Alvise Matessi
Bilkent University, Archaeology, Post-Doc
- I hold a Ph.D. degree in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, obtained in 2014 at the University of Pavia with a dissertatio... moreI hold a Ph.D. degree in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, obtained in 2014 at the University of Pavia with a dissertation on the political geography of South-Central Anatolia during the Hittite period. My research interests encompass several aspects of the history and archaeology of the Ancient Near East, including territoriality, spatial reproduction of authority, historical geography, landscape archaeology, interregional connectivities and their effects on broader cultural interactions. My work has touched upon many different contexts of the Eastern Mediterranean, dealing with datasets pertaining to several periods, but my main focus is on the Bronze and Iron Ages in Anatolia and Syria. I pursue a holistic approach to history, integrating the interpretation of relevant textual sources with the analysis of archaeological landscapes. During my PhD, I have been Visiting Graduate at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University. Since 2006, I have been taking part to several archaeological projects in Turkey and Syria. In 2014-15, I was appointed Visiting Professor at the Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations, Northeast Normal University (Changchun, China). Moreover, I have been research fellow at the Istituto Italiano per la Storia Antica (Rome, Italy) in 2016 and 2017, and at the Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey) during the fall semester 2019-2020.I currently (2020-) hold a postdoctoral position within the project "PALaC - Pre-Classical Anatolian Languages in Contact" (PI: Prof. Federico Giusfredi), founded by the European Research Council and hosted by the University of Verona, Dipartimento di Culture e Civiltà. My tasks within PALaC involve integrating the philological and linguistic results of the project in an interpretive cultural-historical framework.edit
The Hittite Laws draw a separation of the Hittite domain into seemingly discrete socio-geographical entities: Hatti, Luwiya, and Pala. This distinction has inspired a long-lasting debate among Hittitologists, chiefly oriented to the... more
The Hittite Laws draw a separation of the Hittite domain into seemingly discrete socio-geographical entities: Hatti, Luwiya, and Pala. This distinction has inspired a long-lasting debate among Hittitologists, chiefly oriented to the definition of different ethno-linguistic spheres in Anatolia. The present paper moves on from this debate and takes the Hatti-Luwiya-Pala opposition to signify a permeable divide between Hatti and other spheres of the early Hittite administration, based on a core-periphery organisation. I propose that this divide did not emerge as an abstract feature of the Hittite administrative map, but was determined by a cultural frontier having its traceable roots in the Old Assyrian period of the early 2nd millennium BCE, when the term Hatti (attested in the form Hattum) already indicated a geographic entity clearly distinct from the rest of Anatolia. In conclusion, I propose that both Hatti and Luwiya originally derived from ethnolinguistic designations for the “Hattian” and the “Luwian” lands respectively, but these meanings were already altered by the time the Hittite kingdom emerged.
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Both archaeological and text-based research on the territoriality of the Hittite empire has so far mostly concentrated on its structural characteristics, renouncing to understand formational and transformational dynamics. However, recent... more
Both archaeological and text-based research on the territoriality of the Hittite empire has so far mostly concentrated on its structural characteristics, renouncing to understand formational and transformational dynamics. However, recent trends in human geography are abandoning views on territoriality and borders as fixed properties of political spaces towards their understanding as social processes in constant evolution. Building upon these theoretical premises, in this paper I shall argue that, far from being static, Hittite political spaces in Anatolia were reshaped multiple times between the Old Kingdom (ca. 1650-1400 BCE) and the Empire period (ca. 1400-1200 BCE), in tandem with both expanding frontiers and internal reforms. I point out that these transformations were likely interwoven with profound changes in the texture of political interactions, that became informed on a more permeating––if diluted––propagation of ideologies of power and institutional practices.
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Already by the Late Bronze Age, culturally distinct cults of Kubaba existed throughout the region controlled by the Hittite Empire. After the fall of the empire and the fragmentation of the political landscape of the Syro-Anatolian... more
Already by the Late Bronze Age, culturally distinct cults of Kubaba existed throughout the region controlled by the Hittite Empire. After the fall of the empire and the fragmentation of the political landscape of the Syro-Anatolian region, these cults persisted in local contexts, developing along their own trajectories, and thus producing hypostases of the goddess with unique roles, modes of expression, and perhaps aliases. However, these local variations did not evolve in a vacuum, but in many cases through a process of interregional and intercultural interactions. This paper will examine these processes along with the resultant expressions of local cults of Kubaba, demonstrating specific trajectories for interactions between neighboring groups, along with selective adaptations and rejections of foreign cultic concepts. Preliminary results suggest an interesting convergence between these cults and certain sociolinguistic boundaries within the region, perhaps connected to communities with shared group identities.
