Obsidian and Rock Crystal Artefacts as Prestige Finds Based on Raw Material Resources in Çine-Tepecik


GÜNEL S.

PRAEHISTORISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT, cilt.100, sa.1, ss.23-38, 2025 (AHCI, SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 100 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1515/pz-2024-2021
  • Dergi Adı: PRAEHISTORISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, FRANCIS, IBZ Online, Periodicals Index Online, L'Année philologique, Anthropological Literature, Art Abstracts, Art Index, Art Source
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.23-38
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: cultural interaction, Middle Bronze Age, obsidian vessels, raw material resources, Western Anatolia, Çine-Tepecik settlement
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Within its location on the & Ccedil;ine plain, south of the Great Meander River, & Ccedil;ine-Tepecik is an important settlement inhabited continuously from the Chalcolithic to the end of the Bronze Age. & Ccedil;ine-Tepecik reflects an advanced lithic assemblage based on different raw material resources from the earliest period. Obsidian is among the earliest finds in Tepecik showing interregional trade based on the system of exchange, and is a resource that societies prioritized in their social lives and interregional communication since the beginning of the settlement process. Starting from the 4th millennium BCE until the end of the 2nd millennium BCE, obsidian was obtained from three main resources in the Aegean. These are Melos and Antiparos from the Cyclades; Giali from the Dodecanese and G & ouml;ll & uuml; Da & gbreve;, Nenezi and Ac & imath;g & ouml;l from Central Anatolia. These connections, based on trade with the Aegean and Central Anatolia, reveal a skilled craft of obsidian tool production, as well as an obsidian and rock crystal vessel tradition in Tepecik during the Middle Bronze Age. The assemblage, which has a special meaning among prestige products, belongs to a craft activity that requires skill and experience, and is an indicator of socio-cultural richness. During the 2nd millennium BCE, in the wide geographical region covering Anatolia, Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean obsidian and rock crystal vessels were among the special items produced for the royal or elite class. The stone vessel assemblage reflects the political and economic power of these regions, and also provides an understanding of interregional cultural and commercial connections. In the & Ccedil;ine-Tepecik Middle Bronze Age settlement, the obsidian and rock crystal vessel traditions followed a similar chronological development as the geography extending to Anatolia, the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, and brings new finds to regional archaeology.