Date of Completion

6-19-2018

Embargo Period

6-18-2018

Keywords

Archaeobotany, Paleoethnobotany, SW Asia, Anatolia, Late Chalcolithic, Social Complexity

Major Advisor

Dr. Alexia Smith

Associate Advisor

Dr. Natalie Munro

Associate Advisor

Dr. Gideon Hartman

Associate Advisor

Dr. Sharon Steadman

Field of Study

Anthropology

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Open Access

Open Access

Abstract

Çadır Höyük, a mounded site on the north central Anatolian plateau occupied almost continuously from the Middle Chalcolithic through the Byzantine periods (5200 B.C.E.–1300 C.E.) yielded over 460 m2 of excavated LC remains. This period witnessed rapid cultural and environmental change providing an opportunity to examine how populations react. Archaeobotany, the study of the relationship between ancient plants and people, is an ideal tool to examine how populations reacted due to plants’ direct relationship with the environment and the fact that plant use can be controlled at both the household and state level.

This study presents data from 60 archaeobotanical samples spanning three periods of occupation (3500–3200 B.C.E., 3200 B.C.E., and 3200–3000 B.C.E.) to determine how the population at Çadır modified agricultural and fuel use practices between 3500 and 3000 B.C.E. using descriptive and multivariate statistics.

Results reveal that the inhabitants of Çadır relied heavily on barley, emmer, lentils, and flax throughout the LC and dung fuel was preferentially used across the site. Prior to 3200 B.C.E., plant use was stricter and more controlled and animals were routinely provisioned with fodder. After 3200 B.C.E., plant use norms became less strict and the environmental change caused a shift towards provisioning animals through pasturing. This shift to grazing did not fundamentally change the role of plant cultivation at Çadır, just the role of some taxa from fodder to food. By shifting emphasis from agriculture to agropastoralism after 3200 B.C.E., the population at Çadır was able to weather these changes.

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