DOCSLIB.ORG

Ritual Practice and Architecture at Chalcolithic Çadır Höyük in Anatolia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ritual Practice and Architecture at Chalcolithic Çadır Höyük in Anatolia religions Article Not Seeing Is Believing: Ritual Practice and Architecture at Chalcolithic Çadır Höyük in Anatolia Laurel Darcy Hackley 1,*, Burcu Yıldırım 2 and Sharon Steadman 3 1 Department of Classics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA 2 Department of Settlement Archaeology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara 06800, Turkey; [email protected] 3 Department of Sociology/Anthropology, College at Cortland, State University of New York, New York, NY 13045, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Chalcolithic religious practice at the site of Çadır Höyük (central Anatolia) included the insertion of ritual deposits into the architectural fabric of the settlement, “consecrating” spaces or imbuing them with symbolic properties. These deposits are recognizable in the archaeological record by their consistent use of ritually-charged material, such as ochre, copper, human and animal bone, and certain kinds of ceramics. During the 800-year period considered in this paper, the material practice of making these ritual deposits remained remarkably consistent. However, the types of spaces where the deposits are made change as shifting social organization reforms the divisions between private and public space. Keywords: Chalcolithic; prehistory; Anatolia; foundation deposits; ritual; material practice; in- fant burial Citation: Hackley, Laurel Darcy, Burcu Yıldırım, and Sharon Steadman. 2021. Not Seeing Is 1. Introduction Believing: Ritual Practice and Architecture at Chalcolithic Çadır The guest editors for “Housing the Sacred” identified themes that are applicable to Höyük in Anatolia. Religions 12: 665. virtually any location in the world that existed at any time in the past. It is not surprising, https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12080665 therefore, that the present authors immediately recognized that the buildings and spaces at Late Chalcolithic Çadır Höyük, on the central Anatolian plateau, were contexts that fit Academic Editor: Claude Stulting snugly into the framework outlined for this thematic issue. In particular, the guest editors ask, “what makes a building [and the authors here would add, ‘a space’] religious, and Received: 8 July 2021 further, do “buildings [and spaces] ‘capture’ the sacred and root it in place”? The guest Accepted: 16 August 2021 editors invite authors to investigate the notion of “visibility,” and whether, in effect, seeing Published: 20 August 2021 is believing. While the site of Çadır Höyük offers insights into all of these questions, the latter two themes are most intriguing and are the focus here. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral The Chalcolithic period (Table1) in Anatolia is a critical but rather poorly understood with regard to jurisdictional claims in span of three millennia (ca. 6100–3000 BCE) that sees the transition from hunting-gathering published maps and institutional affil- and early farming settlements in the previous Neolithic period to the rise of urban centers iations. in the following Early Bronze Age (Bertram and Bertram 2021; Düring 2011). The dynamic changes through these millennia are only fleetingly glimpsed at Chalcolithic sites across the Anatolian peninsula. Furthermore, Turkey’s geographical position, which earned it the nickname of “the crossroads” between Europe and Asia, is equally evident in the Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Chalcolithic. The material culture found at sites dotting the western coast contains elements, Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. and likely represented ideologies, more commonly found on Aegean islands, while sites in This article is an open access article the northwestern region of Turkey are often included in discussions treating the Chalcolithic distributed under the terms and of southeastern Europe. The southeastern region of Anatolia is frequently intertwined, both conditions of the Creative Commons in scholarship and in Chalcolithic reality, with peoples and places in northern Mesopotamia. Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// This might suggest that the central plateau, within which Çadır Höyük rests, would then creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ exist as its own regional and cultural entity, but the ceramic evidence does not confirm this 4.0/). Religions 2021, 12, 665. