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At the crossroads: prehistoric settlement in the Maeander valley

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

Daniel Thompson
Daniel Thompson
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University College London
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Abstract

The Maeander river (modern Büyük Menderes Nehri) provides the longest natural route through the mountains of central western Anatolia to link the Aegean basin to inner Anatolia, and research suggests that permanent settlement within the river's catchment had begun at least tentatively by the Late Neolithic period. However, the limited amount of archaeological research in the region has restricted our understanding of the inhabitants' settlement histories and intra- and inter-regional cultural contacts during prehistory. This paper seeks to understand better the nature of settlement dynamics and cultural interactivity from the Neolithic period through to the Late Bronze Age in this region by reviewing the available literature within a broad geographic context encompassing western Anatolia and the Aegean, neighbours whose archaeological evaluations have largely been conducted in isolation from each other. The evidence suggests that these early communities interacted with each other and inter-regionally with fluctuating intensities during prehistory, with the interior remaining more traditionally Anatolian, while the lower, coastal area experienced increasing interaction with and influence from Aegean cultures over time. The lower valley also displays a relatively static number of prehistoric sites in contrast to the middle and upper regions, where more dynamic and largely parallel settlement histories are seen.

Özet

Menderes (Eski adıyla Maeander) nehri, Ege havzasını Orta Batı Anadolu dağları üzerinden Anadolu'nun iç kesimlere bağlayan yegane doğal hattır. Yapılan araştırmalar nehir havzası içinde, en azından Geç Neolitik dönemden itibaren kalıcı yerleşimlerin kurulmuş olduğunu düşündürmektedir. Ancak bölgede yapılan arkeolojik çalışmaların sınırlı olması bölgenin yerleşim tarihini, prehistorik dönemdeki bölge içi ve bölgeler arası kültürel ilişkileri anlamamız bakımından bir sorun oluşturmaktadır. Bu makalede bölgenin Neolitik Çağdan Geç Bronz Çağına kadar olan dönemdeki yerleşim dinamiklerinin doğasını ve kültürel ilişkilerini, birbirine komşu olan ama arkeolojik değerlendirmeleri çoğu kez birbirinden ayrı olarak ele alınan Batı Anadolu ve Ege bölgelerinin geniş coğrafyası içinde mevcut olan literatürü kullanarak anlamaya çalışacağız. Elde edilen kanıtlar bu erken toplumların prehistorik çağlar boyunca değişen bir yoğunlukta hem birbirleri ile hem de bölgeler arası ilişkiler içinde olduklarını göstermektedir. Sonuçta iç kesimlerin daha geleneksel Anadolu özellikleriyle kaldığı, aşağıdaki kıyı kesimlerin ise Ege kültürleriyle, zamanla daha da artan bir iletişim ve etkileşim içinde olduğu anlaşılmaktadır. Ayrıca daha dinamik olan ve birbiriyle geniş ölçüde paralellik gösteren bir yerleşim tarihine sahip iç ve üst bölgelerin aksine, aşağı vadide nispeten durağan sayıda prehistorik yerleşim görülmektedir.

Type
Research Article
Information
Anatolian Studies , Volume 57 , December 2007 , pp. 87 - 99
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute at Ankara 2007

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