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This contribution will focus on Southern Cappadocia and the Konya plain, regions that during the Late Bronze Age defined a semi-periphery of the Hittite domain, subjected to intense Hittite hegemony whilst simultaneously constituting a... more
This contribution will focus on Southern Cappadocia and the Konya plain, regions that during the Late Bronze Age defined a semi-periphery of the Hittite domain, subjected to intense Hittite hegemony whilst simultaneously constituting a frontier zone with foreign neighbors and subordinate polities. Archaeologically, the Late Bronze Age in Southern Cappadocia is principally known from excavated strata at Porsuk and, to a lesser extent, Kınık Höyük, while regional surveys have produced abundant data for the Konya plain. In this contribution, I will offer a critical review, and revised version, of the local Late Bronze Age chronology and, in light of this, will evaluate the relevance of painted pottery traditions attested in the region.
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Routes are part of broader ’landscapes of movement’, having an impact on and being impacted by other sociocultural processes. Most recent studies on connectivity networks remain highly topographic in scope, incidentally resulting in the... more
Routes are part of broader ’landscapes of movement’, having an impact on and being impacted by other sociocultural processes. Most recent studies on connectivity networks remain highly topographic in scope, incidentally resulting in the restitution of a long term fixity. The anachronistic transposition of best known route networks across various ages, irrespective of context-specific circumstances, further enhances this static approach. On the other hand, when changes in connectivity are considered, trends are generally analysed over ’big jumps’, often spanning several centuries.
This article aims to contextualise dynamics of change in route trajectories within shorter and well-defined chronological boundaries with a case study on the evolution of route landscapes across the Taurus mountains under the Hittite kingdom and empire (ca. 1650–1200 BCE). I will adopt an integrated approach to multiple datasets, aiming to investigate variables operating at different time depths. In the conclusions, I will argue that, while the Hittite route system in the target area was in part rooted on previous patterns of connectivity, some eventful shifts can also be individuated and historically explained. This enables, in turn, an enhanced perspective on the formation and transformation of Hittite socio-cultural landscapes.
This article aims to contextualise dynamics of change in route trajectories within shorter and well-defined chronological boundaries with a case study on the evolution of route landscapes across the Taurus mountains under the Hittite kingdom and empire (ca. 1650–1200 BCE). I will adopt an integrated approach to multiple datasets, aiming to investigate variables operating at different time depths. In the conclusions, I will argue that, while the Hittite route system in the target area was in part rooted on previous patterns of connectivity, some eventful shifts can also be individuated and historically explained. This enables, in turn, an enhanced perspective on the formation and transformation of Hittite socio-cultural landscapes.
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Aim of the present work is to offer an understanding of the mechanisms informing the making and reproduction of the Hittite Empire (17th-13th BCE) in its diachronic evolution. The analysis focuses on South-Central Anatolia, an area of... more
Aim of the present work is to offer an understanding of the mechanisms informing the making and reproduction of the Hittite Empire (17th-13th BCE) in its diachronic evolution. The analysis focuses on South-Central Anatolia, an area of intense core-periphery interactions within the scope of the Hittite domain and, therefore, of great informative potential about the manifold trajectories of imperial action. Through the combinatory investigation of archaeological and textual data able to account for long-to short-term variables of social change, I will show that South-Central Anatolia evolved from being a loose agglomerate of city-hinterland nuclei into a provincial system. The region thus acquired a pivotal role in the balance of power thanks to its centrality in the communication network, and it became the stage for eventful political revolutions, as well as a new core for Hittite political dynamics. The picture of Hittite imperialism emerging, thus, is that of a set of multi-causal and multi-directional processes, not predicated on the sole centrifugal hegemonic expansion of the empire.
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Because of their shared landscape and climate, southern Cappadocia is often perceived and represented as the easternmost portion of the Konya plain in South Central Anatolia (hereafter: SCA). Here we will argue that, while many... more
Because of their shared landscape and climate, southern Cappadocia is often perceived and represented as the easternmost portion of the Konya plain in South Central Anatolia (hereafter: SCA). Here we will argue that, while many interconnections did indeed exist between these two regions, the Bor-Ereğli plain with its surrounding mountains shows proper, independent historical developments in many phases of its past, particularly in pre-classical times. This picture has emerged from ten years of research that our team has been conducting in the Bor plain2. In this article, devoted to the Late Bronze Age (LBA), we will present: 1) the main features of the climate and geology of this region and their fluctuations during the Bronze and Iron Ages (ca 3000-500 BCE); 2) the change in settlement pattern and land route networks in the 2nd millennium BCE; 3) the contribution of written sources of the 2nd millennium BCE to the geography of our region, particularly the account of the battle of Tuwanuwa; and 4) the contribution of some novel data from the ongoing excavations at Kınık Höyük that, preliminary though they are, suggest a different understanding of the periodization of our region than previously thought.
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Il Sole alato rappresenta il simbolo della regalità ittita più facilmente riconoscibile nell’iconografia anatolica, ricorrente sia sui sigilli reali sia sui numerosi monumenti sparsi nel territorio di Hatti. La forma meglio conosciuta del... more
Il Sole alato rappresenta il simbolo della regalità ittita più facilmente riconoscibile nell’iconografia anatolica, ricorrente sia sui sigilli reali sia sui numerosi monumenti sparsi nel territorio di Hatti.
