THE IMPACT OF THE 4.2 KA BP EVENT IN WESTERN ANATOLIA: AN EVALUATION THROUGH PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ÇAĞLAYAN BAL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SETTLEMENT ARCHAEOLOGY JULY 2019 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Tülin Gençöz Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof. Dr. D. Burcu Erciyas Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evangelia Pişkin Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. D. Burcu Erciyas (METU, SA) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evangelia Pişkin (METU, SA) Asst. Prof. Dr. H. Levent Keskin (Ankara Üni., PRT) PLAGIARISM I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Çağlayan Bal Signature : iii ABSTRACT THE IMPACT OF THE 4.2 KA BP EVENT IN WESTERN ANATOLIA: AN EVALUATION THROUGH PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA Bal, Çağlayan M.Sc., Department of Settlement Archaeology Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evangelia Pişkin July 2019, 208 pages Palaeoenvironmental and archaeological research in the eastern Mediterranean and adjacent regions asserts a correlation between the 4.2 ka BP event, an abrupt climatic change (ca. 2200-1900 BC), and societal changes at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. It has been hypothesized that the drought as a result of the event led to social disturbance, conflicts, migrations and in some cases, societal collapses following a breakdown in agriculture and animal husbandry. Similarly, palaeoenvironmental studies provide evidence for the 4.2 ka BP event and its impacts in Anatolia including western Anatolia. From ca. 2500 BC onwards, the Anatolian peninsula witnessed the appearance of regional centres with monumental buildings and strong fortifications, the rise of elites and increasing social complexity, the development of a long-distance exchange network and an advanced metallurgical industry. Towards the end of the 3rd millennium BC, however, the societies lost their sophisticated characteristics and experienced a crisis period that is testified by the large number of settlements that were destroyed by fire events and were abandoned, in particular iv in western Anatolia. This thesis aims at understanding if there is acausal relationship between the 4.2 ka BP event and major changes in social, economic and political structure of western Anatolian societies at the end of the 3rd millennium BC through a synthetic analysis of palaeoenvironmental, bioarchaeological and archaeological data. It provides a multifaceted perspective on the suggested relationship by focusing on changes in agricultural and animal husbandry practices and changes in regional settlement patterns. Keywords: The 4.2 ka BP Event, Palaeoenvironment, Bioarchaeology, Western Anatolia, Early Bronze Age v ÖZ 4,2 KA İKLİM OLAYININ BATI ANADOLU’DAKİ ETKİSİ: PALEOÇEVRESEL VE ARKEOLOJİK BİR DEĞERLENDİRME Bal, Çağlayan Yüksek Lisans, Yerleşim Arkeolojisi Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Evangelia Pişkin Temmuz 2019, 208 sayfa Doğu Akdeniz ve komşu bölgelerde yapılan paleoçevresel ve arkeolojik çalışmalar, 4,2 ka ani iklim değişikliği (yaklaşık MÖ 2200-1900) ve MÖ 3. binyılın sonunda gerçekleşen toplumsal değişimler arasında bir ilişki olduğunu öne sürmektedir. Bu iklim olayının bir sonucu olan kuraklığın, tarım ve hayvancılık faaliyetlerini olumsuz yönde etkileyerek toplumsal huzursuzluk, çatışmalar, göçler ve bazı durumlarda toplumsal çöküşlere neden olduğu ileri sürülmektedir. Benzer şekilde, paleoçevresel çalışmalar, Batı Anadolu da dahil olmak üzere Anadolu’da 4,2 ka iklim olayı ve etkileri için kanıt sunmaktadır. Batı ve Orta Anadolu, yaklaşık MÖ 2500’den itibaren anıtsal yapılara ve savunma duvarına sahip olan bölgesel merkezlerin ve artan sosyal karmaşıklık ile birlikte seçkinlerin ortaya çıkışına ve bir uzun mesafe ticaret ağının ve ileri düzey bir metalürji endüstrisinin gelişimine tanıklık etmiştir. Fakat, MÖ 3. binyılın sonlarına doğru, bölgede yaşayan toplumlar özellikle Batı Anadolu’da bu gelişmiş özelliklerini kaybetmiş ve yangınlarla tahrip olmuş ve terk edilmiş çok sayıda yerleşimin işaret ettiği bir kriz dönemi yaşamışlardır. Bu tez, paleoçevresel, biyoarkeolojik ve arkeolojik verilerin bütüncül vi bir değerlendirmesiyle 4,2 ka iklim olayı ve MÖ 3. binyılın sonunda Batı Anadolu toplumlarının yaşadığı sosyal, ekonomik ve siyasal değişimlerin arasında bir neden- sonuç ilişkisi olup olmadığını anlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu çalışma, tarım ve hayvancılık faaliyetlerindeki ve bölgesel yerleşim düzenlerindeki değişimlere odaklanarak konuya ilişkin çok yönlü bir bakış açısı sağlamaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: 4,2 ka İklim Olayı, Paleoçevre, Biyoarkeoloji, Batı Anadolu, Erken Tunç Çağı vii DEDICATION To My Parents viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to primarily thank my thesis supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evangelia Pişkin for her endless support and encouragement throughout my thesis study. Her intelligence, knowledge and patience were invaluable for me to develop ideas and to evaluate my study from other perspectives and as well as, to overcome challenges and to never give up. I owe her much. She is more than a supervisor to me. I am grateful to the members of the thesis jury, Prof. Dr. Burcu Erciyas and Asst. Prof. Dr. Levent Keskin for their valuable comments and contributions to my study. I would also like to express my special thanks to Dr. Michele Massa not only for his suggestions and comments on my work but also for his friendship, endless support and encouragement. Special thanks to my friends Iraz Alpay, Dilşad Kolenoğlu, Merve Görgüner, Tülin Kaya and many others for their friendship, precious support and sharing this long journey together. All you have done means much more to me than you could ever think. Finally, but most importantly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents, Suzan Bal and Mehmet Ali Bal, and my sister, Melike Bal. Thank you for letting me pursue my dream and having always being there for me. Without your love, support and patience, this thesis would have never been accomplished. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ......................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................ iv ÖZ ............................................................................................................................ vi DEDICATION ...................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ xiv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 2. PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE 4.2 KA BP EVENT IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN AND ADJACENT REGIONS ........................................................................ 3 2.1. The Climate in the Eastern Mediterranean and Adjacent Regions throughout the Holocene and the 4.2 ka BP Event ......................................... 3 2.2. Palaeoenvironmental Evidence for the 4.2 ka BP Event in the Eastern Mediterranean and Adjacent Regions ............................................................. 5 2.2.1. Northern Mesopotamia, the Levant and the Red Sea ..................... 5 2.2.2. The Persian Gulf ............................................................................. 8 2.2.3. The Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Iranian Plateau ........................... 9 2.2.4. Greece and the Balkans ................................................................ 10 x 2.3. Archaeological Evidence for the 4.2 ka BP Event in the Eastern Mediterranean and Adjacent Regions ........................................................... 12 2.3.1. Northern Mesopotamia ................................................................. 14 2.3.2. The Khabur Plains ........................................................................ 17 2.3.3. The Euphrates River ..................................................................... 20 2.3.4. The Balikh Valley ......................................................................... 20 2.3.5. Western Syria ............................................................................... 23 2.3.6. The Coastal Levant ....................................................................... 26 2.3.7. The Northeastern Peloponnese ..................................................... 27 2.3.8. The Cyclades ...............................................................................