Evangelia Piskin
Middle East Technical University, Settlement Archaeology, Faculty Member
Research Interests:
Environmental archaeology has a long but patchy history in Turkey. Some of the best known researches were done here, important methodological issues were addressed, and models which are still widely used to day were built on Turkish... more
Environmental archaeology has a long but patchy history in Turkey. Some of the best known researches were done here,
important methodological issues were addressed, and models which are still widely used to day were built on Turkish
materials (i.e. Hillman 1984; Payne 1973). Nevertheless, the situation is not uniform. There are still many geographical
areas and chorological periods that are very poorly investigated as well as many archaeologists who do not consider
important to have the recovered from their excavation ecofacts analysed.
Ikiztepe, in the Turkish Black Sea, first excavated by the late Prof. Dr. B. Alkım and then by Prof. Dr. Önder Bilgi was
one of the first Turkish lead excavations to invite environmental archaeology research: S. Payne for the animal bones and
W. van Zeist for the plant remains. It was then considered appropriate to present here an overview of the environmental
research in the Southern Black Sea in honour of Prof. Dr. Önder Bilgi, the director of Ikiztepe excavations
important methodological issues were addressed, and models which are still widely used to day were built on Turkish
materials (i.e. Hillman 1984; Payne 1973). Nevertheless, the situation is not uniform. There are still many geographical
areas and chorological periods that are very poorly investigated as well as many archaeologists who do not consider
important to have the recovered from their excavation ecofacts analysed.
Ikiztepe, in the Turkish Black Sea, first excavated by the late Prof. Dr. B. Alkım and then by Prof. Dr. Önder Bilgi was
one of the first Turkish lead excavations to invite environmental archaeology research: S. Payne for the animal bones and
W. van Zeist for the plant remains. It was then considered appropriate to present here an overview of the environmental
research in the Southern Black Sea in honour of Prof. Dr. Önder Bilgi, the director of Ikiztepe excavations
Research Interests:
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MS 12. ve 13. yüzyıl katmanlarından ortaya çıkarılan hayvan kemiklerinin zooarkeolojik olarak incelenmesiyle, Komana'da hayvansal yan ürünlerin kullanımına işaret eden birçok kemik parçası tanımlanmıştır. Bunların büyük çoğunluğu kemik... more
MS 12. ve 13. yüzyıl katmanlarından ortaya çıkarılan hayvan kemiklerinin zooarkeolojik olarak incelenmesiyle, Komana'da hayvansal yan ürünlerin kullanımına işaret eden birçok kemik parçası tanımlanmıştır. Bunların büyük çoğunluğu kemik işleme ile ilgili olsa da dericilik, boynuzculuk ve hatta zamk elde etme gibi başka zanaatleri de temsil ediyor olma ihtimalleri üzerinde durulmuştur. İşlenmiş aşık kemikleri ve istifadeci kullanım ayrıca tartışılmış ve bu tür kemiklerin tabaklama ya da seramik yapımında kullanımı üzerine de dikkat çekilmek istenmiştir.
Research Interests:
Colloquium abstract: The Sinop kale (citadel) excavations, initiated during the summer of 2015 with the support of the National Geographic Society and the National Endowment for the Humanities, have provided important new evidence about... more
Colloquium abstract: The Sinop kale (citadel) excavations, initiated during the summer of 2015 with the support of the National Geographic Society and the National Endowment for the Humanities, have provided important new evidence about the pre-colonial and early colonial phases of settlement and communication in the Black Sea region. These results place the earliest phases of the pioneering Milesian colonial port of Sinope in the cultural context of the Sinop promontory and that of the Black Sea and Anatolia from the late third to first millennia BCE. A remarkably diverse assemblage of Bronze Age, Iron Age and Archaic-Hellenistic ceramics demonstrate remarkably diverse links around the Black Sea, in western and central Anatolia, and the broader Greek world. Furthermore, our excavations have clarified the complex history and stratigraphy of one of the defining monuments of ancient Sinope: the fortification wall that established the landward edge of the city from the Archaic period to the end of the Ottoman Empire. The proposed colloquium synthesizes results of three seasons of excavation at Sinop kale in seven papers, including an overview of project goals and context, a discussion of the stratigraphy, and papers on a series of key topics by core team members. Co-authored presentations will be offered on Pre-colonial finds, Archaic and Classical ceramics, the construction and subsequent transformation of the Hellenistic wall, a previously unknown Middle Byzantine wall and an overview of floral and faunal finds. Each of these topics is breaking new ground in our understanding of Black Sea history. The pre-colonial results have suggested a pattern of mobile fishing in the region from the late third to the early first millennia BCE. The remarkable diversity of the Archaic and Classical ceramics provides insight into the unique nexus of connections for the first Anatolian Milesian colony and its own network of Black Sea colonies. The history of the Sinop fortification wall provides significant archaeological evidence relevant to the emergence of the Pontic Kingdom as a maritime power, while the history of the Middle Byzantine wall sheds light on one of the least known periods in the region and the naval networks that formed the foundation of the Genoese and later maritime systems in the Black Sea. " Sinope citadel excavations " offers the first detailed presentation of results from the excavations of this key site in one of the most critical but understudied regions of the greater Mediterranean and Eurasian world.
