PUBLICATIONS
Perınatal Mortalıty and Metabolıc Stress ın Bronze Age South-Central Anatolıa: A Bıoarchaeologıcal Analysıs of Infant Skeletal Remaıns From Konya Karahöyük (Türkiye)
Infant skeletal remains provide a sensitive window into the health, environmental stressors, and social conditions of past populations. This study presents a bioarchaeological analysis of 61 non-adult and 4 adult skeletal remains recovered from the 17th-16th centuries BCE levels of the Bronze Age site of Konya Karahöyük in south-central Anatolia (Türkiye). The assemblage is dominated by neonates (n= 36; 55.38%), making it one of the most substantial Bronze Age infant collections documented in the region. Osteological examinations reveal high rates of metabolic stress indicators. Among individuals with evaluable elements, porotic hyperostosis was observed in 36.8% of crania, cribra orbitalia in 35.5% of orbits, porosity/periostitis in 19.5% of individuals, and possible scurvy/rickets in 9.8%. A differential diagnosis approach evaluates multiple potential etiologies, including megaloblastic anemia (B12/folate deficiency), hemolytic anemia (potentially malaria-related), scurvy, rickets, and non-specific infectious disease. The presence of these lesions in neonates points to maternal nutritional and hematological stress as a primary contributing factor. No evidence of trauma was observed, supporting the interpretation that most deaths were acute and attributable to infectious or nutritional disease rather than violence. Environmental data suggest that a waterlogged, flood-prone palaeolandscape created conditions favorable for malaria and other infections, though direct biomolecular evidence for malaria is lacking. The intramural deposition of neonates within administrative-ritual spaces reflects a culturally mediated response to infant death. This study contributes to the growing bioarchaeological literature on Bronze Age childhood in Anatolia and offers a rare, contextualized dataset for understanding infant vulnerability in pre-industrial southwestern Asia.
Beyond loom weıghts: Contextualısıng crescent-shaped objects as admınıstratıve ınstruments ın Late Bronze Age Konya Karahöyük (south-central Anatolıa)
Crescent-shaped objects (CSOs) are common in the Bronze Age archaeological contexts of Anatolia. Particularly for the Middle Bronze Age, these objects were routinely interpreted as loom weights for textile production. While arguments exist for different uses of CSOs, such as identity markers, receipts for goods, fishing net weights or pottery handles, incomplete data from a fully recovered archaeological context prevent further assertions for the Late Bronze Age. This article presents new data from the Late Bronze Age I (ca 16th century BCE) strata of the south-central Anatolian site of Konya Karahöyük, suggesting an alternative use for CSOs. Konya Karahöyük is a major Bronze Age hub in the Konya plain, with numerous examples of CSOs dating to the Old Assyrian Colony (OAC) period uncovered in previous excavations conducted at the site from 1953 to 1992. The new round of excavations, which started in 2022, yielded a significant collection providing an opportunity to reinterpret the functions of these objects. The CSOs found in association with pithoi and sealings in a grain and wine storage and preparation context offer evidence of CSOs used as administrative devices. We suggest that CSOs of the 16th-century BCE levels of Konya Karahöyük were utilised as a part of an administrative kit, conceivably accustomed to control time or check the capacity of grain and liquid containers. In the Late Bronze Age, a period marked by the advancement of centralised administrative systems, this new layer of evidence suggests that CSOs may have served a function distinct from their traditionally accepted role as loom weights, which dominates Middle Bronze Age interpretations.
