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Timber exploitation during the 5th–3rd millennia BCE at Arslantepe (Malatya, Turkey): environmental constraints and cultural choices

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Abstract

A considerable amount of charcoal remains from the archaeological site of Arslantepe (Eastern Anatolia) has been analysed. The anthracological assemblage comes from seven archaeological periods, ranging from the Late Chalcolithic 1–2 (mid-5th millennium BCE) to the Early Bronze Age III (late 3rd millennium BCE). The woody taxa exploited by the local communities appeared to have only minor changes throughout the investigated periods. For the evaluation of wood use practices, charcoal was chronologically grouped according to depositional context. The categories of depositional context identified differentiate between the uses of wood for structural parts of buildings, object manufacture, fuel, refuse, and wood found in outdoor areas or in burial contexts. Communities at Arslantepe, characterized by different cultural and socio-economic traits, appeared overall to select timber depending on its use: hydrophilous plants prevail in building material, with the exception of the 2900–2500 BCE period when environmental constraints probably motivate the dominance of woodland-steppe plants. The differential occurrence of taxa in the diverse depositional contexts highlighted cases of under/overestimation of remains, in particular in relation to the woods for construction. Finally, taxa have been attributed to different ecological groups. The interpretation of results and the comparison with other available palaeoenvironmental data point out that climatic factors play only a secondary role in the choice of wood exploitation in the area. Human choice may vary even with constant environmental records.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express gratitude to Maria Follieri: without her sensibility to archaeological issues and incredible palaeobotanical knowledge, the collection of archaeobotanical data of Arslantepe would have never reached the current level. We wish to acknowledge the support provided by Francesca Susanna, Fabio Nocca, Ilaria Ciccarelli and Laura Cantelmi who contributed to archaeobotanical analyses. The authors thank Marcella Frangipane, director of the Arslantepe archaeological excavation (Missione Archeologica Italiana in Anatolia Orientale), for providing materials and strong scientific support in many years of study and all the archaeologists who participated to the scientific research at Arslantepe.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Alessia Masi, Cristiano Vignola & Laura Sadori

  2. Department of Classics, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Francesca Balossi Restelli

  3. GI Arqueobiología, Instituto de Historia (CSIC), C/Albasanz 26-28, 28037, Madrid, Spain

    Diego Sabato

  4. Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Cristiano Vignola

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  1. Alessia Masi
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  2. Francesca Balossi Restelli
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  3. Diego Sabato
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  4. Cristiano Vignola
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  5. Laura Sadori
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristiano Vignola.

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Online Resource 1

Arslantepe (Malatya, Turkey). SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) charcoal photographs of the main taxa. Alnus: a. transverse surface; b. radial surface. Populus: c. transverse surface; d. tangential surface. Deciduous Quercus: e. transverse surface; f. tangential surface. Ulmus: g. transverse surface; h. radial surface. Fraxinus: i. transverse surface; j. tangential surface. Pinus sylvestris/montana gr.: k. transverse surface; l. radial surface. Juniperus: m. transverse surface; n. radial surface. Rosaceae Maloideae: o. transverse surface; p. tangential surface (PDF 10827 kb)

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Masi, A., Balossi Restelli, F., Sabato, D. et al. Timber exploitation during the 5th–3rd millennia BCE at Arslantepe (Malatya, Turkey): environmental constraints and cultural choices. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 10, 465–483 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-017-0499-0

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