Pastoral production in complex societies: Mid - late third millennium B.C. and medieval faunal remains from Gritille Hoyuk in the Karababa Basin, southeast Turkey

This research examines the economic role of rural settlements in the regional organization of early Near Eastern state societies through a study of productive specialization in village based herding systems. Animal bones from 1981-1984 Bryn Mawr excavations at the village site of Gritille, in the Euphrates valley, southeast Turkey serve to reconstruct pastoral production strategies in two periods of state level organization: the mid-late third millennium BC and the Medieval period. The degree of specialization in herding provides an index of regional economic integration, i.e. economic interdependence between centers and their hinterlands. Generalized pastoral strategies indicate low levels of regional economic integration while specialized, exchange-oriented production strategies reflect in high degree of economic interdependence between centers and rural settlements. Archaeological and ethnographic data are used to specify expected culling patterns for sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs under specialized and generalized herding strategies. These models provide a baseline for comparison with the Gritille fauna. Taphonomic analyses show that the Gritille fauna from both periods suffered only minimal sample distortion. Consequently, observed patterning in the faunal remains provides direct evidence for animal disposal practices, which in turn reflect economic activities in the village settlement. The ages and sexes represented in the faunal sample reflect ancient culling patterns; the latter serve to reconstruct herd structure. Population compositions of caprines, cattle, and pig are compared with the compositions expected under specialized and generalized production strategies. Culling patterns in the Gritille fauna indicate that generalized, subsistence-oriented herding strategies were followed during both the mid-late third millennium and Medieval periods. There pastoral strategies reflect village autonomy and a low level of interaction with larger centers in the area. These results are evaluated with respect to regional settlement patterns, political and economic organization, contrasting the Gritille region with larger, more urbanized polities in neighboring areas of North Syria. Economic autonomy and generalized production strategies such as those at Gritille may generally characterize the rural sector in small scale, poorly urbanized polities or states in the early stages of development