Ceramıc Assemblage from the Southwestern Sondage at Konya Karahöyük: Stratıgraphıc Evıdence, Typologıcal Analysıs, and the Anatolıan Context
This study examines the ceramic assemblage recovered from a stratigraphically continuous sondage excavated in the southwestern sector of Konya Karahöyük, where excavations resumed in 2022. The approximately 3 × 3m sondage, reaching a depth of 3.20 m, yielded 597 ceramic sherds, which were classified into four groups corresponding to successive occupational phases dating from the late Middle Bronze Age to the beginning of the Late Bronze Age I. Typological analysis indicates an assemblage dominated by bowls, including simple-rimmed, carinated, and inward-turned forms, together with long-necked jars, cups, beakers, and cooking pots with double-crescent handles. The deepest level also produced distinctive prestige vessels, including a trefoil jug and a wheel-made chalice. The assemblage has been evaluated through comparison with ceramic repertoires from Central and Southern Anatolia. This material is significant not only because it belongs to a period corresponding to the decline of major Middle Bronze Age centres but also because it demonstrates the urban continuity of Konya Karahöyük. Moreover, it represents the first systematically excavated ceramic assemblage of this period from the Konya Plain. The ceramic repertoire presented here provides an important reference for establishing the ceramic chronology of southern Central Anatolia from the late Middle Bronze Age to the early phases of the Late Bronze Age I.
KONYA KARAHÖYÜK’TE BULUNAN GEÇ TUNÇ ÇAĞI İDOL ve FİGÜRİNLERİ [LATE BRONZE AGE FIGURINES AND IDOLS FROM KONYA KARAHÖYÜK]
İdol ve figürinler, Tunç Çağları boyunca Anadolu’yu da kapsayan Güneybatı Asya’nın maddi kültürü içerisinde önemli bir figüratif nesne grubu olarak öne çıkar. Taş, kil, kemik, metal ve deniz kabuğu gibi farklı hammaddelerden üretilen figürinlerde, antropomorfik, zoomorfik ve soyut imgeler betimlenmiştir. Boyutları 1 cm’den 20 cm’e kadar değişiklik gösteren figürinler, taşınılabilir heykelciklerdir (Atakuman 2019: 81). MÖ 2. binyıl boyunca hem gündelik hem de ritüel bağlamlarda işlevsel roller üstlenen bu objeler; biçimsel çeşitlilikleri, üretildikleri malzemelerin yelpazesi ve farklı bağlamlardaki kullanımlarıyla dikkat çeker. Söz konusu buluntular, yalnızca dönemin estetik anlayışını yansıtan sanatsal ürünler değil, aynı zamanda inanç sistemleri, toplumsal kimlikler ve sosyal yapılar hakkında bilgi edinilmesini mümkün kılan anlamlı arkeolojik göstergelerdir. Prehistorik çağlardan itibaren güçlü ve çeşitli bir idol ve figürin geleneğine sahip olduğu başta Çatalhöyük ve Gökhöyük gibi Neolitik yerleşimlerden bilinen Konya Ovası’nda, MÖ 2. binyıldaki çeşitlilik ise literatürde daha sınırlı olarak ele alınmıştır.
KONYA KARAHÖYÜK KAZILARI 2024 SEZONU
Konya Karahöyük, Konya il merkezinin 8 km güneybatısında ve Meram ilçesinin yak- laşık 18 km kuzeydoğusunda yer almaktadır. Arkeolojik bulgular, Konya il merkezine ol- dukça yakın bir konumda bulunan höyüğün, özellikle MÖ 2. binyılda Orta Anadolu’nun güneyinde, önemli merkezlerinden biri olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır (Alp, 1994; Darde- niz, 2024a; 2024b; Dardeniz vd., 2025). Konya Karahöyük, doğu-batı ve kuzey-güney yönlerinde uzanan geçiş yollarının kavşağında yer almaktadır. Bu kapsamda; güneyde Ak- deniz kıyılarına, batıda Ege ve Ege adalarına, güneydoğuda Kilikya ve Kuzey Suriye’ye, kuzeyde ise Orta Anadolu ve Kızılırmak kavsi içi Hitit çekirdek bölgesine uzanan ticaret ve iletişim ağları üzerinde bulunmaktadır. Yaklaşık 33 hektarlık bir alana yayılan höyük, doğu-batı yönünde 550 metre, kuzey-güney yönünden ise 600 metre genişliğindedir. Ova- dan yüksekliği 19 metre olan höyük, aşağı şehri ile birlikte 100 hektarlık bir alanda yayılım göstermektedir (Dardeniz vd., 2024).
