Search

The Ottoman reoccupation of the site of Kaman-Kalehöyük (Kırşehir Province, Turkey) apparently occurred sometime during the fifteenth century CE, a time of massive territorial and administrative transformation in the Empire. A rich suite of archaeobotanical material recovered from the site offers a potentially invaluable source of information on Ottoman-era Anatolian agroeconomy, especially since historiographic research on the topic has uniformly ignored archaeological perspectives. Here we present results of a multi-proxy analysis aimed at establishing an absolute multiphasic chronology for Kaman-Kalehöyük's Ottoman occupation, founded upon Bayesian statistical modelling of high-precision radiocarbon dates from cereal remains. We use the new chronology to position Kaman-Kalehöyük's resettlement within a historical context, allowing a new perspective on settlement responses to large-scale Ottoman sociopolitical change in Anatolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous anthracological research on multi-use pit fills at Kaman-Kalehöyük in central Turkey shows a sudden and dramatic increase in pine use from the Early Iron Age onwards, accompanied by a decline in taxa richness from the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Bronze Age. This paper explores whether fuel choice was the driving factor behind this pattern of change through a comparative taxonomic analysis of wood charcoal assemblages derived from multi-use pits, domestic hearths, and room fills accumulated during the Middle Bronze Age to Late Iron Age occupation at the site. Results from the hearth assemblages parallel those from the pits, documenting a decline in taxa richness from the Middle Bronze Age to the Late Bronze Age, particularly during the Hittite Empire period, followed by a dramatic increase in pine in the Iron Age. However, the room fill composition does not match the same pattern. Results confirm that changes in taxonomic representation represented in the pit fills at Kaman-Kalehöyük was driven by fuel wood selection, with remains from room fills reflecting different selection behaviour relating to construction activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testing of chemical stabilization treatments and desiccated and anoxic storage microclimates for the protection of archaeological iron stored in unsuitable climatic conditions was carried out by the conservation department of the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology at the Kaman-Kalehöyük excavation in Turkey. The chemical stabilization treatments involved alkaline sulfite, barium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide. Environmental stabilization was explored using RP-A oxygen scavengers in Escal® bags as part of the Revolutionary Preservation System (RP System®) manufactured by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. The efficiency of the chemical treatments was examined by comparison with mechanically cleaned iron objects. The efficiency of the storage systems was determined by comparing the chemically and non-chemically treated objects in the RP System® using RP-A scavengers and in polyethylene ziplock bags containing silica gel. The efficiency of these treatments and storage systems was examined and assessed at Kaman after a period ranging from 7 to 9 years. The anoxic and desiccating properties of the RP System® resulted in superior protective qualities over polyethylene bags with silica gel. The RP System® compensated for inadequate chemical stabilization and protected iron that had not been chemically stabilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The provenance of Early Bronze Age and early Middle Bronze Age pottery produced between 2100 and 1970 B.C. and excavated from Kaman-Kalehöyük, Turkey was studied using mineralogical methods, including heavy mineral analysis and geochemical study of individual hornblende grains. The relative abundances of heavy minerals in the fabrics of 20 Early Bronze Age (EBA) and early Middle Bronze Age (MBA) pottery sherds, together with 27 local sediments collected within a radius of 25km of the site were studied. The heavy mineral distributions in the Kaman region were statistically analyzed for consistencies in their occurrence. Amphibole was found to be the most abundant heavy mineral in most of the analyzed samples, followed by titanite and epidote. The amounts of other minerals such as garnet, clinopyroxene, and zircon are subordinate. Different proportions of heavy minerals in the fabrics allow categorization of the EBA and early MBA potteries into 5 groups. Comparative study of heavy mineral assemblages of local sediments and pottery suggests that half of the EBA and most of the MBA potteries were produced from sediment near the excavation site, whereas the other half of the EBA potteries were produced from sediment occurring at 25km east or more east of the site. The geochemistry of individual amphibole grains was studied by electron-microprobe analysis. Most of the studied amphibole grains are calcic and aluminous, corresponding to hornblende. They can be further characterized into four types based on their chemical composition. The combination of heavy mineral identity and hornblende geochemistry provides diagnostic evidence for the origins of Kaman-Kalehöyük pottery. These and analogous heavy mineral techniques are effective archaeometric tools for determining pottery provenance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this research; the engineering properties of granitic rocks taken from the stone quarries in Kaman were investigated. The rock samples were taken from four different stone quarries in the region and the minerological structures, compresive strength, tensile strength, elasaticity module, surface hardness, unit weight, water absorbtion and apperent porosity properties of these samples were determined. Experiment results showed that the mineral structures and hardness of these samples were similar. It was found that the rocks with higher unit weight and compresive strength but lower water absorbtion had higher elasicity module value. It was seen that the rocks in Kaman region were appropriate to be used as crushed aggregate and that the rocks with best properties belonged to Ömerhacılı region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe K-XANES spectra of a series of pottery sherds excavated from the archaeological site of Kaman-Kalehöyük, Turkey, were measured to reveal the firing technique of the pottery. The analysis disclosed relationships among the chemical form of the iron, the firing conditions and the colour of the pottery. The pottery referred to as ‘Grey Ware’ found at this site was classified into two groups according to the chemical form of the iron. Also, it was revealed that the Iron Age pottery referred to as ‘Cream Ware’ was produced first under reducing conditions, and then fired under oxidizing conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]