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12080665 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Religions 2021, 12, 665 2 of 29 (Schoop 2005). The complicated patchwork that is Chalcolithic Anatolia remains a work in progress for scholars devoted to this time and place. Table 1. Chalcolithic periodization used in the text (based on Schoop 2011a). Early Chalcolithic ca. 6100–5500 BCE Middle Chalcolithic ca. 5500–4250 BCE Late Chalcolithic ca. 4250–3000 BCE Religions 2021, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 30 Çadır Höyük rests within the bend of the Kızılırmak (river) in the province of Yozgat (Figures1–3). Since 1994, continuous excavations have revealed 6000 years of occupation on the Çadır mound, spanning the late sixth millennium BCE to the 14th century of this Höyük rests, would then exist as its own regional and cultural entity, but the ceramic era (Cassis et al. 2019; Ross et al. 2019a; Steadman et al. 2019a). Excavations on all four evidence does not confirm this (Schoop 2005). The complicated patchwork that is Chalco- slopes of the mound, as well as on the North Terrace, have revealed the fortifications built lithic Anatolia remains a work in progress for scholars devoted to this time and place. by residents during the second millennium BCE Hittite age (Ross et al. 2019b; Steadman and McMahon 2015), and the various industries undertaken during the Iron Age (first Table 1. Chalcolithic periodization used in the text (based on Schoop 2011a). millennium BCE) Phrygian and later empires (Steadman et al. 2019b, forthcoming). Work at Çadır HöyükEarly has Chalcolithic also contributed significantly to the understandingca. 6100–5500 of BCE the Late Antique and ByzantineMiddle hinterland Chalcolithic over the last two millennia (Cassisca. 5500 and– Steadman4250 BCE 2014; Cassis and LauricellaLate 2021 Chalcolithic). The present study on religion andca. space 4250– is3000 focused BCE on the Late Chalcolithic settlement (3800–3000 BCE). InÇadır particular, Höyük werests focus within on two the ofbend the of themes the Kızılırmak in this Special (river) Issue: in the How province sacredness of Yozgat may be(Figures “captured” 1–3). Since in the 1994, built continuous environment, excavations and the degreehave revealed to which 6000 this years may of be occupation displayed oron concealedthe Çadır bymound, the inhabitants spanning the ofa late place. sixth In millennium view of the firstBCE ofto thesethe 14th themes, century we of argue this thatera (Cassis ritual practiceset al. 2019; within Ross theet al settlement. 2019a; Steadman consecrated et al. both 2019a). domestic Excavations and public on all space, four effectivelyslopes of the materializing mound, as well and as “storing” on the North memories Terrace, and have symbolic revealed ideas the about fortifications social life built and theby residents family in during the architectural the second fabricmillennium of the BCE settlement. Hittite age We (Ross also discusset al. 2019b; how Steadman residents dealtand McMahon conceptually 2015), with and the the destruction various industries and ultimate undertaken abandonment during of the these Iron consecrated Age (first spaces.millennium The BCE) consideration Phrygian ofand the later second empires and related(Steadman theme, et al. visibility, 2019b, forthcoming). allows us to Work chart theat Çadır changing Höyük social has relationships:also contributed rising significantly social complexity to the understanding at the site appears of the Late to have An- createdtique and a desire Byzantine among hinterland the elite to over conceal the last their two own millennia ritual practices, (Cassiswhile and Steadman simultaneously 2014; compellingCassis and Lauricella the rest of 2021). the group The present to move study their observanceon religion and from space the domestic is focused to on the the public Late sphere.Chalcolithic settlement (3800–3000 BCE). Figure 1. Map of Anatolia showing ÇadırÇadır HöyükHöyük asas wellwell asas otherother prominentprominent ChalcolithicChalcolithic sitessites (map courtesy(map courtesy of A. J.of Lauricella). A. J. Lauricella). ReligionsReligions 20212021,, 1212,, 665x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 303 of 29 Religions 2021, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 30 FigureFigure 2. 2. (Top(Top) V)iew View of ofÇadır Çadır Höyük Höyük looking looking south; south; (Bottom (Bottom) Topographic) Topographic map of map Çadır of ÇadırHöyük Höyük showing areas of excavation. Trenches and areas discussed are labeled and highlighted. showingFigure 2. areas (Top) of V excavation.iew of Çadır Trenches Höyük looking and areas south; discussed (Bottom are) Topographic labeled and map highlighted. of Çadır Höyük showing areas of excavation. Trenches and areas discussed are labeled and highlighted. Figure 3. Aerial view of Çadır Höyük showing location of Lower and Upper (Chalcolithic) Towns on southern slope. FigureFigure 3.3.Aerial Aerial viewview ofof ÇadırÇadır Höyük showing location of of Lower Lower and and Upper Upper (Chalcolithic) (Chalcolithic) Towns Towns on on southern slope. southern slope. Religions 2021, 12, 665 4 of 29 2. The Late Chalcolithic Lower Town at Çadır Höyük As noted above, the Late Chalcolithic is a poorly understood period in Anatolian prehistory, mainly due to the dearth of excavated sites. There
