Speleothems of Catalhoyuk, Turkey

Mediterranean Arhaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 13, No 1, pp.21‑30 Copyright @ 2013 MAA Printed in Greece. All rights reserved. SPELEOTHEMS OF ÇATALHÖYÜK, TURKEY Burçin Erdoğu1, I. Tonguç Uysal2, Onur Özbek3, Ülkü Ulusoy4 Trakya University, Department of Archaeology, EDIRNE, TURKEY 2 The Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence, The University of Queensland, AUSTRALIA 3 Çanakkale (18th March) University, Department of Archaeology, TURKEY 4 Hace(epe University, Department of Physics Engineering, ANKARA, TURKEY 1 Received: 8/5/2012 Accepted: 13/7/2012 Corresponding author: Burçin Erdoğu ([email protected]) ABSTRACT Speleothem samples such as flowstone, stalagmite and stalactites are one of the important finds at Çatalhöyük, which they have been carried hundreds of kilometers from its source. The “Çatalhöyük Speleothem Project” have been initiated with the aim of investigating Çatalhöyük’s speleothems and identifying their provenance. In order to achieve this, speleothem samples at Çatalhöyük have been recognized and documented, and caves around Çatalhöyük have been investigated. Later, both selected Çatalhöyük speleothem and cave samples of flowstone, stalagmite and stalactites have been analysed by ICP‑MS to recognize similar trace elements. In addition, the ages of samples have been obtained by U‑Th method to find similarities between the Çatalhöyük samples and speleothem deposits from surrounding caves. The comparative results have been used to identify the sources of Çatalhöyük’s speleothems. KEYWORDS: Çatalhöyük, Cave, Speleothem, ICP‑MS, U‑Th 22 1. INTRODUCTION Çatalhöyük consist of a pair of mounds in the Konya plain of Central Anatolia. Çatalhöyük East (ca. 7400 – 6000 BC) is one of the best known Neolithic sites in the Near East. It became well known because of its large size, the rich symbolism and dense concentration of ‘art’ in the form of wall paintings, reliefs, sculptures and installations. The site was first excavated by James Mellaart in the 1960s (1967), and a@er 1965 it was abandoned until a new project under the direction of Ian Hodder began in 1993 (Hodder 2006). Among the curious artefacts unearthed Speleothems (also known as cave formations) are one of the most important finds in Neolithic Çatalhöyük, which have been first mentioned by J. Mellaart (1967). He reported finding of broken stalactites in elaborately decorated buildings. It is likely that the symbolic value of speleothems would have become more diverse in prehistoric lifeway, leading to its increased symbolic importance. A new research project was initiated by Trakya University and funded by TUBITAK Project no 108K436, with the principal aim of investigating Çatalhöyük’s spelothems. The project also sought to identify the provenance of the Çatalhöyük’s speleothems. The Çatalhöyük Speleothem Project consists of 3 phases: 1) Re‑examining some possible finds that could be cave origin and the detailed documentation of spelothems from new excavations. The first step was started out by just looking at rocks in the Çatalhöyük storage room with the help of geologists to identify speleothems. Later, each speleothem was recorded on a documentation form. Photographic images were also used for documentation. 2) An intensive cave survey: Areas within a 100 km radius around Çatalhöyük have been targeted for the cave survey. Information has been collected on known limestone caves, which were already found during the BURÇIN ERDOĞU et al Turkish Institution of Mining and Technical Research (MTA) surveys. The speleothem samples were carefully collected in caves for chemical analysis 3) Analysis: Trace elements of speleothems from known caves have been measured by ICP‑MS analysis. Ages of same samples have also been obtained by U‑series (U‑Th) dating method. Comparative results of the analyses by ICP‑ MS and dating works of the speleothem samples from Çatalhöyük and cave sites have been used for identifying the provenance of the Çatalhöyük’s speleothems. 2. THE ÇATALHÖYÜK’S SPELEOTHEMS The Çatalhöyük’s speleothems consist of stalactites, stalagmites, flow stones and dogtooth spars. A total of 25 speleothem samples were identified. Dogtooth spars are large in number, which commonly form in caves, either in standing pools or as growths emanating from wall and roof fissures. All Çatalhöyük spelothem samples were found between levels I and VI. Speleothems are absent inthe post level VI assembleges. The largest sample (Unit 11094 ) was found in a storage room of Building 52 at the 4040 area (Fig. 1). It is a stalactite, broken into three parts, and the largest part is 11x13 cm. in size. In this sample, the dog‑tooth spars has grown as a stalactite. The larger calcite crystals with white ‑orange‑ brown banding forming on the outside of a finer‑ grained core. This heavy piece of stalactite was found in a storage bin together with a calcined bore skull (Bogdan 2005). At least two more spleothems were also found in storage rooms of buildings. A small 6,5x3 cm piece of banded dog‑tooth spar (Unit 14019) was found in Building 65 at the SOUTH area. The sample shows non‑ parallel growth lines along it’s length. Other sample (Unit 13952) is from a large cluster of calcite crystals showing orange‑brown banding. It is a columnar banded dog‑tooth spar that was found near a storage bin in SPELEOTHEMS OF ÇATALHÖYÜK, TURKEY 27 isotope activity ratios needed to calculate an age. The isotopes 238U, 234U, 230Th have a different atomic mass and all decay by alpha emission. Mass spectrometry method is commonly used for U and Th isotope measurements. Summaries of the results obtained are presented in Table 1. Analytical results and ages are reported within 2 σ error. All Çatalhöyük samples dated are in excess of 450 / >500 ka. Similarities can be seen mostly between Çatalhöyük samples and Incikini and Hatçenini Cave samples. Graph.2. PAAS – normalized La/Lu ratios vs. total REE contents (A) and 230Th/232Th isotope ratios (B). Th is sourced from detriral (transported from outside of the system) components. Accordingly, Th in sample Hatçenini is largely pure and not a detrital contaminant. The opposite is true for samples Incesu ve Sızma caves whwrw contimination is present. Isotope values for a limited number of Çatalhöyük samples show that they are unlikely being originated from similar carbonates as the Incesu ve Sızma caves samples. However, a larger data set would allow us a more reliable interpretation. 