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‘A PATH LESS TRAVELLED’? A CASE STUDY OF CROSS-REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM BC FROM THE MADRA RIVER DELTA ON THE COASTLINE OF NORTH-WEST ANATOLIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2021

Maria Röcklinger*
Affiliation:
Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Barbara Horejs
Affiliation:
Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Kyriacos Lambrianides
Affiliation:
Retired, formerly University of London
Nigel Spencer
Affiliation:
Queen Mary, University of London

Abstract

Assumptions are always made about the levels and directions of cultural connections across regions in western Anatolia and the eastern Aegean in the Early Bronze Age (EBA). However, a lack of primary fieldwork data still inhibits clear conclusions and an understanding of the subtleties and variations in such patterns. In particular, primary data is still lacking from the critical coastal ‘touch-point’ of these two regions where material evidence is usually obscured by significant geomorphological change. This article looks at this complex issue of variations in regional connectivity in the EBA through a case study of unpublished primary fieldwork material from the Madra River Delta, a coastal region of north-west Anatolia. Material from the excavation and surface survey of two EBA mound sites in the delta, carried out as part of the interdisciplinary research project, gives a rare opportunity to explore ‘connectivity’ on this coastal area through elements of its EBA material culture, ranging from ceramic and textile production to figurines. The article highlights not only the complex, and unexpected, nature of the inter-regional cultural ‘pathways’ visible in the delta itself, but also the implications – and further questions – which this raises for the cultural connections with the neighbouring region of the north-east Aegean.

Μελέτη διατοπικών επαφών την τρίτη χιλιετία π.Χ. στο Δέλτα του ποταμού Madra, μια παράκτια περιοχή της Βορειοδυτικής Μικράς Ασίας

Πολλές υποθέσεις έχουν διατυπωθεί μέχρι σήμερα σε σχέση με τον βαθμό και τις κατευθύνσεις των πολιτισμικών διασυνδέσεων μεταξύ των διαφόρων περιοχών στα Δυτικά παράλια της Μικράς Ασίας και στο Ανατολικό Αιγαίο κατά την Πρώιμη Εποχή του Χαλκού (ΠΕΧ). Ωστόσο, η έλλειψη πρωτογενών δεδομένων από έρευνες πεδίου εμποδίζει την εξαγωγή ασφαλών συμπερασμάτων και την κατανόηση των μικροδιαφοροποιήσεων και λεπτών αποχρώσεων που διακρίνουν τα πολιτισμικά μοντέλα αυτού του τύπου. Ειδικότερα, δεν υπάρχουν ακόμη πρωτογενή δεδομένα από τα καθοριστικής σημασίας παράκτια σημεία επαφής των δύο περιοχών, καθόσον, όπως συνήθως συμβαίνει εκεί, σημαντικές γεωμορφολογικές αλλαγές συγκαλύπτουν τα υλικά κατάλοιπα. Το άρθρο εξετάζει το σύνθετο ζήτημα των παραλλαγών στις περιφερειακές δυνατότητες για επαφές κατά την ΠΕΧ με βάση τη μελέτη αδημοσίευτου υλικού από έρευνα πεδίου στο Δέλτα του ποταμού Madra, μία παράκτια περιοχή της Βορειοδυτικής Μικράς Ασίας. Τα ευρήματα της ανασκαφής και της επιφανειακής έρευνας, που διεξήχθησαν σε δύο τούμπες της ΠΕΧ στο Δέλτα στο πλαίσιο διεπιστημονικού ερευνητικού προγράμματος, παρέχουν την σπάνια ευκαιρία για τη διερεύνηση των δυνατοτήτων επαφών στην παράκτια αυτή περιοχή με τη μελέτη στοιχείων του υλικού πολιτισμού της ΠΕΧ, είτε πρόκειται για κατάλοιπα της αγγειοπλαστικής και υφαντουργικής παραγωγής είτε της ειδωλοπλαστικής. Το άρθρο επισημαίνει τόσο τον σύνθετο και απρόβλεπτο χαρακτήρα των διατοπικών πολιτιστικών διαδρομών, ορατών στην περιοχή του Δέλτα, όσο και τη σημασία τους – αλλά και τα περαιτέρω ερωτήματα που θέτουν – για τις πολιτισμικές διασυνδέσεις με τη γειτονική περιοχή του Βορειοανατολικού Αιγαίου.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens, 2021

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