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Durham E-Theses
    Durham E-Theses Neolithic and chalcolithic cultures in Turkish Thrace Erdogu, Burcin How to cite: Erdogu, Burcin (2001) Neolithic and chalcolithic cultures in Turkish Thrace, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3994/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk NEOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC CULTURES IN TURKISH THRACE Burcin Erdogu Thesis Submitted for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. University of Durham Department of Archaeology 2001 Burcin Erdogu PhD Thesis NeoHthic and ChalcoHthic Cultures in Turkish Thrace ABSTRACT The subject of this thesis are the NeoHthic and ChalcoHthic cultures in Turkish Thrace. Turkish Thrace acts as a land bridge between the Balkans and Anatolia.
    [Show full text]
  • Architecture of Afterlife: Future Cemetery in Metropolis
    ARCHITECTURE OF AFTERLIFE: FUTURE CEMETERY IN METROPOLIS A DARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF ARCHITECTURE MAY 2017 BY SHIYU SONG DArch Committee: Joyce Noe, Chairperson William Chapman Brian Takahashi Key Words: Conventional Cemetery, Contemporary Cemetery, Future Cemetery, High-technology Innovation Architecture of Afterlife: Future Cemetery in Metropolis Shiyu Song April 2017 We certify that we have read this Doctorate Project and that, in our opinion, it is satisfactory in scope and quality in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Architecture in the School of Architecture, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Doctorate Project Committee ___________________________________ Joyce Noe ___________________________________ William Chapman ___________________________________ Brian Takahashi Acknowledgments I dedicate this thesis to everyone in my life. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my committee chair, Professor Joyce Noe, for her support, guidance and insight throughout this doctoral project. Many thanks to my wonderful committee members William Chapman and Brian Takahashi for their precious and valuable guidance and support. Salute to my dear professor Spencer Leineweber who inspires me in spirit and work ethic. Thanks to all the professors for your teaching and encouragement imparted on me throughout my years of study. After all these years of study, finally, I understand why we need to study and how important education is. Overall, this dissertation is an emotional research product. As an idealist, I choose this topic as a lesson for myself to understand life through death. The more I delve into the notion of death, the better I appreciate life itself, and knowing every individual human being is a bless; everyday is a present is my best learning outcome.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline from Ice Ages to European Arrival in New England
    TIMELINE FROM ICE AGES TO EUROPEAN ARRIVAL IN NEW ENGLAND Mitchell T. Mulholland & Kit Curran Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Amherst 500 Years Before Present CONTACT Europeans Arrive PERIOD 3,000 YBP WOODLAND Semi-permanent villages in which cultivated food crops are stored. Mixed-oak forest, chestnut. Slash and burn agriculture changes appearance of landscape. Cultivated plants: corn, beans, and squash. Bows and arrows, spears used along with more wood, bone tools. 6,000 YBP LATE Larger base camps; small groups move seasonally ARCHAIC through mixed-oak forest, including some tropical plants. Abundant fish and game; seeds and nuts. 9,000 YBP EARLY & Hunter/gatherers using seasonal camping sites for MIDDLE several months duration to hunt deer, turkey, ARCHAIC and fish with spears as well as gathering plants. 12,000 YBP PALEOINDIAN Small nomadic hunting groups using spears to hunt caribou and mammoth in the tundra Traditional discussions of the occupation of New England by prehistoric peoples divide prehistory into three major periods: Paleoindian, Archaic and Woodland. Paleoindian Period (12,000-9,000 BP) The Paleoindian Period extended from approximately 12,000 years before present (BP) until 9,000 BP. During this era, people manufactured fluted projectile points. They hunted caribou as well as smaller animals found in the sparse, tundra-like environment. In other parts of the country, Paleoindian groups hunted larger Pleistocene mammals such as mastodon or mammoth. In New England there is no evidence that these mammals were utilized by humans as a food source. People moved into New England after deglaciation of the region concluded around 14,000 BP.
