Life in the mountains of Anatolia: a study of a Bronze Age settlement in its environmental context

Copy held in the Baillieu Library Special Collections includes CD-ROM contains video file of changing insolation intensity over the Pasinler Valley.© 2004 Dr. Jennifer NewtonThe mountain environment offers specific challenges both to its inhabitants and to researchers seeking to reconstruct the human place in the ecosystem. The high seasonality, the changeable weather, and the ever-present threat of natural disaster are but a few of the environmental characteristics which differentiate the upland landscape from its low-elevation counterpart. These combine to create a distinct mountain culture. Whilst some research has been undertaken to trace the human-environment relationship in antiquity, this previous work has primarily focused on sites in moderate, lowland settings; consequently, existing paradigms regarding cultural adaptation require modification for use in alpine studies. Systematic investigation of mountain communities has, however, remained comparatively rare. In order to provide a fuller picture of the origin of cultural change and difference, this thesis investigates the many factors influencing the complex interaction between human culture and the mountain environment. The Bronze Age site of Sos Hoyuk in the Pasinler Valley, north-eastern Turkey, was chosen for the current study. As one of the few sites in the region with an unbroken archaeological sequence, Sos Hoyuk provides an invaluable record of the interaction between a community and its surrounding landscape at a pivotal time in prehistory. Through employing a multidisciplinary approach, this project places the settlement of Sos Hoyuk in its environmental context, and thereby demonstrates the strong relationship between the mountain landscape and culture development during the Bronze Age. By drawing upon the concepts of viewshed and time-distance analysis, the exploitation of these resources by the community at Sos Hoyuk is discussed. Whilst this thesis takes another step forward in redressing the dearth of research into ancient mountain communities, it is clear that further research would be beneficial. The findings of this project serve as a foundation for similar studies in the region, and several suggested avenues for this research are presented