Research Interests: Classical Archaeology, Anatolian Archaeology, Hellenistic and Roman Fortifications, Greek Colonisation, Byzantine Archaeology, and 11 moreGreek Archaeology, Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor, Black Sea region, Greek Pottery, Black Sea Studies, Iron Age Anatolia, Black Sea Region Archaeology, Black Sea ancient history and archaeology, archaic Greek Pottery, Hellenistic architecture, and Anatolian Iron Age Archaeology
Climatic change has been called for as an explanation on many occasions of societal change. The way climatic deterioration affects societies appears to be straightforward; it causes such alterations in the environment that critical... more
Climatic change has been called for as an explanation on many occasions of societal change. The way climatic deterioration affects societies appears to
be straightforward; it causes such alterations in the environment that critical subsistence resources are not anymore available in sufficient abundance.
Nevertheless, it is not clear how these alterations can be identified and verified in the archeological record, and there is not an easy way to clarify if
modifications observed in subsistence patterns are the consequences of climatic change or other agents. Additionally, there is a number of problems
related to paleoenvironmental data that measure the climatic fluctuations, mostly concerning the exact timing of events and their intensity which may not
have been the same universally. In this research, we examine the 4.2 ka BP climatic event and its possible effects on western Anatolian societies through a
set of published data. We discuss the information we have about the event from available paleoenvironmental data and the gaps in this kind of research.
We examine the agropastoral economy from Troy, Küllüoba, Kanlıgeçit, and Karataş-Semayük for possible changes according to a set of criteria that we
consider as indicators of responses to aridification. We found diverging strategies that may relate to the different local environments or varying societal
structures unique to each site. We consider a partial turn to nomadic pastoralism as an adaptation strategy based on changes in settlement patterns.
Finally, we evaluate our findings against other possible explanations since the observed patterns could have had multiple explanations.
be straightforward; it causes such alterations in the environment that critical subsistence resources are not anymore available in sufficient abundance.
Nevertheless, it is not clear how these alterations can be identified and verified in the archeological record, and there is not an easy way to clarify if
modifications observed in subsistence patterns are the consequences of climatic change or other agents. Additionally, there is a number of problems
related to paleoenvironmental data that measure the climatic fluctuations, mostly concerning the exact timing of events and their intensity which may not
have been the same universally. In this research, we examine the 4.2 ka BP climatic event and its possible effects on western Anatolian societies through a
set of published data. We discuss the information we have about the event from available paleoenvironmental data and the gaps in this kind of research.
We examine the agropastoral economy from Troy, Küllüoba, Kanlıgeçit, and Karataş-Semayük for possible changes according to a set of criteria that we
consider as indicators of responses to aridification. We found diverging strategies that may relate to the different local environments or varying societal
structures unique to each site. We consider a partial turn to nomadic pastoralism as an adaptation strategy based on changes in settlement patterns.
Finally, we evaluate our findings against other possible explanations since the observed patterns could have had multiple explanations.
