Anatolian Pot Marks in the 3rd Millennium BC: Signage, Early State Formation, and Organization of Production

This study presents new information and interpretation of pot marks applied specifically on “Anatolian Metallic Ware” that are dated to the 3rd millennium BC, and distributed in the southern Konya Plain and the southwestern region of Cappadocia. While many specialists have studied this ware group, also referred to as “Darboğaz” vessels, detailed studies have not been conducted on the pot marks themselves. The finds from the Göltepe excavations, when combined with other research data and ethnographic/ethnoarchaeological records, have helped to classify and interpret this signage. According to our preliminary results, there is no relationship between the pot marks and vessel type, sub-ware group, or ownership. Taking into account the general characteristics of the Anatolian EBA and the production techniques of Anatolian Metallic Ware, we discuss whether the pot marks reflect quality control over the production process and serve interregional connectivity.

___

  • Åström, P. 1966. Excavations at Kalopsidha and Ayios Iakovos in Cyprus. SIMA 2. Lund: Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology.
  • Åström, P. 1969. “Pot Marks of the Late Bronze Age from Cyprus.” OpAth 9:151-59.
  • Bachhuber, C. 2015. Citadel and Cemetery in Early Bronze Age Anatolia. Monographs in Mediterranean Archaeology 13. Sheffield: Equinox.
  • Bailey, A.S. 1996. “The Potters’ Marks of Phylakopi.” Ph.D. diss., University of Edinburgh.
  • Bittel, K. 1942. Kleinasiatische Studien. IstMitt 5. Istanbul: Archäologisches Institut des deutschen Reiches.
  • Bikaki, A.H. 1984. Ayia Irini: The Potters’ Marks. Keos IV. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern.
  • Blackman, M.J., G.J. Stein, and P.B. Vandiver. 1993. “The Standardization Hypothesis and Ceramic Mass Production: Technological, Compositional and Metric Indexes of Craft Specialization at Tell Leilan, Syria.” AmerAnt 58:60-80.
  • Blegen, C.W., J.L. Caskey, M. Rawson, and J. Sperling. 1950. Troy. Vol. 1, General Introduction: The First and Second Settlements. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Clark, J.E., and W. Parry. 1990. “Craft Specialization and Cultural Complexity.” Research in Economic Anthropology 12:289-346.
  • Costin, C.L. 1991. “Craft Specialization: Issues in Defining, Documenting, and Explaining the Organization of Production.” Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 3:1-56.
  • Costin, C.L. 2000. “The Use of Ethnoarchaeology for the Archaeological Study of Ceramic Production.” Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 7:377-403.
  • Costin, C.L., and M.B. Hagstrum. 1995. “Standardization, Labor Investment, Skill, and the Organization of Ceramic Production in Late Prehispanic Highland Peru.” AmerAnt 60.4:619-39.
  • Çilingiroğlu, Ç. 2009. “Of Stamps, Loom Weights and Spindle Whorls: Contextual Evidence on the Function(s) of Neolithic Stamps from Ulucak, İzmir, Turkey.” JMA 22.1:3-27.
  • De Sena, E.C., and E.S. Friedman. 1997. “An Investigation of the Sources of Bronze Age Pottery from Göltepe and Kestel, Turkey by Neutron Activation.” Material Issues in Art and Archaeology 5.462:239-46.
  • Edgar, C.C. 1904. “Signifiance of the Marks.” In Excavations at Phylakopi in Melos, Conducted by the British School at Athens, described by T.D. Atkinson, R.C. Bosanquet, C.C. Edgar, A.J. Evans, D.G. Hogarth, D. Mackenzie, C. Smith, and F.B. Welch, 181-85. The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies Suppl. 4. London: Published by the Council, and sold on their behalf by Macmillan.
  • Efe, T. 1998. “New Concepts on Tarsus Troy Relations at the Beginning of the EB 3 Period.” Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale 34:297-304.
  • Efe, T. 2004. “Kültür Gruplarından Krallıklara: Batı Anadolu’nun Tarihöncesi Kültürel ve Siyasal Gelişim Profili.” Colloquium Anatolicum 3:15-29.
  • Evans, A.J. 1904. “Occurrence of the Marks.” In Excavations at Phylakopi in Melos, conducted by the British School at Athens, described by T.D. Atkinson, R.C. Bosanquet, C.C. Edgar, A.J. Evans, D.G. Hogarth, D. Mackenzie, C. Smith, and F.B. Welch, 177-80. The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies Suppl. 4. London: Published by the Council, and sold on their behalf by Macmillan.