    [Show full text]
  • 293 Radiocarbon and Stable
    RADIOCARBON, Vol 46, Nr 1, 2004, p 293–300 © 2004 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona RADIOCARBON AND STABLE ISOTOPE EVIDENCE OF DIETARY CHANGE FROM THE MESOLITHIC TO THE MIDDLE AGES IN THE IRON GATES: NEW RESULTS FROM LEPENSKI VIR C Bonsall1,2 • G T Cook3 • R E M Hedges4 • T F G Higham4 • C Pickard1 • I RadovanoviÊ5 ABSTRACT. A previous radiocarbon dating and stable isotope study of directly associated ungulate and human bone samples from Late Mesolithic burials at Schela Cladovei in Romania established that there is a freshwater reservoir effect of approximately 500 yr in the Iron Gates reach of the Danube River valley in southeast Europe. Using the δ15N values as an indicator of the percentage of freshwater protein in the human diet, the 14C data for 24 skeletons from the site of Lepenski Vir were corrected for this reservoir effect. The results of the paired 14C and stable isotope measurements provide evidence of substantial dietary change over the period from about 9000 BP to about 300 BP. The data from the Early Mesolithic to the Chalcolithic are consistent with a 2-component dietary system, where the linear plot of isotopic values reflects mixing between the 2 end-members to differing degrees. Typically, the individuals of Mesolithic age have much heavier δ15N signals and slightly heavier δ13C, while individuals of Early Neolithic and Chalcolithic age have lighter δ15N and δ13C values. Contrary to our earlier suggestion, there is no evidence of a substantial population that had a transitional diet midway between those that were characteristic of the Mesolithic and Neolithic.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Nature of Transitions: the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Revolution
    On the Nature of Transitions: the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Revolution The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Bar-Yosef, Ofer. 1998. “On the Nature of Transitions: The Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Revolution.” Cam. Arch. Jnl 8 (02) (October): 141. Published Version doi:10.1017/S0959774300000986 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:12211496 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Cambridge Archaeological Journal 8:2 (1998), 141-63 On the Nature of Transitions: the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic Revolution Ofer Bar-Yosef This article discusses two major revolutions in the history of humankind, namely, the Neolithic and the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic revolutions. The course of the first one is used as a general analogy to study the second, and the older one. This approach puts aside the issue of biological differences among the human fossils, and concentrates solely on the cultural and technological innovations. It also demonstrates that issues that are common- place to the study of the trajisition from foraging to cultivation and animal husbandry can be employed as an overarching model for the study of the transition from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic. The advantage of this approach is that it focuses on the core areas where each of these revolutions began, the ensuing dispersals and their geographic contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • Grave Goods, Hoards and Deposits ‘In Between’I
    Spectrums of depositional practice in later prehistoric Britain and beyond: grave goods, hoards and deposits ‘in between’i Anwen Cooper, Duncan Garrow and Catriona Gibson Paper accepted for publication in Archaeological Dialogues 27(2), Dec 2020 Abstract This paper critically evaluates how archaeologists define ‘grave goods’ in relation to the full spectrum of depositional contexts available to people in the past, including hoards, rivers and other ‘special’ deposits. Developing the argument that variations in artefact deposition over time and space can only be understood if different ‘types’ of finds location are considered together holistically, we contend that it is also vital to look at the points where traditionally defined contexts of deposition become blurred into one another. In this paper, we investigate