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The Late Bronze Age was the time of the rise of urban societies and states in the East Mediterranean. Intensive pastoral activities flourished, they were regulated by these states and recorded in the palatial archives of cuneiform... more
The Late Bronze Age was the time of the rise of urban societies and states in the
East Mediterranean. Intensive pastoral activities flourished, they were regulated by these states
and recorded in the palatial archives of cuneiform tablets. These urban societies and palaces
appear to consume as well as to market a plethora of secondary products. Hints for specialised
communities providing these products/services are found in the tablets. In this paper, we
investigate the husbandry of sheep and goat through a comparison of the information provided
by Bronze Age cuneiform tablets of the Hittite Empire as well as original zooarchaeological
data on mortality profiles from the Hittite site of Şapınuva, Çorum, Turkey
East Mediterranean. Intensive pastoral activities flourished, they were regulated by these states
and recorded in the palatial archives of cuneiform tablets. These urban societies and palaces
appear to consume as well as to market a plethora of secondary products. Hints for specialised
communities providing these products/services are found in the tablets. In this paper, we
investigate the husbandry of sheep and goat through a comparison of the information provided
by Bronze Age cuneiform tablets of the Hittite Empire as well as original zooarchaeological
data on mortality profiles from the Hittite site of Şapınuva, Çorum, Turkey
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Daily food is a routine, biologically born, but at the same time a much overlooked, mundane “ritual” that brings together the smallest social unit, often a family or a group omates. At more elaborate events bigger groups come together to... more
Daily food is a routine, biologically born, but at the same time a much overlooked, mundane “ritual” that brings together the smallest social unit, often a family or a group omates. At more elaborate events bigger groups come together to share food. These “invitations to dinner” are a very important component of formalised behaviour (ritual). In
all those occasions, the social status of the hosts and guest is exhibited and negotiated,
ties are created or renewed and “agreements” of all kinds are sealed. The obligation of the
guests to return the favour to the host becomes mandatory with the acceptance of the
invitation to the feast. Various explanatory models have been built on feasting for
exploring social formations and relationships as well as economic mechanisms. In the
archaeological record numerous elements have been used to trace “feasting” activities.
Here, animal bones, the direct remains of food eaten, will be discussed in an attempt to
understand the mode of consumption and its social setting as reflected at a specific context from Ulucak Höyük. These materials date to the earliest phase (VI) of the site and
comprise of nine hearths and one oven clustered together in an outdoor space next to
the Building 42. Building 42 is significant for its red painted floor. Around the ovens a
large number of bones, mostly ovicaprids, heavily broken for marrow extraction were
collected. In contrast, there were almost no archaeobotanical finds, implying that the
food preparations were focused on animals. Even though the features are not all strictly
contemporaneous, their tight clustering, their position outside the “house” and the
abundance of bone fragments indicate communal partaking of food
all those occasions, the social status of the hosts and guest is exhibited and negotiated,
ties are created or renewed and “agreements” of all kinds are sealed. The obligation of the
guests to return the favour to the host becomes mandatory with the acceptance of the
invitation to the feast. Various explanatory models have been built on feasting for
exploring social formations and relationships as well as economic mechanisms. In the
archaeological record numerous elements have been used to trace “feasting” activities.
Here, animal bones, the direct remains of food eaten, will be discussed in an attempt to
understand the mode of consumption and its social setting as reflected at a specific context from Ulucak Höyük. These materials date to the earliest phase (VI) of the site and
comprise of nine hearths and one oven clustered together in an outdoor space next to
the Building 42. Building 42 is significant for its red painted floor. Around the ovens a
large number of bones, mostly ovicaprids, heavily broken for marrow extraction were
collected. In contrast, there were almost no archaeobotanical finds, implying that the
food preparations were focused on animals. Even though the features are not all strictly
contemporaneous, their tight clustering, their position outside the “house” and the
abundance of bone fragments indicate communal partaking of food
Research Interests:
Hittite rituals are studied to date through the textual evidence where a large amount of information is given. The remains of actual animal sacrifices are rarely uncovered in archaeological excavations and studied (Hauptman, 1975,... more
Hittite rituals are studied to date through the textual evidence where a large
amount of information is given. The remains of actual animal sacrifices are
rarely uncovered in archaeological excavations and studied (Hauptman,
1975, Popkin, 2013). In Šapinuwa, a large ritual area has been investigated.