  • Feldbacher, R., and P.M. Fischer. 2008. “Appendix 2: Potmarks on Ceramic Containers from Early Bronze Age Tell Abu Al-Kharaz, Jordan Valley.” In Tell Abu Al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley. Vol. 1, The Early Bronze Age, edited by P.M Fischer, 391-400. Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean 16. Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie 48. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
  • Fischer, P.M. 2008. Tell Abu Al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley. Vol. 1, The Early Bronze Age. Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean 16. Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie 48. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
  • Frangipane, M. 1993. “Local Components in the Development of Centralized Societies in Syro-Anatolian Regions.” In Between the Rivers and over the Mountains: Archaeologica Anatolica et Mesopotamica Alba Palmieri Dedicata, edited by M. Frangipane, H. Hauptmann, M. Liverani, P. Matthiae, and M. Mellink, 133-61. Rome: Università di Roma La Sapienza.
  • Frangipane, M. 2012. ‘“Transitions” as an Archaeological Concept. Interpreting the Final Ubaid-Late Chalcolithic Transition.” In After the Ubaid: Interpreting Change from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Urban Civilization (4500-3500 BC), edited by C. Marro, 39-64. Varia Anatolica 27. Istanbul: IFEA-de Boccard.
  • Frankel, D. 1975. “The Pot Marks of Vounous-simple Clustering Techniques, Their Problems and Potential.” OpAth 11:37-51.
  • French, D. 1965. “Prehistoric Sites in the Göksu Valley.” AnatSt 15:177-201.
  • French, D. 1969. “Anatolia and the Aegean in the Third Millennium BC.” Ph.D. diss., Cambridge University.
  • Friedman, E.S. 2000. “Technological Style in Early Bronze Age Anatolia: The Interrelationship between Ceramic and Metal Production at Göltepe.” Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago.
  • Friedman, E.S. 2001. “Anatolian Metallic Ware. A Third Millennium BC Ceramic Phenomenon.” In Archaeology and Clays, edited by I.C. Druc, 17-26. Oxford: John and Erica Hedges.
  • Garstang, J. 1953. Prehistoric Mersin: Yümük Tepe in Southern Turkey. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Gates, M.H. 2001. “Potmarks at Kinet Höyük and the Hittite Ceramic Industry.” In La Cilicie: espaces et pouvoirs locaux (IIe millénaire av. J.-C. - IVe siècle ap. J.-C.), edited by É. Jean, A.M. Dinçol, and S. Durugönül, 137-57. Varia Anatolica 13. Istanbul: IFEA-de Boccard.
  • Glatz, C. 2012. “Bearing the Marks of Control? Reassessing Pot Marks in Late Bronze Age Anatolia.” AJA 116.1:5-38.
  • Goldman, H. 1956. Excavations at Gözlükule, Tarsus II: from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Güneri, S. 1989. “Orta Anadolu Höyükleri, Karaman Ereğli Araştırmaları.” TürkArkDerg 28:97-144.
  • Hacar, A. 2016. “Kapadokya Bölgesi İlk Tunç Çağı Çanak Çömleği: Göltepe ve Kestel Kazıları ile Aksaray, Nevşehir, Niğde illeri Yüzey Araştırması Buluntuları.” Ph.D. diss., Dokuz Eylül University.
  • Hacar, A. 2017. “İlk Tunç Çağı’na Tarihlenen Anadolu Metalik Çanak Çömleğine İlişkin Yeni Bilgiler: Göltepe Buluntuları.” Adalya 20:21-40.
  • Hirschfeld, N.E. 1993. “Incised Marks (Post-Firing) on Aegean Wares.” In Wace and Blegen: Pottery as Evidence for Trade in the Aegean Bronze Age, 1939-1989, Proceedings of the International Conference Held at The American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Athens, December 2-3, 1989, edited by C. Zerner, 311-18, Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben.
  • Hirschfeld, N.E. 2008. “How and Why Potmarks Matter.” NEA 71:120-29.
  • Horowitz, M.T. 2017. “Pot-marks as a Feature of Interregional Connectivity at Tell Atchana-Alalakh: Evidence from the 2006-12 Excavations.” In Questions, Approaches, and Dialogues in Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology: Studies in Honor of Marie-Henriette and Charles Gates, edited by E. Kozal, M. Akar, Y. Heffron, Ç. Çilingiroğlu, T.E. Şerifoğlu, C. Çakırlar, S. Ünlüsoy, and É. Jean, 307-30. AOAT 445. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag.
