The aim of this research is to investigate the degree of differentiation among Chalcolithic buildings. In this research project, several key sites of the Chalcolithic are under investigation,...Show moreThe aim of this research is to investigate the degree of differentiation among Chalcolithic buildings. In this research project, several key sites of the Chalcolithic are under investigation, including Lemba-Lakkous, Kissonerga-Mylouthkia, Kissonerga-Mosphilia and Chlorakas-Palloures. The data provided by the excavations at Chlorakas-Palloures have not been incorporated in any research until now. Although the Chalcolithic period has been extensively studied and the excavated sites have been recorded in great detail, little attention is given to the architectural features, and only the “special” structures are examined in great detail. It has been argued that Chalcolithic houses, their spatial configuration and internal activity zones are highly standardized. Also, a marked differentiation can be recognized in both house sizes and building elaboration. However, the Chalcolithic house is always presented as a homogenous structure, with little regard for differentiation or diversity in these structures. This model relies heavily on several parade ground examples, such as the ‘Red Building’ and the Kissonerga ‘Building Model’ and buildings that do not fit in this model, have not been considered. The emergence of building differentiation has first been identified during the Middle Chalcolithic, and it has been argued that this variability resulted from ritual control. For the Late Chalcolithic, the evidence for building differentiation is illustrated by the ‘Pithos House’ of which it has been argued that the differentiation is a result of socio-economic organisation. Interestingly, these buildings are all conform to the internal arrangements of the standard Chalcolithic house. Thus, for both periods building differentiation has been explained to be associated to social competition. In order to scrutinize this hypothesis, the concept of house societies has been applied, in which mainly has been focussed on the buildings and the features therein. Whether settlements are hierarchically arranged can be inferred though house size, building elaboration, differences in food items, access to craft-produced items and burial practices. Therefore, it should be investigated whether we can recognize a difference in activities, building size and building elaboration, in order to identify these high-status buildings. A large dataset has been created combining all the architectural data of the four sites, in order to systematically study, compare and analyse them together. It has been concluded that a high degree of variability is present among Chalcolithic buildings, which can be both recognized on the site level and between sites. This differentiation is due to differences in function, but several high-status buildings have been identified also. Buildings in which a difference in the internal layout could be recognized did not function as houses but served as storage facilities and communal food processing and preparation buildings. Both curvilinear and rectilinear buildings served as such. Buildings which differed in terms of building size, building elaboration were conform to the standard spatial configuration and served primarily as houses. In these buildings evidence for access to different food items and craft-produced items has been encountered. Therefore, it can be argued that these buildings were high-status buildings.Show less
This research concerns the combined analysis of chemical and lead isotopic data of Roman natron glass samples from Sagalassos dating from 1-700 AD. It is based on a new way of interpreting data...Show moreThis research concerns the combined analysis of chemical and lead isotopic data of Roman natron glass samples from Sagalassos dating from 1-700 AD. It is based on a new way of interpreting data that also takes the effects of complex human actions on the material composition and the period of time in which an object moves from its source to archaeological deposition into account. Project FLAME has used this method for interpretation successful to map the flow of Bronze Age metal in Eurasia. The aims of this research are to test this new method of interpretation, to determine in which manner and extent it is successful in looking at glass materials from one context and if it can be used to characterize the flow of glass. This leads to the main research question ‘Is the proposed method for interpretation, according to the approach in Pollard and Bray (2015), with elemental and isotopic data suitable for mapping ‘the flow of glass’ of glass assemblages from Sagalassos (south-west Turkey) dating from 1-675 AD?’. Besides this main question, there are three supporting research questions. Answers to these questions were obtained through extensive data analysis. The multiple analyses are based on already known chemical and lead isotope data from 243 glass samples, no new samples were obtained especially for this research. The data has been used to make new interpretations by organizing, classifying and interpreting it in a different way. From all the data, 2 databases in Excel were made. These were used to make detailed analyses, tables and diagrams in Excel and Word, from which interpretations and conclusions could be made. The data is mostly classified into the groups time period, glass colour, provenance and recycling. This division makes it possible to indicate changes, similarities and differences in and between the chemical and lead isotope data. Important provenance observations are the continuous presence of glass from the provenances Egypt Alexandria and Syro-Palestine, the disappearance of west Mediterrenean glass in later time periods and the large increase of glass from Egypt HIMT in the last time period. Every provenance group and time period contains samples of all the main colours and both recycled and unrecycled samples. The provenance group Egypt Alexandria and colourless glass were the least used for recycling and the provenances Syro-Palestine and west Mediterrenean and blue and green coloured glass were used most frequent for recycling. Together, all these pieces of information have been used to determine the flow of glass and to describe its life history. The answers to the research questions are positive. The short summary in the above standing paragraph indicates some changes in the glass flow. It is further possible to identify, to a certain extent, the timing and general origin of new inputs into the Sagalassos glass flow and to interpret some of these changes in a social-geographical context. For the Sagalassos glass, the core of the glass flow and some other, smaller and faster changing elements of the flow could be identified. Overall, the answer to the main research question is yes, the proposed method for interpretation, according to the approach in Pollard and Bray (2015), is suitable for mapping ‘the flow of glass’ of glass samples from Sagalassos dating from 1-675 AD. Further research to test this method of interpretation more often and in a broader context is recommended. When it is consistently proofed to be reliable and a success, it can be widely used for glass analysis.Show less
