The Lower Paleolithic in Turkey: Anatolia and Hominin Dispersals Out of Africa

Modern-day Turkey covers a vast area and includes many different ecological regions. Based on its geographic position, the Asian portion of Turkey, Anatolia, is accepted as a major route of early hominin dispersals. While it represents a reasonably direct route, Anatolia should not be conceptualized as a convenient land bridge for hominins originating in Africa, one that could be traversed without anatomical and/or technological adaptations. The available data show, at minimum, the presence of hominins in Anatolia at various times in the Pleistocene and the presence of various lithic traditions in the region. These are not sufficient for clarifying Anatolia's role as a passage in the earliest occupations of Eastern Europe, and theories suggesting Anatolia as a major hominin dispersal route must remain preliminary

Kaletepe river 3. An early Paleolithic site with stratigraphy in Central Anatolia

Located in the volcanic area of Central Anatolia, Kaletepe Deresi 3 was discovered in the summer of 2000 and has been excavated until 2006 The site contains one of the most important in situ open-air Paleolithic sequence excavated in Turkey, and the first stratified Paleolithic archaeological record in Central Anatolia. Volcanic activity in the region generated a number of obsidian intrusions which have attracted humans to the area throughout prehistory. The stratigraphic sequence at Kaletepe, roughly 8 m in depth, presents at least nineteen distinct archaeological horizons representing the Lower and Middle Paleolithic. Tephras in the Middle Paleolithic horizons and the rhyolithic bedrock bracket the time span represented at Kaletepe, The lithic industry at the site illustrates a wide range of technological behaviours, and documents changes in raw material exploitation and artifact manufacture through the Lower and Middle Paleolithic. it also includes probably the oldest in situ Acheulean industry in Anatolia

Two Possible Upper Paleolithic Sites on the Karaburun Peninsula, Turkey

Turkey, as a major geographical interface between Asia and Europe, is critical to understanding the lifeways and dispersal of earlyHomo sapienspopulations in Eurasia. However, the Upper Paleolithic period in Turkey continues to remain an archaeological enigma. In contrast to the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, which are relatively well represented across the country, the Upper Paleolithic is still largely missing from the archaeological record in most areas, impeding even a superficial understanding of the distribution and technologies of earlyHomo sapienspopulations. To help close the gap in the archaeological evidence for the Upper Paleolithic in Turkey in general, this contribution presents the discovery of and finds from two open-air sites on the Karaburun Peninsula, near Izmir, in coastal western Turkey, which we identify as Upper Paleolithic in age. The lithic assemblages display a flake-blade industry characterized by prismatic and discoid cores, side-scrapers, atypical end-scrapers, and blanks with parallel removals. Lacking the typical Aurignacian or Gravettian characteristics, these assemblages support the notion that Anatolia was very diverse in terms of Upper Paleolithic lithic technologies. We introduce the lithic material from these sites to open a discussion on the variability of Anatolian Upper Paleolithic industries

New earlier Paleolithic sites near Bursa in Northwest Anatolia (Turkey) - a preliminary report

Two new Paleolithic sites located in the southern Marmara region of Northwest Anatolia - the Sahinkaya cave and an open air site at the Uludag university campus, Bursa - are discussed, contributing substantially to the as yet meagre number of archaeologically attested Pleistocene activities in Turkey. The lithic assemblages from the Sahinkaya cave as well as from the Uludag university campus prove (at least) Middle Paleolithic activities. Further research in cooperation with the Bursa Archaeological Museum is planned to prevent further destruction of these sites by looting, especially of the Sahinkaya cave

A Lower Paleolithic assemblage from western Anatolia: The lithics from Bozyer

WOS: 000485032800006In 2005 the Central Lydia Archaeological Survey (CLAS) identified an open-air Lower Paleolithic site called Bozyer near Lake Marmara in the province of Manisa, Turkey. Intensive survey of Bozyer in 2008 resulted in collection of over 300 stone tools. Subsequent systematic analysis attributed 189 of these lithics to a Lower Paleolithic industry. The assemblage is characterized by flakes and retouched flake tools, many of which were produced with the bipolar flaking technique; preferential use of locally available quartz and quartzite over chert; a low proportion of cores, most of which were reused as choppers and chopping tools; and the absence of bifaces and other large cutting tools. With few exceptions, similar assemblages are rare in Anatolia, and comparable industries from Eurasia and the Near East date to the Early Pleistocene period. The lithic industry from Bozyer thus joins other nearby sites in evidencing some of the earliest hominin activities outside Africa, shedding new light on growing understandings of Lower Paleolithic technology, mobility, and activities in Anatolia