  • Kulakoğlu, F., and G. Öztürk. 2015. “New Evidence for International Trade in Bronze Age Central Anatolia: Recently Discovered Bullae at Kültepe-Kanesh.” Antiquity Project Gallery 89.343. http:// antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/kulakoglu343
  • Lal, B.B. 1975. “The Indus Script: Some Observations Based on Archaeology.” JRAS 107.2:173-77.
  • Lindblom, M. 2001. Marks and Makers: Appearance, Distribution and Function of Middle and Late Helladic Manufacturers’ Marks on Aeginetan Pottery. Jonsered: Paul Åström Förlag.
  • Massa, M. 2016. “Networks before Empires: Cultural Transfers in West and Central Anatolia during the Early Bronze Age.” Ph.D. diss., University College London.
  • Mazzoni, S. 2013. “Centralization and Redistribution. The Pottery Assemblage of Royal Palace G.” In Ebla and its Landscape: Early State Formation in the Ancient Near East, edited by P. Matthiae and M. Nicolò, 89-110. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
  • Mellaart, J. 1954. “Preliminary Report on a Survey of Pre-Classical Remains in Southern Turkey.” AnatSt 4:175-240.
  • Mellaart, J. 1963. “Early Cultures of the South Anatolian Plateau, II: The Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages in the Konya Plain.” AnatSt 13:199-236.
  • Mellink, M. 1965. “Excavations at Karatas-Semayük in Lycia, 1964.” AJA 69:241-51.
  • Mellink, M. 1967. “Excavations at Karatas-Semayük in Lycia, 1966.” AJA 71:251-67.
  • Mellink, M. 1989. “Anatolia and Foreign Relations of Tarsus in the Early Bronze Age.” In Anatolia and the Near East, Studies in the Honor of Tahsin Özgüç, edited by K. Emre, M. Mellink, B. Horuda, and N. Özgüç, 319-32. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu.
  • Mellink, M., and L. Angel. 1966. “Excavations at Karatas-Semayük in Lycia, 1965.” AJA 70:245-57.
  • Mielke, D.P. 2006. Die Keramik vom Westhang (Kuşakli-Sarissa 2). Rahden: Marie Leidorf.
  • Müller-Karpe, A. 1988. Hethitische Töpferei der Oberstadt von Hattusˇa: ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis spätgrossreichszeitlicher Keramik und Töpferbetriebe unter Zugrundelegung der Grabungsergebnisse von 1978-82 in Boğazköy. Marburger Studien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte 10. Marburg (Lahn): Hitzeroth.
  • Oğuzhanoğlu, U. 2019. “A Lead Seal from the Laodikeia-Kandilkiri Excavations and an overall Assessment of Seal Use in South-Western Anatolia during the Early Bronze Age.” OJA 38:39-64.
  • Rice, P.M. 1991. “Specialization, Standardization and Diversity: A Retrospective.” In The Ceramic Legacy of Anna O. Shepard, edited by R.L. Bishop and F.W Lange, 257-79. Niwot, CO: University Press of Colorado.
  • Roux, V. 2003. “Ceramic Standardization and Intensity of Production: Quantifying Degrees of Specialization.” AmerAnt 68.4:768-82.
  • Özgüç, N. 1990. “An Early Bronze Age Jar from Acemhöyük.” ErIsr 21:70-73.
  • Özgüç, T. 1986. “New Observations on the Relationship of Kültepe with Southeast Anatolia and North Syria during the Third Millennium B.C.” In Ancient Anatolia Aspects of Change and Cultural Development, Essays in Honor of Machteld Mellink, edited by C.V. Jeanny and E. Porada, 31-47. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.
  • Öztan, A. 1989. “A Group of Early Bronze Age Pottery From the Konya and Niğde Region.” In Anatolia and the Near East, Studies in the Honor of Tahsin Özgüç, edited by K. Emre, M. Mellink, B. Horuda, and N. Özgüç, 407-18. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu.
  • Potts, D.T. 1981. “The Potter’s Marks of Tepe Yahya.” Paleorient 7.1:107-22.
  • Schmidt, H. 1902. Heinrich Schliemann’s Sammlung trojanischer Altertümer. Berlin: Reimer.
  • Seidl, U. 1972. Gefässmarken von Bogazköy. Boğazköy-Hattusˇa 8. WVDOG 88. Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag Seton-Williams, M. 1954. “Cilician Survey.” AnatSt 4:121-74.
  • Sherratt, S. 2013. “Late Cypriot Writing in Context.” In Syllabic Writing on Cyprus and its Context, edited by P.M Steele, 77-106. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Symington, D. 2007. “Early Bronze Age Pottery.” In Excavations at Kilise Tepe, 1994-1998 From Bronze Age to Byzantine in Western Cilicia, edited by N. Postgate and D. Thomas, 295-318. Text in 1st, figs. in 2nd vol. McDonald Institute Monographs 30. London: British Institute at Ankara.
