Is There an Anatolian Mesolithic? An Assessment of the New Evidence from Western Türkiye

Bibliographic Data

ID6434969
AuthorsÇiler Çilingiroğlu (0000-0002-2936-3732, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume13
Issue1-2
Pages131-150
Publication date2025-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology & Heritage Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2166-3548 • E-ISSN: 2166-3556
PublisherThe Pennsylvania State University Press (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5325/jeasmedarcherstu.13.1-2.0131
OpenAlexW4410895705
LanguageEN
References cited33

Prehistoric research of Anatolia traditionally excludes the nomenclature “Mesolithic” from its chronological schemes, presuming that there was a swift transition from the Epipaleolithic into the Neolithic period without a window for a Mesolithic facies. This article will reassess this traditional view and argue that the Anatolian landmass is geographically too large and ecologically too variable to propose a homogeneous and linear trajectory for the entire peninsula. This diversity of paths engendered a unique cultural landscape that was fluid, idiosyncratic, and full of social and cultural encounters. By referring to the recent evidence from Karaburun and other sites, the article tries to demonstrate that coastal western Türkiye can be considered part of a greater Aegean Mesolithic cultural realm at the very beginning of the Holocene. High resolution radiocarbon datasets will eventually render conventional terminologies obsolete, hopefully allowing us to transcend any linear and progressive conceptualization of the past

Archaeology · Geography · Mesolithic · Ancient Near East History · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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