A possible Late Pleistocene forager site from the Karaburun Peninsula, western Turkey

WOS: 000430834300009The Karaburun Archaeological Survey' project aims to illuminate the lifeways of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene foragers in western Anatolia. A recently discovered, lithic-rich site on the Karaburun Peninsula offers new insights into a currently undocumented period of western Anatolian prehistory.Ege University Research FundEge University [2015-EDB-005, 2016-EDB-018]; Groningen University Institute of Archaeology; Municipality of KaraburunThe project is conducted with the permission of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and is supported by the Ege University Research Fund (grants: 2015-EDB-005; 2016-EDB-018), Groningen University Institute of Archaeology and the Municipality of Karaburun

Paleolithic occupations of the Gollu Dag, Central Anatolia, Turkey

Systematic archaeological surface reconnaissance of the Gollu Dag. volcanic complex from 2007 to 2012 documented more than 230 findspots with Paleolithic artifacts, ranging from isolated finds to extensive and dense scatters of artifacts. Most of the activities represented relate to exploitation of the rich obsidian resources in the region. Paleolithic artifacts are attributed mainly to the Middle Paleolithic based on the presence of Levallois technology but there is a substantial Lower Paleolithic component represented by handaxes and other large bifacial tools. Upper and Epipaleolithic sites and artifacts are scarce or absent in the survey sample. The distributions of handaxes and Levallois elements differ substantially, reflecting differences in site preservation and exposure as well as organization of prehistoric activities. Multiple variants of Levallois are represented but centripetal preferential and unipolar flake production dominate. The frequent co-occurrence of different Levallois forms suggests flexible reduction strategies. Distributions of different classes of artifact across the survey area indicate that the Middle Paleolithic occupations of Gollu Dag. were not entirely oriented toward workshop activities

Palaeolithic occupation of the Anatolian High Plateau during a cold period: An MIS 6 aged artifact from the Avlam Valley, Eskiehir, NW Turkey

In the Avlam Valley, 10km north of Eskiehir (NW Anatolia), an undamaged triangular Levallois flake was encountered in a paleosol, 430cm beneath the ground surface. The artifact has a minimal dorsal retouch on the right margin, and there is a light beige partial patina on the ventral surface. Based on the technological investigations, this artifact was made using the centripetal recurrent Levallois technique. An observation of the trench walls revealed the triple nature of the stratigraphy: an upper gravelly sand (Unit-1), an underlying reddish-brown pebbly paleosol (Unit-2), and a lowermost dominantly pink, finer-grained deposit (Unit-3) where the artifact was retrieved. Optically stimulated luminescence ages indicate a strong influence of global marine isotopic stages (MIS) on the trench stratigraphy, with the deposit hosting the artifact dating to 148 +/- 20 ka (MIS 6 cold period). The available pollen data from the same stratigraphic level verified an open steppe landscape with some arboreal plant cover during deposition. This is the first stratigraphically dated Middle Palaeolithic artifact from NW Anatolia, and one of the few in the whole country, thus igniting further discussion about the ways Pleistocene hominins adapted to cold and arid environmental conditions

Between Anatolia and the Aegean:Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic Foragers of the Karaburun Peninsula

Dincer, Berkay/0000-0001-8240-5973; TURAN, Didem/0000-0001-8375-1296WOS: 000555217700001The Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic periods of Turkey are poorly understood. the discovery of two sites (Kocaman and Kayadibi) in the Karaburun Peninsula in coastal western Turkey opens a whole new window into our understanding of these periods in Turkey and beyond by providing the first solid evidence for pre-Neolithic foragers. This article presents typological and technological properties of the lithics from these two open-air sites in terms of raw material selection, tool types, and technological preferences and discusses the results in relation to contemporary Anatolian, Aegean, southwest Asian, and southeast European industries. Typological and technological analyses suggest that Kocaman lithics were part of the eastern Mediterranean and northern Aegean Epipalaeolithic traditions; the Kayadibi lithics, on the other hand, correspond well with the Aegean Mesolithic assemblages. the lack of any affinity between the Kayadibi and Initial Neolithic lithic assemblages from western Turkey has important implications about the Neolithization process of western Turkey and the Aegean.Ege University Research Projects Coordination Unit [EDB-16-018, EDB-15-005]; NCN (Polish National Research Center) [2015/19/B/H53/00477]; Groningen Institute of Archaeology; Municipality of KaraburunThis study was supported by Ege University Research Projects Coordination Unit (Projects No: EDB-16-018 and EDB-15-005) and by NCN (Polish National Research Center Grant No: 2015/19/B/H53/00477). Karaburun Archaeological Survey Project is supported by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology and the Municipality of Karaburun