La forma meglio conosciuta del Sole alato è costituita da un disco solare singolo disposto al centro di un paio di ali variamente caratterizzate. Oggetto del presente lavoro, tuttavia, è una tipologia particolare di Sole alato, caratterizzata da un disco supplementare sovrapposto al motivo standard. Propongo quindi che questa variante servisse primariamente a simboleggiare l’autorità congiunta del Gran re e della Grande regina, richiamando la loro rispettiva identificazione con il dio Sole del Cielo e la dea Sole di Arinna/ Hebat.
La forma meglio conosciuta del Sole alato è costituita da un disco solare singolo disposto al centro di un paio di ali variamente caratterizzate. Oggetto del presente lavoro, tuttavia, è una tipologia particolare di Sole alato, caratterizzata da un disco supplementare sovrapposto al motivo standard. Propongo quindi che questa variante servisse primariamente a simboleggiare l’autorità congiunta del Gran re e della Grande regina, richiamando la loro rispettiva identificazione con il dio Sole del Cielo e la dea Sole di Arinna/ Hebat.
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As a part of the Central Anatolian Plateau, South Cappadocia corresponds to today's province of Niğde. In this paper we will discuss the diachronic evolution of settlement pattern and the route network of this region, and their relation... more
As a part of the Central Anatolian Plateau, South Cappadocia corresponds to today's province of Niğde. In this paper we will discuss the diachronic evolution of settlement pattern and the route network of this region, and their relation with major events of environmental and climatic change during the Holocene. We will argue that while human response to climate and environmental change is the reason for some major change in human geography, there are climate change events not reflected in settlement pattern and long-distance routes crossing the region, and major changes in human geography independent from environmental and climate change. A case-by-case analysis is therefore suggested as the correct approach to formulate a correct understanding of the human-landscape relation through time.
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In this contribution we present the results of a multidisciplinary research on the landscape and agricultural history of southern Cappadocia (Turkey), from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period. The study is based on paleoenvironmental (§... more
In this contribution we present the results of a multidisciplinary research on the landscape and agricultural history of southern Cappadocia (Turkey), from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period. The study is based on paleoenvironmental (§ 2.1) and archaeological surveys (§ 2.2) conducted in the Bor plain, as well as archaeobotanical (§ 3.1) and zooarchaeological (§ 3.2) analyses from the site of Kınık Höyük. The available evidence indicates the development during the 1 st millennium BCE of a rich agricultural landscape, dominated by the cultivation of water-demanding crops. The evidence from southern Cappadocia is discussed in the broader central Anatolian context, pointing to the presence of regional differences in agropastoral economies (§ 4).
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Recent works on post-Hittite Central Anatolia once again insist on its profound discontinuity in social structure, political complexity, economic organization and cultural/artistic expression compared to the previous period of Hittite... more
Recent works on post-Hittite Central Anatolia once again insist on its profound discontinuity in social structure, political complexity, economic organization and cultural/artistic expression compared to the previous period of Hittite hegemony. In this interpretive framework, any form of political complexity and technological, cultural or artistic expressions related to the Hittite legacy re-emerging during the Middle Iron Age are considered secondary and derived by contacts – either peaceful or hostile – with the northern Mesopotamian world, that is the Syro-Hittite principalities and the Assyrian empire.
This contribution aims to provide a response to this interpretation based on relevant archaeological evidence excavated at the site of Niğde-Kınık Höyük, as well as on an evaluation of the the early use of Anatolian Hieroglyphic in central Anatolia after the fall of the Hittite empire. We will offer a critical synthesis on past investigations on the LBA/IA transition at Niğde-Kınık Höyük, and present novel results from a deep sounding excavated in 2020. This evidence shows that, notwithstanding major breaks after the LBA, political complexity and its visual and material expression had an early development disentangled from the contacts with northern Mesopotamia. Finally, on considering recent developments in the Anatolian Hieroglyphic paleography and the suggested backdating of important IA inscriptions, the last section raises the possibility of a localized independent resilience of hieroglyphic writing traditions in Central Anatolia after the collapse of the Hittite empire.
This contribution aims to provide a response to this interpretation based on relevant archaeological evidence excavated at the site of Niğde-Kınık Höyük, as well as on an evaluation of the the early use of Anatolian Hieroglyphic in central Anatolia after the fall of the Hittite empire. We will offer a critical synthesis on past investigations on the LBA/IA transition at Niğde-Kınık Höyük, and present novel results from a deep sounding excavated in 2020. This evidence shows that, notwithstanding major breaks after the LBA, political complexity and its visual and material expression had an early development disentangled from the contacts with northern Mesopotamia. Finally, on considering recent developments in the Anatolian Hieroglyphic paleography and the suggested backdating of important IA inscriptions, the last section raises the possibility of a localized independent resilience of hieroglyphic writing traditions in Central Anatolia after the collapse of the Hittite empire.
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Niğde-Kınık Höyük: Excavation Report 2017