KONYA KARAHÖYÜK KAZILARI 2023 SEZONU
Konya Karahöyük, Konya il merkezinin yaklaşık sekiz kilometre güneybatısında, Meram ilçe merkezinin yaklaşık 18 kilometre kuzeydoğusunda yer alır (Dardeniz 2024a, 2024b). Höyük, doğu-batı yönünde 550 metre, kuzey-güney yönünde 600 metreye uzanan boyutlarıyla, yaklaşık 33 hektarlık bir alana yayılmaktadır. Höyüğün, MÖ 3. binyıl ve 2. binyılda yoğun olarak iskân gördüğü bilinmekte ve bölgenin önemli merkezlerinden olduğu düşünülmektedir.
Integratıng thermal and optıcal models wıth legacy excavatıon data for spatıal ınventorıes
Researching at previously excavated archaeological sites comes with its own challenge set, which includes ground-truthing previously unearthed architectural features to correlate old and new trenches. This study presents a comprehensive examination technique to approach architectural features at mound-type archaeological settlements through the synergistic utilization of thermal and optical imagery obtained via remote sensing technologies. Employing an interdisciplinary approach involving various types of imagery (optical, thermal, and radar) embedded in archaeological data, this research aims to reevaluate legacy spatial data and enhance the understanding of subsurface archaeological features by exploiting the complementary advantages of both thermal and optical sensors.
Konya Karahöyük Kazıları Prof. Dr. Sedat Alp Dönemi (1953-1992) Çalışmalarının Bir Özeti ve Yeni Dönem Kazılarının Başlangıcı (2022)
KONYA KARAHÖYÜK KAZILARI 2022 SEZONU
Konya Karahöyük, Konya il merkezinin yaklaşık sekiz kilometre güneybatısında, Meram ilçe merkezinin yaklaşık 18 kilometre kuzeydoğusunda yer alır (Harita: 1). Höyük, doğu-batı yönünde 550 metre, kuzey-güney yönünde 600 metreye uzanan boyutlarıyla, takribî 33 hektarlık bir alana yayılır. Ovadan yüksekliği yaklaşık 19 metre olan höyüğün eteklerinden itibaren uzanan aşağı şehrinin kesin sınırlarını hesaplamak, ova tabanındaki yer yer altı metreyi geçen alüvyal dolgu sebebiyle zordur. Ancak ilk bulgular höyüğün ovadaki yayılımı ile birlikte yaklaşık 100 hektarlık bir alanı kapsadığını gösterir.
GeophysIcal and UAV Surveys on Konya Karahöyük (central AnatolIa, Türkiye)
The archeological site of Konya-Karahöyük is located in the Konya plain of central Anatolia, Türkiye. It is at the crossroads from Syro-Mesopotamia to the Aegean (Alp, 1994). The archaeological material collection gathered The site dates to the 3rd–2nd millennia BC and displays Anatolian, Syrian, and Aegean influences confirm it as a dynamic hub of the Bronze Age.
GeophysIcal and UAV surveys on Konya Karahöyük (central AnatolIa, Turkey)
Geophysical prospection and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were applied systematically to improve excavation strategies. Magnetic results were verified using GPR in the suitable areas
ArchaeologIcal ScIenCe In PractIce
Archaeological science is a canopy term referring to applications of techniques from the full spectra of natural and earth sciences to archaeological materials for the sake of improved understanding of artifacts and ecofacts in their wider social, economic, political, and environmental contexts. The discipline has expanded parallel to mounting amounts of advancements in technology and instrumentation over the last 30 years and it has benefited from archaeological theory-driven approaches. This entry discusses integrated research approaches of archaeological science and the importance of collaboration between excavation and laboratory teams. It exemplifies how pre- and post-processing of archaeomaterials starts during excavation and how archaeologists can benefit the most from the archaeological sciences while excavating. The future of archaeology and archaeological science lies in interdisciplinarily trained scholars, equal opportunities for funding, and theory-driven research agendas.