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Ethnomathematics pursues the goal of viewing mathematics from a multicultural perspective by enlarging its historical background. Culture and mathematical thoughts are in contact and they, together, form an indivisible whole. Therefore, ethnomathematics not only helps us understanding the nature of mathematics but also contributes to understanding of one's self as well as the other people sharing the same planet. Ethnomathematics reflects mathematical thoughts of the studies of multicultural or traditional societies. Mathematical thought is an approach in which people try to find quick and systematic solutions to a problem in diverse ways. In a historical-cultural context, the role of ethnomathematics, which studies mathematical thoughts, cannot be ignored. This paper examines some reflections of geometry perception in carpet and rug motifs in terms of Ethnomathematics in Anatolian culture.

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This paper aims to challenge simplifications on race and racism in contemporary Turkish society. In doing so, it draws a macro-historical context wherein the racist component of the Turkish national identity had been shaped. The paper traces the emergence of the core racist elements at the beginning of the 20th century within the ideology propagated by the organization of the Turkish Hearths (Türk Ocakları). The Turkish History Thesis with its emphasis on ‘race’ attempted to promote not only an affiliation but also a common ancestry between Turkish and Western civilization. These arguments were backed by commissioning research carried out in the fields of Anthropology, Archaeology and Linguistics. The main argument of this paper is that the racist components of the national identity in Turkey have been the product of a Eurocentric understanding of world history by consecutive nationalist leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this longitudinal and qualitative study of rural life in western Turkey, I argue that ecological conditions, state policies, and villagers’ agency play a significant role in the suburbanization of villages. This paper traces the history of how villagers in the Yuntdağ north of Manisa, an arid and rocky region, used nomadic heritage and Islamic culture as economic resources. I argue that villagers have gone from being cultural heritage entrepreneurs to wage laborers, incorporating and identifying with the ethno-national identity of the nation while adjusting their lives to the state. In so doing and with the bureaucratic redefinition of the villages in the region as urban neighborhoods, the meaning and definition of rural life gradually is erased. Based on over fifteen years of ethnographic fieldwork, 2000–2015, this paper considers the suburbanization of rural life and the highly gendered economic decisions villagers make. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electronic Turkish Studies is the property of Electronic Turkish Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The use of digital technologies in archaeological research has become considerably more widespread in recent years. While the earliest records of the use of electronic data in archaeology date from the 1950 and 1960s, the field has kept growing with the increasing interest in digital tools such as digital photography, three-dimensional imaging, GIS, virtual and artificial reality applications, CAD and facial reconstruction. Such digitization practices are used frequently for documenting, record keeping, and preserving and representing the data recovered from archaeological contexts, and are linked to other fields, such as cultural heritage studies and museology. Facial reconstruction is used to recreate the faces of individual from the past using their skeletal remains. It has been practiced for different reasons in the fields of forensics, anthropology, and archaeology. This study focuses on the facial reconstruction of a skull unearthed from Juliopolis. The reason for choosing this skull in this study is that it is the first and only known deformed skull dated to the Roman period in Anatolia. For the facial reconstruction application, authors created a 3D modelling of the skull by photogrammetry. Then, the missing parts of the skull are completed using the virtual donor library. The results are presented in different forms, as grayscale, in colour with eyes closed or open. Also, the type of deformation is demonstrated in the skull. This study adopts a digital process and is more strongly linked to data interpolation related to the external surface of the face. The prominent advantage of the methodology is being strongly supported by information obtained from computed tomography (CT) scans of living individuals, leaving a little room for the artistic issue in relation to the basic aspect resulting from the interpolation of data. The benefit of facial reconstruction is especially important since it is a way of preserving and presenting archaeological and anthropological data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental caries and wear are important conditions to record in archaeological collections. The aim of the present paper is to determine the frequency and distribution of dental caries and dental wear in a mediaeval Byzantine paediatric population in Yenikapı, Constantinople, Istanbul. The present research was carried out on the skeletal remains of 1 infant and 28 children with a total of 180 teeth (113 primary and 67 permanent teeth). The frequency of ante-mortem tooth loss in the sample was 1%. The total frequency of carious lesions in the sample was 2.2%. The frequency of dental wear was rather low (3.3%) exhibiting presence of dentin clusters mostly. The present study