Department of Archaeology

M.Ö. 12. yy. başlarında Hitit Krali yönetiminin Hattuşa’yı terk etmesinin ardından “ Büyük
Kral” unvanı taşıyan yöneticilerin güneydeki bölgelerde bir süre daha tutunmaya çalıştıkları
bilinmektedir. Orta Anadolu’da bu dönem bilim insanları tarafından, günümüzde kabul
edilmemekle birlikte, uzun bir süre “karanlık çağ” olarak adlandırılmıştır. Bu süre zarfında
imparatorluk döneminin aksine, bölgede gelişkin karmaşık bir topluma rastlanmamaktadır.
Kaman Kale Höyük, Gordion, Boğazköy’ün bu döneme tarihlenen tabakalarında içe dönük
ve küçük yerleşimlere işaret eden veriler karşımıza çıkmaktadır. İmparatorluğun diğer
bölgelerinin aksine Orta Anadolu’nun M.Ö. 8. yüzyıla kadar süren uzun süreli bu ıssızlığı,
siyasi otoritenin çöküşü dışında, başka etmenleri de akla getirmektedir. Boğazköy’de yapılan
araştırmalar sonucu elde edilen verilerin “post-collapse” olarak adlandırılan , “çöküşün ardı”
şeklinde tanımlayabileceğimiz kritik dönemde geliştirilen refleksler hakkında önemli ipuçları
sunmaktadır. Çalışmamızda, son araştırmalar sonucu elde edilen verilerin “Çöküş”
konusunda geliştirilen kuramlarla inceleyip, söz konusu döneme farklı bir bakış açısı
getirilmesi hedeflenmektedir.

Recent excavations in the Upper Tigris Region reveal that the region was not only in close contact with Mesopotamian cultures, but it also had, at certain periods, its own cultural characters. According to data from the most recent excavations, the extensive and hierarchical settlement system during the Bronze Age in the neighbor regions like Euphrates and Habur was not the case at the Upper Tigris. Instead of a city-centered and settlement hierarchy, a model made up of smaller settlements and an organization structured relatively heterarchical and autonomous formations is observed. The present study primarily involves discussion on the dynamics that lead to socioeconomic diversity in the Upper Tigris Valley, which show a different socioeconomic development from the neighboring regions throughout the Bronze Age.
It's understood that throughout the ages Upper Tigris did not witness the formation of city-states or the centralization and monopolization of power that are often portrayed with dynamics such as large centers with urban character, large-scale architectural activities, and complexity of the social and political organization. It can be said that these kind of formations emerged in the region at the middle of the second millennium BC with the Mitanni and even more so during the first millennium BC with Assyrian Empire, that is under the control of extraneous powers. The discussion will also focus on the Upper Tigris Region, which can be seen as an area of interaction between nomadic and sedentary communities, and whether the mixed economic system and sociopolitical relations that emerged as a result of this interaction had any mutual relationship.
In an archaeological sense, it's quite difficult to detect and identify the material culture of the complex interaction network that took place between the two groups. The leading cause of this difficulty is the lifestyle of nomadic communities. It's known that nomadic communities did not use objects made of ceramic or other permanent materials too much, established temporary settlements and preferred to use lighter materials (such as leather, bone) that were easier to carry. Therefore, it is difficult to identify archaeological material of nomads where ancient texts and ethnographic data emphasize economic and historical significance (Ur and Hammer 2009: 52). A similar situation is seen at the Bronze Age settlements in Upper Tigris. For this reason, this study will include direct data such as material culture that can be identified with nomadic communities, as well as indirect data such as settlement analysis and ethnographic examples.

Archeological research carried out for many years in the Euphrates Region, have proved that the region had a very important place in terms of metallurgical activities.
The works, which have been continued within the scope of the Ilısu Dam and HEPP Projects over the last twenty years, have shown that the Upper Tigris Region had also an advanced organization in terms of metallurgical activities. Especially at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, Arslantepe in the Upper Euphrates Region and Başur Höyük in the Upper Tigris Region are the key settlements for their regions in order to understand the developments’ dynamics because they had some complex funerary customs such as human sacrifice and their extraordinary metalwork represented a difference which had not been seen in any other contemporary settlement. In this paper, we aim to focus on the significance of metal for the local communities by taking in hand the tombs and rich metal objects in burial contexts dated to the beginnings of the 3rd millennium BC revealed at Arslantepe and Başur Höyük located in these two regions rich in terms of raw material.

Excavations within the scope of the Ilısu Dam and HEPP Project in the Upper Tigris Region indicate that the region did not witness complexities such as city-states, large settlements, and hierarchical settlement systems throughout the Bronze Age, unlike the neighboring regions of Euphrates and Khabur. Instead of a city-centric system and settlement hierarchy, a model made up of small- and medium-sized settlements in association with the heterarchical and autonomous organizations is understood. It appears that the region is not only in close contact with the neighboring cultures, but also witnesses different social structures with complex internal dynamics. This study tries to address these dynamics that led to socioeconomic diversity in the Upper Tigris Region. In accordance with this purpose, this intraregional consideration briefly summarizes the state of the Bronze Age in the Upper Tigris Region according to the data obtained from archaeological excavations and suggests various socio-economic organizations for the phases of the Bronze Age.