  • Şahoğlu, V. 2019. “The Early Bronze Age Anatolian Trade Network and its Role on the Transformation of the Anatolian and Aegean Communities.” In Connecting Cultures: Trade and Interconnections in the Ancient Near East from the Beginning until the End of the Roman Period, edited by V. Şahoğlu, M. Şevketoğlu, and Y.H. Erbil, 115-31. Anatolia Suppl. 1.4. Ankara: Ankara University Press.
  • Umurtak, G. 2000. “Neolitik ve Erken Kalkolitik Çağlarda Burdur-Antalya Bölgesi Mühürcülüğü Üzerine Bazı Gözlemler.” Adalya 4:1-19.
  • Umurtak, G. 2009. “A Study of Three Numerical (!) Tablets and a Stamp Seal from the Early Bronze Age Settlement at Bademağacı Höyük.” Adalya 12:1-10.
  • Umurtak, G. 2013. “Some Comments on a Few Intriguing Seals Found in the EBA Settlements at Hacılar Büyük Höyük and a Seal from Burdur Museum.” Adalya 16:49-59.
  • Umurtak, G. 2015. “Hacılar Büyük Höyük İlk Tunç Çağı I Yerleşmesi’nde Bulunmuş Olan Bir Grup Mühür Üzerine Gözlemler.” In Pisidian Essays in Honour of Hacı Ali Ekinci, edited by H. Metin, B.A.P. Becks, R. Becks, and M. Fırat, 147-56. Istanbul: Ege Yayınları.
  • Vitelli, K.D. 1977. “Neolithic Potter’s Marks from Lerna and the Franchthi Cave.” JWalt 36:17-30.
  • Waal, W. 2017. “How to Read the Signs: The Use of Symbols, Marking and Pictographs in Bronze Age Anatolia.” In Non-scribal Communication Media in the Bronze Age Aegean and Surrounding Areas: The Semantics of A-literate and Proto-literate Media (Seals, Potmarks, Mason’s Marks, Seal-impressed Pottery, Ideograms and Logograms, and Related Systems), edited by A.M. Jasink, J. Weingarten, and S. Ferrara, 111-29. Strumenti per la didattica e la ricerca 196. Florence: Firenze University Press.
  • Yakar, J. 1984. “Regional and Local Schools of Metalwork in Early Bronze Age Anatolia: Part I.” AnatSt 34:59-86.
  • Yakar, J. 1985. “Regional and Local Schools of Metalwork in Early Bronze Age Anatolia: Part II.” AnatSt 35:25-38.
  • Yener, K.A. 1992. “1990 Göltepe, Niğde Kazısı.” Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 13.1:275-90.
  • Yener, K.A. 2000. Domestication of Metal: The Rise of Complex Metal Industries in Anatolia. Leiden: Brill.
  • Yener, K.A. 2015. “Silver for Assur: Kanesh, Acemhöyük and Metal Wealth in the Taurus Highlands.” Anatolica 41:1-8.
  • Yener, K.A. 2020. “Symbolic Messaging and Weapons: Incised Signs on Bronze.” In Alalakh and its Neighbors: Proceedings of the 15th Anniversary Symposium at the New Hatay Archaeology Museum, June 10-12, 2015, edited by K.A. Yener and T. Ingman, 171-97. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Suppl. 55. Leuven: Peeters Press.
  • Yener, K.A. Forthcoming. Göltepe Excavations: Tin Production at an Early Bronze Age Mining Town in the Central Taurus Mountains, Turkey. Prehistory Monographs Series 64. Philadelphia, PA: INSTAP Academic Press.
  • Yener, K.A., F. Kulakoğlu, E. Yazgan, R. Kontani, Y.H. Hayakawa, J.W. Lehner, G. Dardeniz, G. Öztürk, M. Johnson, E. Kaptan, and A. Hacar. 2015. “New Tin Mines and Production Sites Near Kültepe in Turkey: A Third-millennium BC Highland Production Model.” Antiquity 89.345:596-612.
  • Yener, K.A., and P.B. Vandiver. 1993. “Tin Processing at Göltepe, an Early Bronze Age Site in Anatolia.” AJA 97.2:207-38.
ADALYA-Cover
  • ISSN: 1301-2746
  • Yayın Aralığı: Yıllık
  • Başlangıç: 1996
  • Yayıncı: Koç Üniversitesi AKMED (Suna & İnan Kıraç Akdeniz Medeniyetleri Araştırma Merkezi)