Animal bones at different stages of preservation, complete and fragmentary,
burnt and unburnt, are abundant inside many pits but also spread around in
various locations. This paper presents the first evaluation of the
sacrificial pits excavated in Šapinuwa in the area called J-Alanı. It offers a
first glimpse to what these sacrifices might have been nevertheless it is still
a preliminary observation and the beginning of a long work currently in
progress
amount of information is given. The remains of actual animal sacrifices are
rarely uncovered in archaeological excavations and studied (Hauptman,
1975, Popkin, 2013). In Šapinuwa, a large ritual area has been investigated.
Animal bones at different stages of preservation, complete and fragmentary,
burnt and unburnt, are abundant inside many pits but also spread around in
various locations. This paper presents the first evaluation of the
sacrificial pits excavated in Šapinuwa in the area called J-Alanı. It offers a
first glimpse to what these sacrifices might have been nevertheless it is still
a preliminary observation and the beginning of a long work currently in
progress
Research Interests:
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During the excavations carried out in Ortaköy-apinuva, another capital city of the Hittites, a large number of animal bones were found along with other find groups. Although it is understood that most of the bones in question represent... more
During the excavations carried out in Ortaköy-apinuva, another capital city of the Hittites, a large number of animal bones were found along with other find groups. Although it is understood that most of the bones in question represent the food waste of the city, the remains of sacrifices were also unearthed. This article aims to explain the livestock economy and consumption patterns of the city through a bone group recovered from the excavation area of the Tepelerarasi Region G Area. The area represents a metal workshop dating to the 14th century BC. The group of materials recovered from this area, called Workshop I, is not insitu. It is thought that after the workshop lost its function, it was filled with debris, which was brought from other sectors of the city for flatteing the terrain and described as the waste of the city. The results of our analysis showed that animal consumption is based on sheep and goats. Cattle are found in a very low numbers of mostly young individuals. P...
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Research Interests: Archaeology, Black Sea region, Black Sea Studies, Black Sea Region Archaeology, Bithynia, and 7 moreBlack Sea, Black Sea ancient history and archaeology, Ancient Greek Colonies of the Northern Black Sea Shore, Pontus Euxinus, Black Sea Ancient History and Archaeology, Roman Bithynia, and Roman Province Pontus Et Bithynia
... of Filiz Avan (Government Rep-resentative, General Directorate of Monuments and Muse-ums, Ankara), Sayln Seracettin Sahin and the staff of the Afyon Museum, Gina Coulthard and Gfilgiin Kazan (Brit-ish Institute of Archaeology at... more
... of Filiz Avan (Government Rep-resentative, General Directorate of Monuments and Muse-ums, Ankara), Sayln Seracettin Sahin and the staff of the Afyon Museum, Gina Coulthard and Gfilgiin Kazan (Brit-ish Institute of Archaeology at Ankara), Semih Kirigioglu (Seza Teknik ...
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Research Interests: History, Geography, Archaeology, Bioarchaeology, Geoarchaeology, and 15 moreArchaeobotany, Environmental Archaeology, Medieval Archaeology, European Archaeology, Everyday Life, Redress, Literary studies, Mediaeval Archaeology, Medieval small finds, Anthracology, Historical Studies, Brepols Publishers, Early medieval small finds, Ceramic Analysis Archaeology, and D
Despite its long history, environmental archaeology today still remains beyond the unambiguous classification. This broad, capacious term is some kind of label or banner, under which different researchers undertake their studies.... more
Despite its long history, environmental archaeology today still remains beyond the unambiguous classification. This broad, capacious term is some kind of label or banner, under which different researchers undertake their studies. Definitions of it vary significantly from being a list of encompassing subdisciplines, a set of analytical techniques within archaeological science, a discipline between two realms that of science and the other of humanities concerned with the reconstruction of past environment and the interaction between human populations and that environment. We do not aspire to find or even suggest a new definition, but we would rather ask about the essence of this discipline. Hence, the aim of this short drawing is to outline the area for discussion by briefly reminding the history of environmental studies and presenting its contemporary face.