one particular such category – body-less object deposits at funerary sites – in later prehistoric Britain. This category of evidence has never previously been analysed collectively, let alone over the extended time period considered here. On the basis of a substantial body of evidence collected as part of a nationwide survey, we demonstrate that body-less object deposits were a significant component of funerary sites during later prehistory. Consequently, we go on to question whether human remains were actually always a necessary element of funerary deposits for prehistoric people, suggesting that the absence of human bone could be a positive attribute rather than simply a negative outcome of taphonomic processes. We also argue that modern, fixed depositional categories sometimes serve to mask a full understanding of the complex realities of past practice and ask whether it might be productive in some instances to move beyond interpretatively confining terms such as ‘grave’, ‘hoard’ and ‘cenotaph’.
    [Show full text]
  • A Contribution to the Study of Athenian Pyres
    HESPERIA 68.2, I999 A CUR$[E I N A C HYT RI WIO N A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF ATHENIAN PYRES In the earliest years of their work in the Athenian Agora, American exca- vators came upon a number of deposits of an unusual type: a shallow de- pression or irregular pit, with marked evidence of burning on its floor, containing multiple vessels of a limited of standard forms.1 Most of 1. For initial permissionto publish range the pot and the curse tablet discussed the pots were miniatures-commonly, small plates and saucers, lekanides, below we are indebted to T. Leslie and cooking pots-but alabastra,larger plates, and a full-size drinking cup ShearJr., and for their drawingsof or lamp were sometimes included. Occasionally a few tiny and calcined Figures 1 and 3, to RichardAnderson fragments of bone were recovered.These deposits never appeared within and Anne Hooton, respectively.The the Agora square itself, but they were common among the houses and wizardryof Craig Mauzy is responsible for the digitally enhancedimage in workshops that surroundedit. They were particularlynumerous in the so- Figure 2, createdfrom a contact print called Industrial District southwest of the Agora, which Rodney Young for which the negativehad been excavated in the late 1930s and the 1940s. Taking the bone fragments to destroyed.Thanks are due as well to Jan be human, Young published the contents of fourteen such deposits from Jordan,who arrangedaccess to the that part of the city in his article "Sepulturaeintra urbem,"2 interpreting objects.We are also pleased to them as the cremationgraves of infants and christening them "pyreburials." acknowledgehere the suggestionsmade by Hesperia'sanonymous referees.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cradle of Humanity: Prehistoric Art and Culture/ by Georges Bataille : Edited and Introduced by Stum Kendall ; Translated by Michelle Kendall and Stum Kendall
    The Cradle of Humanity Prehistoric Art and Culture Georges Bataille Edited and Introduced by Stuart Kendall Translated by Michelle Kendall and Stuart Kendall ZONE BOOKS · NEW YORK 2005 � 2005 UrzoneInc ZONE B001[S 1226 Prospect Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11218 All rights reserved. No pm of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfihning,recording, or otherwise (except for that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright uw and except by reviewers for the public press) without written permission from the Publisher. Printed in the United States of America. Georges Bataille's writings are O Editions Gallimard, Paris. Distributed by The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bataille, Georges, 1897-1962 The cradle of humanity: prehistoric art and culture/ by Georges Bataille : edited and introduced by Stum Kendall ; translated by Michelle Kendall and Stum Kendall. P· cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-890951-55-2 l. Art, prehistoric and science. I. Kendall, Stuart. II. Title. N5310.B382 2004 709'.01 -dc21 Original from Digitized by UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Google Contents Editor's Introduction: The Sediment ofthe Possible 9 A Note on the Translation 33 Primitive Art 35 I The Frobenius Exhibit at the Salle Pleyel 45 II A Visit to Lascaux: A Lecture at the Sociiti d'A9riculture, Sciences, Belles-Lettres III et Arts d'Orlians 47 The Passa9efrom