evaluated an archaeological collection with low dental wear and low dental caries prevalence indicating a fishing community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Latinoamericana de Etnomatemática is the property of Universidad de Narino and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper attempts to understand “truth making” conditions of terrorism in Turkey. Focusing on the effects of the Reinstatement into Society law—which is designed for members of illegal armed organizations who might turn into state witnesses—the article analyses the discourses and imagination surrounding the subject of “repentant” and in so doing demonstrates the dialectical relationship between the state discourses and the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) counter‐discourses of terrorism. The article argues that both the state and the PKK affirm their sovereignty through their authority over constructing the category of victimhood and hence defining the terms of the conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the Ban Chiang, Northeast Thailand, Volumes 2A, 2B, and 2C edited by Joyce C. White and Elizabeth G. Hamilton with the aim of bringing a new perspective to the understanding of archaeometallurgy in Anatolia. Regardless of specific subject focus such as geology, geomorphology, archaeology, or anthropology, any scholar interested in the field of archaeometallurgy will find a comparanda of their research in the Thai archaeology monograph volumes. White and Hamilton suggest a new paradigm favoring diversity and an anthropological technology-driven model for archaeometallurgical research, which I believe presents an excellent case to change and revise the presumptions of scholars studying metals' role in ancient Anatolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is focused on the definition of the Other in the discourse on Armenian national identity from 19th century onwards and, particularly, on its transformations after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It argues that with the collapse of the Soviet Union and establishment of Armenian statehood the image of the Turkey-Other or Turkey-Enemy of the Armenian nation, developed within the discursive project of the last two centuries, became challenged by the projects voting for the pragmatic interests of the Armenian statehood. The post-communist elites tend to revise the historical representation of the Ottoman period and to reformulate Turkey as a force the cooperation with which is "vital" for the successful development of the state. The problem of Turkey-other became the very point where the concepts of the state and nation clash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A phonological model which integrates the study of phonological structure with a competence system of cognitive operations offers a principled account of a crux in linguistic theory. The preference for a concrete rather than an abstract phonological solution for the case of k/Ø alternations in Modern Standard Turkish is seen to result from a requirement that underlying representations be retrievable, i.e. retraceable on the basis of phonological rules in close conjunction with precisely circumscribed and formalizable cognitive operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorosis may be identified in skeletal materials from ancient civilizations by macroscopic signs in teeth and bone and hard tissue fluoride levels. In the present study, human teeth, femoral, and rib specimens from the Van Fortress excavation, in Turkey, were examined for the presence of fluorosis. In addition, an animal study in rats was conducted as a model of human fluorosis, by examining the effects of fluoride administration, in various doses and for different durations, on weight loss, locomotor activity, fluoride accumulation, and deformation in bone and teeth. Fifty-six adult male Wistar albino rats, weighing 150-200 g, were divided into 7 different groups of 8 rats. Four acute groups were treated with 0 (control), 5, 15, and 50 mg/L of fluoride in drinking water for 7 days and three chronic groups were treated with 5, 15, and 50 mg/L of fluoride for 90 days. The results of the analysis of the human samples from the Van Fortress excavation showed that none of the dental, femoral, or rib samples had a fluoride content that was significantly greater than that of the surrounding soil. The results of the rat study showed that no significant differences between the groups were found in body weight on days 1, 30, 60, and 90. The rotarod locomotor test showed a significant (p<0.05) dose- and time-dependent reduction in locomotor activity as a result of the fluoride administration in the 50 mg/L chronic fluoride group compared to the control, 5 mg/L acute fluoride, 15 mg/L acute fluoride, and 5 mg/L chronic fluoride groups. Significant fluoride accumulation was found in the femoral neck (cortical tissue), the femoral head (trabecular tissue), and in rib bone. Light microscopy showed a severe thinning of the epiphyseal growth plate and bone trabeculae in the femoral bone tissue. We concluded that femoral bone (cortical and trabecular parts) and ribs are good sites for assessing the effects of fluoride exposure in animal models of human fluorosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A commentary on the article "Researchers' Vulnerability: The Politics of Research in Official Clinical Settings in Turkey" by Basak Can, published within the issue, is presented. Topics discussed include the importance of ethnographic research based on the work of British anthropologist Marilyn Strathern, dynamics of the ethics approval processes for social science researches in Turkey, and the rise of ethnographic research despite the nation's authoritarianism.