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Sheep was among the first domesticated animals, but its demographic history is little understood. Here we present combined analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear polymorphism data from ancient central and west Anatolian sheep dating to the... more
Sheep was among the first domesticated animals, but its demographic history is little understood. Here we present combined analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear polymorphism data from ancient central and west Anatolian sheep dating to the Late Glacial and early Holocene. We observe loss of mitochondrial haplotype diversity around 7500 BCE during the early Neolithic, consistent with a domestication-related bottleneck. Post-7000 BCE, mitochondrial haplogroup diversity increases, compatible with admixture from other domestication centres and/or from wild populations. Analysing archaeogenomic data, we further find that Anatolian Neolithic sheep (ANS) are genetically closest to present-day European breeds, and especially those from central and north Europe. Our results indicate that Asian contribution to south European breeds in the post-Neolithic era, possibly during the Bronze Age, may explain this pattern.
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Carnivores have long been known as important taphonomic agents that accumulate and destroy bones thus introducing biases in archaeological bone assemblages. This paper examines how scavenging by two domestic dogs affected the composition... more
Carnivores have long been known as important taphonomic agents that accumulate and destroy bones thus introducing biases in archaeological bone assemblages. This paper examines how scavenging by two domestic dogs affected the composition of a modern assemblage comprising limb bones of cattle, pig and sheep. The dogs did not inflict any serious damage to the cattle bones whilst the pig and sheep bones suffered very heavy attrition. The density of the bones was found to have mediated the destruction to a certain extent but other parameters appeared to be more critical. The size and maybe the shape of the bones seemed to be more important since some cattle bones that had similar density values to pig or sheep bones received little attrition whereas the bones of the two other species were destroyed. The nutritional value of the bones was also important. Not only did the dogs preferentially attack parts with soft tissue attached but they also left almost complete the acetabulum of the pigs pelvis despite its low density value. Differences in the jaw power and individual behaviour of the dogs influenced the manner of destruction to a minor degree. When the same skeletal element from the same species was offered to both dogs, the fragments that remained after each 'gnawing' session were very similar. The variety of factors involved makes it difficult to construct destruction models that may be generally applied. To estimate the scavenging bias introduced into the assemblage, species proportions and skeletal representation tables were calculated by a number of methods usually applied to archaeozoological data. All of them showed considerable discrepancies between the original assemblage (the bones given to the dogs) and the recovered assemblage following gnawing
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Research Interests: Archaeology, Black Sea region, Black Sea Studies, Black Sea Region Archaeology, Bithynia, and 7 moreBlack Sea, Black Sea ancient history and archaeology, Ancient Greek Colonies of the Northern Black Sea Shore, Bithynia(Mariandiny section) and Paphlagonia/ Between Heraclea Pontica and Amastris, Pontus Euxinus, Roman Bithynia, and Roman Province Pontus Et Bithynia
In September 2014 at the 20th European Association of Archaeologists Annual Meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey, we organised a session entitled “Environmental Archaeology and Archaeology: Divided we Stand (still?)”. The inspiration for... more
In September 2014 at the 20th European Association of Archaeologists Annual
Meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey, we organised a session entitled “Environmental
Archaeology and Archaeology: Divided we Stand (still?)”. The inspiration for this
stemmed from our concern and interest in a variety of issues. One of the most
important was the actual position of what is termed “environmental archaeology”
within the field of what one may call “mainstream archaeology”. This issue was
tackled before, and perhaps the book with most prominent expression is the one
edited by Umberto Albarella back in 2001, entitled Environmental Archaeology:
Meaning and Purpose. There, the definition of the discipline and indeed the very
usefulness/uselessness of the term itself were intensively questioned by several
researchers. The issue of what environmental archaeology is has also been discussed
briefly or extensively in various other works and in almost every “handbook” published on the matter. This seems to have been a long and hard debate without consensus being reached yet.....
Meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey, we organised a session entitled “Environmental
Archaeology and Archaeology: Divided we Stand (still?)”. The inspiration for this
stemmed from our concern and interest in a variety of issues. One of the most
important was the actual position of what is termed “environmental archaeology”
within the field of what one may call “mainstream archaeology”. This issue was
tackled before, and perhaps the book with most prominent expression is the one
edited by Umberto Albarella back in 2001, entitled Environmental Archaeology:
Meaning and Purpose. There, the definition of the discipline and indeed the very
usefulness/uselessness of the term itself were intensively questioned by several
researchers. The issue of what environmental archaeology is has also been discussed
briefly or extensively in various other works and in almost every “handbook” published on the matter. This seems to have been a long and hard debate without consensus being reached yet.....