    [Show full text]
  • Technological Features of the Chalcolithic Pottery from Târpești (Neamț County, Eastern Romania)
    Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry Vol. 19, No 3, (2019), pp. 93-104 Open Access. Online & Print. www.maajournal.com DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3541108 TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE CHALCOLITHIC POTTERY FROM TÂRPEȘTI (NEAMȚ COUNTY, EASTERN ROMANIA) Florica Mățău*1, Ovidiu Chișcan2, Mitică Pintilei3, Daniel Garvăn4, Alexandru Stancu2 1Interdisciplinary Research Institute, Science Department-ARHEOINVEST Platform, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Lascăr Catargi, no. 54, 700107, Iasi, Romania 2Faculty of Physics, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Carol I, no. 11, 700506, Iasi, Romania 3Department of Geology, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, Carol I, no. 11, 700506, Iasi, Romania 4Buzău County Museum, Castanilor, no. 1, 120248, Buzău, Romania Received: 11/10/2019 Accepted: 14/11/2019 *Corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT The technological parameters of representative pottery samples attributed to Precucuteni (5050-4600 cal BC) and Cucuteni (4600-3500 cal BC) cultures identified at Târpești (Neamț County, Eastern Romania) were determined using a complex archaeometric approach. The site is located in the north-eastern part of the present-day Romania occupying a small plateau situated in a hilly region. In order to evaluate the raw materials and the firing process we have used optical microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and magnetic measurements. Further on, the XRPD data were statistically treated using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) taking into account position and peak intensity, the Euclidian distance as metric and the average linkage method as a linkage basis for gaining a more refined estimation of the mineralogical transformations induced by the firing process and for defining homogenous group of samples.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring the Concept of Home at Hunter-Gatherer Sites in Upper Paleolithic Europe and Epipaleolithic Southwest Asia
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Previously Published Works Title Homes for hunters?: Exploring the concept of home at hunter-gatherer sites in upper paleolithic Europe and epipaleolithic Southwest Asia Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9nt6f73n Journal Current Anthropology, 60(1) ISSN 0011-3204 Authors Maher, LA Conkey, M Publication Date 2019-02-01 DOI 10.1086/701523 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Current Anthropology Volume 60, Number 1, February 2019 91 Homes for Hunters? Exploring the Concept of Home at Hunter-Gatherer Sites in Upper Paleolithic Europe and Epipaleolithic Southwest Asia by Lisa A. Maher and Margaret Conkey In both Southwest Asia and Europe, only a handful of known Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic sites attest to aggregation or gatherings of hunter-gatherer groups, sometimes including evidence of hut structures and highly structured use of space. Interpretation of these structures ranges greatly, from mere ephemeral shelters to places “built” into a landscape with meanings beyond refuge from the elements. One might argue that this ambiguity stems from a largely functional interpretation of shelters that is embodied in the very terminology we use to describe them in comparison to the homes of later farming communities: mobile hunter-gatherers build and occupy huts that can form campsites, whereas sedentary farmers occupy houses or homes that form communities. Here we examine some of the evidence for Upper Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic structures in Europe and Southwest Asia, offering insights into their complex “functions” and examining perceptions of space among hunter-gatherer communities. We do this through examination of two contemporary, yet geographically and culturally distinct, examples: Upper Paleolithic (especially Magdalenian) evidence in Western Europe and the Epipaleolithic record (especially Early and Middle phases) in Southwest Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES of DEMETER and PERSEPHONE: Fertility, Sexuality, Ancl Rebirth Mara Lynn Keller
    THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES OF DEMETER AND PERSEPHONE: Fertility, Sexuality, ancl Rebirth Mara Lynn Keller The story of Demeter and Persephone, mother and daugher naturc goddesses, provides us with insights into the core beliefs by which earl) agrarian peoples of the Mediterranean related to “the creative forces of thc universe”-which some people call God, or Goddess.’ The rites of Demetei and Persephone speak to the experiences of life that remain through all time< the most mysterious-birth, sexuality, death-and also to the greatest niys tery of all, enduring love. In these ceremonies, women and inen expressec joy in the beauty and abundance of nature, especially the bountiful harvest in personal love, sexuality and procreation; and in the rebirth of the humail spirit, even through suffering and death. Cicero wrote of these rites: “Wc have been given a reason not only to live in joy, but also to die with bettei hope. ”2 The Mother Earth religion ceIebrated her children’s birth, enjoyment of life and loving return to her in death. The Earth both nourished the living and welcomed back into her body the dead. As Aeschylus wrote in TIic Libation Bearers: Yea, summon Earth, who brings all things to life and rears, and takes again into her womb.3 I wish to express my gratitude for the love and wisdom of my mother, hlary 1’. Keller, and of Dr. Muriel Chapman. They have been invaluable soiirces of insight and under- standing for me in these studies. So also have been the scholarship, vision atdot- friendship of Carol €! Christ, Charlene Spretnak, Deem Metzger, Carol Lee Saiichez, Ruby Rohrlich, Starhawk, Jane Ellen Harrison, Kiane Eisler, Alexis Masters, Richard Trapp, John Glanville, Judith Plaskow, Jim Syfers, Jim Moses, Bonnie blacCregor and Lil Moed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Reconstruction of Upper Paleolithic Adaptations: the Biscayan Regions As Seen by an Archeologist from North America
    MUNIBE (Antropología y Arqueología) Suplemento N.º 6 35-44 SAN SEBASTIAN 1988 ISSN 0027 - 3414 The reconstruction of Upper Paleolithic adaptations: The Biscayan regions as seen by an archeologist from North America. La reconstrucción de las adaptaciones del Paleolítico Superior. Las regiones del Golfo de Vizcaya vistas por un arqueólogo norteamericano. Lawrence G. STRAUS * PALABRAS CLAVE: Paleolítico superior, Paleoecología, Nueva Arqueología, Gascoña, Euskadi, Cantabria, Asturias. RESUMEN Esta comunicación resume algunos acontecimientos recientes en la construcción de las teorías acerca de las adaptaciones y las estrategias de movilidad de los cazadores-recolectores por L.R. Binford y otros representantes de la «Nueva Arqueología» norteamerica- na. Después describe el estado actual de nuestros conocimientos sobre las relaciones humano-medio ambiente en el Paleolítico supe- rior de las regiones limítrofes del Mar Cantábrico de Francia y España, basándome en las investigaciones arqueológicas y de las ciencias naturales de las últimas dos décadas. Propongo un modelo descriptivo y sugiero unas hipótesis para explicar los cambios adaptativos mayores en la secuencia prehistórica regional para estar probadas por investigaciones futuras. SUMMARY This paper summarizes recent developments in the construction of theory concerning hunter-gatherer adaptations and mobility stra- tegies by L.R. Binford and other exponents of North American «New Archeology». Then it describes the state of our current understan- ding of Upper Paleolithic human-environment relationships in the regions of France and Spain bordering the Bay of Biscay, based on archeological and natural science research conducted during the last two decades. A descriptive model is proposed and explanatory hypotheses for major adaptive changes in the regional prehistoric record are suggested for further systematic testing.
    [Show full text]