This essay, which is the fifth in the series "Recollections, Reflections, and Revelations: Personal Experiences in Ethnobiology", is a personal reminiscence by the researcher on his first field experience in Turkey in the late 1970s, which was a failure from an ethnobiological point of view but a success for a social scientist pursuing Turkic studies. The author later returned to ethnobiology during subsequent fieldwork on the Faroes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although whole human genome sequencing can be done with readily available technical and financial resources, the need for detailed analyses of genomes of certain populations still exists. Here we present, for the first time, sequencing and analysis of a Turkish human genome. We have performed 35x coverage using paired-end sequencing, where over 95% of sequencing reads are mapped to the reference genome covering more than 99% of the bases. The assembly of unmapped reads rendered 11,654 contigs, 2,168 of which did not reveal any homology to known sequences, resulting in ∼1 Mbp of unmapped sequence. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery resulted in 3,537,794 SNP calls with 29,184 SNPs identified in coding regions, where 106 were nonsense and 259 were categorized as having a high-impact effect. The homo/hetero zygosity (1,415,123∶2,122,671 or 1∶1.5) and transition/transversion ratios (2,383,204∶1,154,590 or 2.06∶1) were within expected limits. Of the identified SNPs, 480,396 were potentially novel with 2,925 in coding regions, including 48 nonsense and 95 high-impact SNPs. Functional analysis of novel high-impact SNPs revealed various interaction networks, notably involving hereditary and neurological disorders or diseases. Assembly results indicated 713,640 indels (1∶1.09 insertion/deletion ratio), ranging from −52 bp to 34 bp in length and causing about 180 codon insertion/deletions and 246 frame shifts. Using paired-end- and read-depth-based methods, we discovered 9,109 structural variants and compared our variant findings with other populations. Our results suggest that whole genome sequencing is a valuable tool for understanding variations in the human genome across different populations. Detailed analyses of genomes of diverse origins greatly benefits research in genetics and medicine and should be conducted on a larger scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mural excavated at the Neolithic Çatalhöyük site (Central Anatolia, Turkey) has been interpreted as the oldest known map. Dating to ∼6600 BCE, it putatively depicts an explosive summit eruption of the Hasan Dağı twin-peaks volcano located ∼130 km northeast of Çatalhöyük, and a birds-eye view of a town plan in the foreground. This interpretation, however, has remained controversial not least because independent evidence for a contemporaneous explosive volcanic eruption of Hasan Dağı has been lacking. Here, we document the presence of andesitic pumice veneer on the summit of Hasan Dağı, which we dated using (U-Th)/He zircon geochronology. The (U-Th)/He zircon eruption age of 8.97±0.64 ka (or 6960±640 BCE; uncertainties 2σ) overlaps closely with 14C ages for cultural strata at Çatalhöyük, including level VII containing the “map” mural. A second pumice sample from a surficial deposit near the base of Hasan Dağı records an older explosive eruption at 28.9±1.5 ka. U-Th zircon crystallization ages in both samples range from near-eruption to secular equilibrium (>380 ka). Collectively, our results reveal protracted intrusive activity at Hasan Dağı punctuated by explosive venting, and provide the first radiometric ages for a Holocene explosive eruption which was most likely witnessed by humans in the area. Geologic and geochronologic lines of evidence thus support previous interpretations that residents of Çatalhöyük artistically represented an explosive eruption of Hasan Dağı volcano. The magmatic longevity recorded by quasi-continuous zircon crystallization coupled with new evidence for late-Pleistocene and Holocene explosive eruptions implicates Hasan Dağı as a potential volcanic hazard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropologists (amongst others) have noted how some theorists of the Occident, in order to explicate their analyses of Western modernity, have conceptualized an oppositional category of non-Western, pre-modern