New Contributions to the Prehistorical Period of the Western Anatolian Region

Abstract

The surface findings gathered from an investigation carried out in the environs of Aydın shed light on the cultural and chronological developments that occurred during the early periods of the Western Anatolian Region. The first of these sites is located at Köprüova, an area in the İkizdere region situated on one of the northerly arms of the Major Meander River. Köprüova, located in the Menderes region along one of the natural roads leading to the İzmir region, provides surface evidence that proves Prehistoric Age activity in this region. In addition to the pottery remnants dating to the Neolithic Age, other findings from this site that shed light on the Prehistoric Age are stone tools and a large number of obsidian points and pre-choppers. The pottery with rope-hole tunnel handles and holding handles are recognized from the ceramic traditions of the Westem Anatolian Neolithic Age. In addition, the axes made of various kinds of stone display differences in terms of their shapes. The stone axes in rectangular and triangular shape represent types that are known in the Western Anatolian and Aegean worlds. The abundantly found examples of obsidian points point to the existence of a highly developed stone-tool industry in the region. The second important site is that of the tumulus at Tepecik located in the Çine plain along one of the major, southerly arms of the Meander and situated in a spot that serves to join the areas leading in a southerly and eastern-southerly direction from the Meander. Among the items recovered in the surface investigation were painted pottery shards that reflect the painted ceramic traditions of the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic Ages. These ceramic findings point to the fact that the settlements at the Tepecik Tumulus stretch back to the Chalcholithic and Early Bronze Ages.