fakültesi, Anadolu Üniversitesi.
  13. Ünsal, Veli, Yrd. Doç. Dr., Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Tarih Bölümü, Kırşehir/Türkiye, “Northeast Anatolia in the Third Thousand BC,” The Journal of International Social Research, Volume 1/3 Spring 2008.

Further Reading

  1. Parker, Bradley J. Dr. (Assistant Professor, UTARP Project Director), University of Utah, Department of History, 380 S. 1300 E. Rm. 211, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA Creekmore, Andrew, Northwestern University, Chicago. Gurdil, Bekir, Dr. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles. “Yukarı Dicle Arkeolojik Araştırma Projesi (UTARP), Kenan Tepe 2004 Kazıları ÖÖn Raporu”.
  2. Ökse, A. Tuba, A. Doç. Dr. “Sivas’da Hitit Çağı Öncesi Yerleşim Sistemlerinde Devamlılık ve Değişim” Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 2005/Cilt: 22 Sayi: 1/ss. 63-72 Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Arkeoloji Bölümü.
  3. Hodder, Ian & Farid, Shahina ” 2007 Season Review, Çatalhöyük 2007 Archive Report,” Çatalhöyük Research Project.
  4. Harmankaya, S. – O. Tanındı – M. OzbaŞaran, TAY – Türkiye Arkeolojik Yerleşmeleri-3: Kalkolitik, Ege Yayınları, Takım ISBN 975-807- 003-7, Cilt ISBN 975-807-019-3, İstanbul, 1998.
  5. Karadoğan, Sabri, Tonbul, Saadettin, Fırat Üniversitesi, Fen-Edebiyat Fak. Coğrafya Bölümü, pp 198-199, “Adıyaman Havzasında Kuvaterner’deki Doğal Ortam Koşullarının Yerleşmelerin Dağılısı Ve Diğer İnsan Faaliyetleri Üzerindeki Etkileri,” ITU Avrasya Yer Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 2-5 Haziran 2005 Türkiye Kuvaterner Sempozyumu, TURQUA-V.

This article is one in the Cultural History of Turkey series. For the description of any cultures or tribes please read that article.