or traditional societies, understood to be negatively unified by their lack of particular social capacities (despite other vast dissimilarities between them). One such absent elemental capacity is reflexivity, whose existence or nonexistence is posited as defining Western European and non-Western formations respectively. This article explores one expression of the reflexivity/naivety dichotomy, the distinction between autonomous and heteronomous societies, worked out as a central feature in the social theory of Cornelius Castoriadis (and as a sub-theme in the writings of Charles Taylor and Louis Dumont). My core argument is that Castoriadis’ reservation of the project of autonomy to the West is empirically wrong, and I use the example of the cultural revolution in Turkey in the early 1930s to demonstrate why. Nevertheless, I argue also that Castoriadis’ work not only casts a revealing light on the experience and project of modernity in Turkey, but also provides a suggestive comparative programme for the discipline of anthropology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) provides a methodology for engaging descendent and local communities as partners in archaeological research. This article, based on a five-year comparative research project that examines CBPR's application to archaeology, demonstrates a collaborative model that involves reciprocity, is action based and aims to build community capacity while engaging communities in the process of archaeological research and heritage management. Included are details of what community-based participatory research is, the main principles involved in its practice and a demonstration of how it is being effectively applied 'on-the-ground' at Catalhoyuk, Turkey. Two components of the Catalhoyuk CBPR project are highlighted: the community internship program and the archaeological community theatre project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near Eastern archaeology is traditionally characterized by a chronocentric approach, prioritizing the study of chronology and ‘culture groups’. Additionally, the sense of vision dominates most archaeological interpretations. Both these factors derive from modern, Western values. Using a case study of the Skull Building at Çayönü Tepesi, Southeast Anatolia, I propose a different way of experiencing and writing about Near Eastern archaeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a new nation state founded in 1923 on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey faced the need to establish a new national identity and ideology. Recognizing the multiple faces of Turkish nationalism, this article explores how Kemalist conceptions of national identity were not limited to civic nationalist ideologist, but incorporated racist ascriptions of ethnic nationalism as well. Based on the research and publications of scholars associated with the Turkish Review of Anthropology from 1925 to 1929, this article analyzes a form of early Turkish nationalism that was shaped by a racist discourse supported by and purveyed through the disciplinary authority of anthropology. The author's analysis reveals a dominating and exclusionary discourse of Turkish nationalism, in which the 'Turkish race' (posited as the dominant national group) has a sense of proprietary ownership of the nation and national identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The northern and northeastern borders of the Hittite Empire of Late Bronze Age Anatolia hosted a loosely federated group of peoples known as the Kaska. Hittite texts tell us much about the persistent state of hostility between the Hittites and the Kaska, but there have been few serious attempts to understand the Kaska on their own terms. Here we employ a flexible interpretive framework, rooted in frontier studies, in order to review the textual evidence for Hittite-Kaska relations before treating the Kaska as anthropologically approachable subjects. Issues such as ceramics, diet, and subsistence are explored by means of Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age evidence from a range of archaeological sites. Finally, survey evidence from the Paphlagonia region is considered in the light of Hittite-Kaska relations, and the importance of natural features as frontiers, especially rivers, is underlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]