In regards to the Human Remains Unearthed from Akyurt Kalaba Tumulus

Akyurt Kalaba Tumulus, which is located in the Akyurt District of Ankara was excavated by the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in 2012. During the excavation, a burial chamber, which contained the dromos, the anterior chamber and the main chamber, was discovered close to the center of the Tumulus. In addition, cremains were found in ostotheks within the cremation areas, and in an inhumation burial near the southeast slope of the Tumulus. Coins found in the graves show that the tumulus was used between the middle of the first century and the beginning of the third century. In this study, the unearthed human remains are examined and evaluated with other archaeological findings in the context of mortuary practices. It was found that there were the inhumation remains of three adults and an infant, as well as the cremains of an adult, in the burial chamber. While the cremains of an adult woman and a 9-10 year old child were identified in the ostotheks, it is understood that the inhumation grave belonged to an adult. The examination of the remains of cremation (i.e. discolorations and changes in the shape of the bones) has indicated that the corpses of the dead were cremated while flesh remained on the bones, and the pyre fire in the cremation areas reached temperatures above 700-900°C. The presence of a well-preserved burial chamber with its architectural elements, cremation areas with ostotheks, and also the presence of different burial practices, make Akyurt Kalaba Tumulus unique among its similar sites. In the study, the Tumulus was evaluated holistically by using bioarcheological and archaeological data, along more conclusive results

An Examination of Enamel Hypoplasias Among Tasmasor and İkiztepe Populations

Enamel hypoplasia in ancient populations is known as an indication of stress that is used to identify the malnutrition and diseases in infancy and early chilhood. In this study, the prevalance of stress in infancy and early chilhood, and the time of their occurance are tried to be identified by examining the teeth of two ancient Anatolian populations. The first of examined population is Tasmasor which was unearthed during the excavations in Baku-Tıflis-Ceyhan pipe line. Tasmasor graveyard was found in Erzurum and dated to Modern Age. The other population is İkiztepe dated to Early Bronze Age and which was unearthed from the graveyard of İkiztepe Hoyuk in district of Bafra, Samsun. The results of the study demonstrate that the frequency of enamel hypoplasia in Tasmasor population is %56,7 and %43,2 in İkiztepe. The difference between populations is statistically significant (P<0,05). That the frequency of enamel hypoplasia in Tasmasor population is higher is related to the differences in stress conditions in infancy and early childhood. Furthermore, the reasons of this are identified with different adaptational strategies determining nutrition and the health status

Les fouilles de Tepecik-Çiftlik et les activités du programme Melendiz préhistorique, campagne 2016

Tepecik-Çiftlik est un site d’habitat de la fin de la Préhistoire, couvrant une période allant de la fin du Néolithique PPNB (ou Acéramique selon les définitions régionales) jusqu’au Chalcolithique Ancien, soit de quelques 8000 à 6000 BC cal. Localisé en Turquie, sur le plateau anatolien (Fig. 1), il se situe dans la plaine de la Melendiz, au Sud de la Cappadoce (province de Niğde). C’est en 2000 que le site fut mis en fouille par le département de Préhistoire de l’Université d’Istanbul, sous..

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity in human mobility patterns in Holocene Southwest Asia and the East Mediterranean

We present a spatiotemporal picture of human genetic diversity in Anatolia, Iran, Levant, South Caucasus, and the Aegean, a broad region that experienced the earliest Neolithic transition and the emergence of complex hierarchical societies. Combining 35 new ancient shotgun genomes with 382 ancient and 23 present-day published genomes, we found that genetic diversity within each region steadily increased through the Holocene. We further observed that the inferred sources of gene flow shifted in time. In the first half of the Holocene, Southwest Asian and the East Mediterranean populations homogenized among themselves. Starting with the Bronze Age, however, regional populations diverged from each other, most likely driven by gene flow from external sources, which we term “the expanding mobility model.” Interestingly, this increase in inter-regional divergence can be captured by outgroup-f$_3$-based genetic distances, but not by the commonly used F$_{ST}$ statistic, due to the sensitivity of F$_{ST}$, but not outgroup-f$_3$, to within-population diversity. Finally, we report a temporal trend of increasing male bias in admixture events through the Holocene

DEMOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TEPECİK-ÇİFTLİK NEOLITHIC POPULATION / TEPECİK-ÇİFTLİK NEOLİTİK TOPLULUĞUNUN DEMOGRAFİK ÖZELLİKLERİ

In this study, the demographic structure of the Tepecik-Çiftlik community, which dates back to the Neolithic period, is examined. The study material consists of approximately 170 individual residues. The aim of the study was mainly to determine the population structure of the community. It is determined that the subadult mortality in the community is around 60% and the life expectancy at birth is 15 years. The mean age at death for adults was found to be about 35 years old. It has been determined that there is a case against women in terms of mean age at death and life expectancy between men and women. It is observed that the number of women in the sample is higher than that of men. It has been determined that the society has a variety of burial practices related to the age, which particularly concerns young infants. Attention is drawn to the possible influence of the mortuary behaviour such as the formation of different burial locations and age related mortuary practices on the formation of paleodemographic sampl

Dietary Changes across the Neolithic Levels of the Tepecik-Çiftlik

As an important mineral source for the entire organism, bone serves as a useful bioarchive for monitoring past human lifeways like diet, since the concentration of the elements in its structure is influenced by the individual diet. Human and animal bones from three different Neolithic Levels (Level 5, 4, and 3) dated to 6800 and 6100 cal. BC according to the C14 found in Tepecik–Çiftlik, Central Anatolia, were elementally (Ca, P, Mg, Mn, Sr, Zn, Cu, and Pb) investigated by the help of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry. The element content of bones refers to post-mortem alteration (diagenesis), especially for manganese and lead. Bivariate treatment of the element with calcium (element/calcium ratio) seems to demonstrate some differences between adult and subadult, male and female, and among levels. Multivariate analysis (PCA and DA) suggests a shift from meat consumption and rich subsistence economy in the lower levels to more vegetable (cereal) consumption and poor economy in the upper level. The results obtained from multivariate treatments are in agreement with the findings of archaeologists and anthropologists who conducted the excavations