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Mobility and Social Organization on the Ancient Anatolian Black Sea Coast: An Archaeological, Spatial and Isotopic Investigation of the Cemetery at İkiztepe, Turkey by Megan Lynn Welton A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Toronto © Copyright by Megan Lynn Welton 2010 Mobility and Social Organization on the Ancient Anatolian Black Sea Coast: An Archaeological, Spatial and Isotopic Investigation of the Cemetery at İkiztepe, Turkey Lynn Welton Doctor of Philosophy Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Toronto 2010 Abstract This thesis undertakes a complete reinvestigation of the archaeology of a large Early Bronze Age cemetery at İkiztepe in northern Turkey, by utilizing oxygen and strontium isotope analysis of human remains in combination with spatial and biodistance analysis and various dating techniques to identify potential immigrants to the site and to examine larger issues of residential mobility and social organization. The occupation of the Northern Anatolian site of İkiztepe is traditionally assigned to the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages. However, the site’s chronological framework has been challenged in recent years. These chronological issues have been addressed by applying fluoride and AMS radiocarbon dating to the skeletal remains from the İkiztepe cemetery, to develop an absolute and relative chronology for the burials. These results have shown that the cemetery dates at least a millennium earlier than previously supposed. Oxygen and strontium isotope analyses allowed the identification of individuals whose bone chemistry suggests that they were possible long distance immigrants to the site of İkiztepe, as well as suggesting the existence of a group of mobile individuals who may represent a transhumant segment of the İkiztepe population. ii Spatial and biodistance analyses suggest that principles of cemetery organization in this period were highly complex. Immigrant individuals and nomadic or semi-nomadic segments of the population do not appear to have been distinguished in any observable way from their sedentary local counterparts, displaying similar burial types, grave goods and spatial locations. Furthermore, burial within the İkiztepe cemetery does not appear to have been kin structured. These results suggest that assumptions about funerary practices as important indicators of cultural identity and lineage affiliation may represent an over-simplification of complex patterns of interaction and integration among and within populations and cultural groups. iii Acknowledgments This thesis, like any other, necessarily represents the cumulative effort of many years of hard work and research. It is impossible to complete such an undertaking alone, and I owe significant debts of gratitude to a small army of people for helping me to complete this research. Research in the humanities and social sciences would not be possible were it not for the generosity of a number of academic organizations. In this regard, my research is like that of so many others. I would like to thank both the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for ensuring my livelihood while I completed this research, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation, whose generosity allowed me to afford the analytical costs associated with this research. Furthermore, this thesis would not have been possible without the help of Yılmaz Selim Erdal, who facilitated my access to the İkiztepe collection, and who generously welcomed me to his lab at Hacettepe as I conducted my research and collected samples. A very special thanks also goes to Önder Bilgi for supporting my research on collections from his site. A wide variety of others contributed in some way to the analytical work that was completed here, and I would like to express my appreciation for their patience in dealing with an archaeologist. I would like to thank Rob Creaser of the University of Alberta Radiogenic Isotope Facility for his help with completing the strontium isotope analyses and Dan Mather of Analest Laboratories for the generous use of his chemicals and his fluoride electrode. I would also like to thank Uli Wortmann and Hong Li of the Geobiology Isotope Laboratory in the Department of Geology for all their work in conducting the oxygen isotope analysis included in this study. Thanks especially to Hong Li for her patience and advice while we developed our sample preparation procedures. iv In the beginning, the complexities of the analysis and the sample preparation involved in many of these analyses seemed intimidating and the difficulties involved nearly insurmountable. Colin Bray and Mike Gorton put up with my innumerable questions, and provided a source of coffee and advice as I struggled my way through the whole process. Colin, especially, was instrumental in perfecting the sample preparation procedures I was less than confident in. I would like to thank my supervisor, Tim Harrison, as well as all of other my committee members, including Michael Schillaci and Jack Holladay, for their continued support during the writing process. Thanks also to Susan Pfeiffer and Christine White for their involvement in the final stages of writing and preparation. I would like to thank my family for barely balking at my unusual career choices, and for their support throughout the long educational process. I promise this is the last time I will be a student. I also thank my friends for keeping me calm and sane throughout this undertaking, particularly Heather Snow and Steve Batiuk. And finally, I would like to recognize Larry, who is fondly remembered and whose pragmatism and (sometimes brutal) honesty were greatly missed in the final stages of completing this work. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................................................................................ IV TABLE OF CONTENTS......................................................................................................................................... VI LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................................................................X LIST OF MAPS..................................................................................................................................................... XIV LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................................................XV LIST OF APPENDICES....................................................................................................................................... XIX CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................1 MIGRATION AND MOBILITY AS AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROCESS...............................................................................6 Population Geography.......................................................................................................................................11 Streams and Counter-streams.......................................................................................................................................... 12 Selectivity of Migration .................................................................................................................................................. 13 “Push” and “Pull” Factors............................................................................................................................................... 14 Types of Migration.......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Nomadism/Transhumance..................................................................................................................................17 Migration in Biological Anthropology and Population Genetics ......................................................................19 Isotopic Studies ..................................................................................................................................................24 ORGANIZATION AND RESEARCH OBJECTIVES..........................................................................................................26 CHAPTER TWO: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF İKIZTEPE ................................................................................31 ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................................................................................31 REGIONAL SURVEY IN THE BLACK SEA REGION......................................................................................................36 DÜNDARTEPE ..........................................................................................................................................................37 TEKKEKÖY AND KAVAK..........................................................................................................................................40 İKIZTEPE SITE EXCAVATIONS ..................................................................................................................................42