In the nineteenth century an initial interest in Anatolia’s past was fueled by the desire to uncover the remnants of civilizations mentioned in the Greco-Roman and biblical historical traditions. Accordingly, the Aegean coast received much attention from early archaeologists, who commenced excavations at ephesus, Pergamum, Miletus, and Troy (Hissarlık), perhaps the most celebrated site. Soon after, the Bronze Age cultures on the central plateau, homeland of the Hittites, attracted interest, most especially the extensive site at bogazköy (ancient Hattusha). In recent decades the tempo of archaeology in Turkey has increased considerably as dozens of international rescue projects record cultural heritage threatened with destruction by the waters of several dam lakes. Investigations began in the Keban region of east-central Turkey (running from 1964 to 1974), but the focus has shifted to the southeastern regions, where the ongoing development project known by the Turkish acronym GAP has necessitated rescue operations at many sites along the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers and their tributaries (American Journal of Archaeology 1955; Tuna and Öztürk 1999).

The Earliest Stages

Although Paleolithic and Mesolithic remains have been found at many sites, especially in the southwestern area, the earliest stages of human occupation of Anatolia are relatively unexplored. We gain a glimpse of the Lower Paleolithic at Yarımburgaz Cave, but the most complete Paleolithic sequence has been attested at Karain Cave near Antalya, noted for its Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) industry and Upper Paleolithic rock art (Joukowsky 1996). Microlithic stone traditions of the Mesolithic (or Epipaleolithic) at Karain and nearby sites, including Beldibi Cave, bring us to the threshold of the earliest sedentary communities of the Neolithic around 11,000 b.c., when Anatolia experienced a period of climatic amelioration.

The Neolithic

As late as the mid-1950s no archaeologist was prepared to accord Anatolia a Neolithic period, believing that the formative processes that led to the domestication of plants and animals, which gradually changed the fundamental basis of subsistence economy in prehistory, took place south of the Taurus Mountains. Then, in 1961, James Mellaart began excavations at Çatal Huyük, which dazzled an unsuspecting discipline with its preservation and rich finds (Matthews 1998; Mellaart 1967). The largest site of its time (late seventh to mid-sixth millennium b.c.), covering 21 hectares, the settlement consisted of blocks of tightly clustered rooms, with rooftop access, and small courtyards. Some of the rooms, called shrines by Mellaart, were decorated with vivid wall paintings, plaster reliefs, and the skulls of horned animals fixed into the walls. Two broad categories of scenes are portrayed on the walls: representational scenes, featuring humans, animals, and birds, and geometric scenes, with patterns that perhaps imitate textile designs. Such exuberance and symbolism, unparalleled in a prehistoric building, likely reflect the community’s belief system, which has been a focus of the renewed excavations at the site (Hodder 2000; Matthews 1998). Relatives were buried under the floors of both shrines and houses, and grave goods suggest a modest degree of social differentiation. The funerary gifts, among them Mediterranean shells, metal ores, obsidian, cinnabar, serpentine, and other exotic commodities, do confirm, however, the existence of a significant exchange network.

Today at least four distinct areas attest to intensive Neolithic settlement: the Urfa-Diyarbakır region of the southeast, the Konya-Aksaray region in the center, the Lake District of the southwest, and the Marmara region of the northwest (Özdogan and Başgelen 1999).