232 Both Caves and Çatalhöyük speleothems were also dated using U‑Th dating method. The aim is to find similarities between the dating results of Çatalhöyük and cave samples. 230Th/U‑dating requires precise and accurate measurement of the relevant U and Th isotope abundances to obtain the DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUDING REMARKS One of the most intriguing question is why Çatalhöyük people brought speleothems from distant caves? In most places of the world, caves are delimiters of sacred places. Caves are not only physical geographic landmarks, but also part of the very structure of the spirit world. They are the dwelling of deities, a spot where one can pass from one cosmic zone to another. Cave may symbolize the dead and underworld. It may also symbolize the womb, childbearing and new life. Although usually portrayed as terrifying, dangerous or unpredictable places, caves appear as a source of growth, life and rebirth in many myths. Lewis‑Williams (2004) suggests that Çatalhöyük houses may symbolize caves. Houses are small and dark, and the presence of broken‑off stalactites in houses suggests “cosmological and religious beliefs about an underworld to which caves afforded one mode of access. In bringing the stalactites to the structures at Çatalhöyük, people may have taken parts of that topographic underworld to their own built underworld. The houses may therefore have paralleled limestone caves in certain ways and yet, at the same time, created conceptual distance between the structures and the natural caves” (Lewis‑ Williams 2004:34). Sacred caves may have 28 BURÇIN ERDOĞU et al Table 1. U‑Th dating Results been visited chiefly by men or shamans, seeking transcendence in order to achieve another level of jurisdiction over a domain more potent and supreme in its influence than that found in the everyday world. Speleothems form at varying rates as calcite crystals build up, one upon the other. The most of Çatalhöyük speleotems have the crystal‑like appearance. Crystals hold a special place in the shamanic tradition, and is possibly the most powerful object in a shaman's medicine bag. Shamans around the world have always utilized the special powers of crystals for healing purposes (Eliade 1964). Crystals are “living stones” that operate as Shaman’s allies in the realm of spirit. When a shaman died, the crystal was removed and inserted between two ribs of a new shaman, granting him all the knowledge gained by his predecessor. The Çatalhöyük’s speleothems might also have been used as healing objects. SPELEOTHEMS OF ÇATALHÖYÜK, TURKEY Small pieces of Çatalhöyük’s speleothem samples were found in refuse areas and others were found inside houses, especially in storage rooms. Various kinds of plant food have been stored in these storage rooms and speleothems were probably used for protective purposes. Besides speleothem pieces, figurines were o@en discarded in middens. Hodder (2006) suggests that they were used on a daily basis and discarded when their functions come to an end. Some small dog tooth spar speleothems might have also been used on a daily basis and discarded later. Etnohistorical and ethnographical sources of Mesoamerica also show that newly married couples keep speleothems in their houses for health, fertility and good fortune (Brady et al. 1987). Similar applications may also have been accepted for some Çatalhöyük’s speleothems. Nakamura (2011) suggests that cluster of objects found in houses might have had some kind of power or significance. The particular concentration of rare or exotic materials and deposits in some houses is intriguing. A speleothem was found together with a polished stone axe and a pigment in Building 56. All of the objects were rare and exotic materials that might have held particular power. A worked speleothem was also found together with obsidian tools in Building 63. Many scholars have also suggested that obsidian has both a symbolic and an economic vitality at Çatalhöyük (Carter 2007; Hodder 2006). The Çatalhöyük Speleothem Project has recognised and documented a significant number of speleothem samples for the first time. Cave surveys and sample analysis 29 have provided a firm ground for the investigation of the origin of the Çatalhöyük’s speleothems. The results of the comparison analysis show that the Çatalhöyük’s speleothems are derived from caves in Southern and Eastern parts of Çatalhöyük at a distance of about 100 km. Among these caves, İncikini is the most noteworthy. ICP‑MS results show that most of the investigated speleothem samples from Çatalhöyük match with Hatçenini and İncikini caves in terms of the REE compositions. Neolithic artefacts have also been found around İncikini cave. Speleothems probably played a role in relation to society, belief and meaning. They serve as vehicles for fertility, healing, protection or good fortune. They probably provided a durable symbolic medium for creating and maintaining social and religious ties. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to express our deepest thanks to Ian Hodder for making available speleothem samples from Çatalhöyük. Special thanks are due to Gülgün Gürcan. Without her help the project would not have been possible. Thanks also Serdar Bayarı of HaceAepe University, Mustafa Aktar of Bosphorus University, Chris Doherty of Oxford University and Jian‑xin Zhao of Queensland University. The Çatalhöyük Speleothem Project was made possible by generously grants from TUBITAK Project no 108K436, and permission from the Turkish Institution of Mining and Technical Research (MTA). 30 BURÇIN ERDOĞU et al REFERENCES Bogdan, D. (2005). 4040 Area Excavations: Building 52, Çatalhöyük 2005 Archive Report. hAp://www.catalhoyuk.com/archive_reports/2005/ar05_13.html. Brady, J.E., ScoA, A. 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