The mid-third millennium BCE marks the first major globalization episode in the Eastern Mediterranean, during which Cyprus underwent a cultural transformation that resulted in the advent of the...Show moreThe mid-third millennium BCE marks the first major globalization episode in the Eastern Mediterranean, during which Cyprus underwent a cultural transformation that resulted in the advent of the Cypriot Bronze Age. The transitional period between the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age is known as the Philia period and is defined by changes associated with connectivity with the mainland. Among these changes is an upheaval in mortuary practices characterized by extramural cemeteries composed of rock-cut chamber tombs featuring multiple internments and metal-rich grave good assemblages. This study contextualizes these changes in mortuary practice with inter-regional mortuary trends on the mainland by systematically comparing burial types between Cyprus and West, Central, and Southeast Anatolia and Northern Syria. Through comparing inter-regional burial type variability, this study distinguishes between which aspects of Philia period mortuary practice relate to mainland connectivity, and which reflect continuities with the Chalcolithic. This study’s results demonstrate Philia period burial types are generally dissimilar to Anatolia, instead Cypriot mortuary practices compare on a modular level to the mainland, featuring a unique combination of local continuities and novel innovations related to connectivity, constituting a hybridized mortuary program.Show less
The objective of this thesis is to assess whether there is a correlation between the intensification of dairy consumption in Neolithic Anatolia and the effects of the 8.2 ka event.
Figurines are some of the most commonly found artefacts in Neolithic sites across the Near East. These objects have often stimulated colourful interpretations, focussing primarily on stylistic...Show moreFigurines are some of the most commonly found artefacts in Neolithic sites across the Near East. These objects have often stimulated colourful interpretations, focussing primarily on stylistic elements of the anthropomorphic subjects. Such elements, like their perceived femaleness accompanied by voluptuousness, have historically been deemed as directly linked to concerns with fertility and pregnancy, which led to the assumption of the figurines being ritual objects and representations of deities, often labelled as ‘mother- goddesses’. These interpretations essentially generalize the entirety of the figurine assemblages of the Neolithic world, and erase the possibilities of in-depth analysis of these objects. This thesis takes on a different approach, with the belief that a comprehensive analysis that aims to understand these objects should first of all focus on the assemblage of a single context (namely a single site in a given chronological frame), covering the full ‘life-span’ of the figurines within such spatial, chronological, and cultural boundaries, starting from the context of deposition, the process of manufacture and the possible uses. Stylistic observations should only be considered in association to these aspects just mentioned, in the case of possible patterns highlighting the meaning and uses of these objects. A comparative analysis of two or more assemblages could be introduced at a second stage of analysis, within pertinent geographical and chronological boundaries, in order to highlight possible differences and similarities. This approach is what was applied for the research of the figurines of two Neolithic sites of the Lake District in Western Anatolia: Hacilar and Höyücek. These sites, broadly dated to the Late Neolithic period (ca. 6,400 – 6,000 BC), present a significant corpus of figurines, which amount to 72 for Hacilar, and 84 for Höyücek, with the aims of investigating their contexts of deposition and their manufacturing processes in order to highlight possible meaning and uses that were associated to these emblematic objects withi the individual sites and in a broader regional context. The structure of this research will start with an introductory chapter on the Neolithic in the Lake District (Chapter 1), followed by a theoretical chapter that will discuss the history of figurine studies, and will frame the theoretical approach preferred for this research. The datasets of Hacilar and Höyücek will be discussed in Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, which will then be compared in their results in Chapter 5. Finally, the conclusions of this research will be presented in Chapter 6. This research has shown that the figurines of Hacilar and Höyücek had highly dynamic meanings and uses, even within the same sites, which on the one hand shows how inherently flawed the past research has been, and on the other it opens up new avenues of research around aspects like the manufacturing process, which have barely been actively studied in figurines.Show less
This thesis analyses the considerations of British officials when arriving at positions on granting sovereignty/ authority to: (i) the Greeks in Smyrna, southwest Anatolia; (ii) the Armenians...Show moreThis thesis analyses the considerations of British officials when arriving at positions on granting sovereignty/ authority to: (i) the Greeks in Smyrna, southwest Anatolia; (ii) the Armenians within north-eastern Anatolia; (iii) the Kurds within south-eastern Anatolia; (iv) and the Kurds within the Mosul vilayet (Southern Kurdistan/ present-day northern Iraq), from 1918-1926. The concepts of “Orientalism” and “civilisation” provide the theoretical basis and are applied to the sources analysed. The thesis argues that Britain’s actions were influenced by the prevailing stereotypes of each people and “civilisation”, but ultimately rooted in political and economic interest. The Paris Peace Conference presented an opportunity to strengthen Britain’s position in the eastern Mediterranean and in the Middle East through support for the design of friendly states and re-drawing the political map of the territory within the former Ottoman empire. Each case was part of the process of erecting a new imperial structure in the Middle East. This new structure was to be based upon the organising principle of ethnic nationalism, as promoted by the Allied powers, including Britain. The British role in each case can be described as: the leading supporter of Greek goals in Anatolia; predominantly a supportive observer of Armenian goals in Anatolia, leaving the French to play the role of lead supporter; a cautiously supportive observer of the Anatolian Kurds with little authority outside of its dictation of the Treaty of Sèvres; and a cautious detractor of the autonomy of southern Kurds, having occupied the Mosul vilayet in 1918 and held full colonial authority over it, experimenting with autonomy but ultimately deciding on its abandonment. By 1926, the goals of the Greeks, Armenians, and Kurds in Anatolia and Southern Kurdistan had not been achieved, and all had withered away in British Middle Eastern policy.Show less
Göbekli Tepe is a site built in the Pre Pottery Neolithic and is located in southeastern Turkey. It has been recently excavated by Klaus Schmidt. The site is rich in animal depictions and symbols...Show moreGöbekli Tepe is a site built in the Pre Pottery Neolithic and is located in southeastern Turkey. It has been recently excavated by Klaus Schmidt. The site is rich in animal depictions and symbols on T-shaped pillars. This thesis concentrates on the meaning of the T-shaped pillars and the depictions and symbols of enclosure D, layer III. Currently, there is a discussion going about the meaning of the site. First the different discussions are mentioned. The most important theory is coming from Klaus Schmidt. According to Schmidt, Göbekli Tepe was a ritual center for hunter-gatherers where rituals had taken place. Based on his arguments and the six aspects of Bell, I investigate if Göbekli Tepe may be seen as a ritual site. After this, a discussion follows about which animal depictions and symbols are represented on the T-shaped pillars of circle D. After giving interpretations upon the role of these depictions, Göbekli Tepe is placed in context. Contradictory to Schmidt is the theory of Banning, who suggests that the enclosures at Göbekli Tepe may be houses with the taller pillars supporting the beams of the roof. He suggests that the T-shaped pillars were an architectural feature that was used in the Urfa region. The T-shaped pillars are compared with other pillars found in the region of Göbekli Tepe. Göbekli Tepe is compared to the following PPN sites: Hamzan Tepe, Karahan Tepe, Adiyaman Kilisik, Nevalı Çori and Taşlı Tepe. Because of the limited knowledge of the meaning of Göbekli Tepe, more research is acquired to answer what the meaning of the T-shaped pillars and the animal depictions and symbols are.Show less
