Journals / Anadolu Araştırmaları / 2026 / Issue: 32

Balıklı: On the Edge of Time and Everything

Güneş Duru(Department of Archaeology,Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University)0000-0003-1870-0120
Pages
—
Publication Date
2025-07-25
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The study contributes to a reassessment of the geographic and cultural diversity of the Neolithization process in Central Anatolia.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This paper examines the findings from recent excavations at Balıklı, a lesser-known Neolithic settlement located on the Central Anatolian Plateau, with the aim of questioning established models of Neolithization in the region.
📊
Key Findings & Data:This contrast reflected in differences in architecture, duration of occupation, and modes of subsistence, suggests that Neolithization in Central Anatolia did not follow a singular, linear trajectory but instead involved multiple strategies, timings, and social organizations.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:The study contributes to a reassessment of the geographic and cultural diversity of the Neolithization process in Central Anatolia.
🔬Design:Lab & Field Experiment
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Central Anatolia · Neolithic · Epipaleolithic

Abstract

This paper examines the findings from recent excavations at Balıklı, a lesser-known Neolithic settlement located on the Central Anatolian Plateau, with the aim of questioning established models of Neolithization in the region. In contrast to long-term and architecturally stable settlements like Aşıklı Höyük, Balıklı represents a shorter-term and more flexible occupation. This contrast reflected in differences in architecture, duration of occupation, and modes of subsistence, suggests that Neolithization in Central Anatolia did not follow a singular, linear trajectory but instead involved multiple strategies, timings, and social organizations. The study contributes to a reassessment of the geographic and cultural diversity of the Neolithization process in Central Anatolia.

🔖

Cite This Article

Duru, G. (2025). Balıklı: On the Edge of Time and Everything. Anadolu Araştırmaları, Issue: 32. https://doi.org/10.26650/anar.32.1701248

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (57)

  1. Asouti, E. (2006). Beyond the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B interaction sphere. Journal of World Prehistory, 20(2–4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-007-9008-1 google scholar
  2. Altınbilek Ç., Kaycı, O., Balcı, S., Tümer, H., Gündüzalp, S., Ünlü, Y., Bala, C. (2023). Eşek Deresi Mağarası 2021 Çalışmaları. 42. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı, 79–89. google scholar
  3. Baird, D., Asouti, E., Astruc, L., Baysal, A., Baysal, E., Carruthers, D., Fairbairn, A., Kabukcu, C., Jenkins, E., Lorentz, K., Middleton, C., Pearson, J., & Pirie, A. (2013). Juniper smoke, skulls and wolves’ tails. The Epipalaeolithic of the Anatolian plateau in its South-west Asian context; insights from Pinarbaşi. Levant, 45(2). https://doi.org/10.1179/0075891413Z.00000000024 google scholar
  4. Baird, D., Fairbairn, A., Jenkins, E., Martin, L., Middleton, C., Pearson, J., Asouti, E., Edwards, Y., Kabukcu, C., Mustafaoglu, G., Russell, N., Bar-Yosef, O., Jacobsen, G., Wu, X., Baker, A., & Elliott, S. (2018). Agricultural origins on the Anatolian plateau. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(14). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1800163115 google scholar
  5. Baird, D., Fairbairn, A., & Mustafaoğlu, G. (2022). Boncuklu and Pınarbaşı: from forager to farmer in central Anatolia. Heritage Turkey, 12. https://doi.org/10.18866/biaa2021.20 google scholar
  6. Bar-Yosef O. & Belfer-Cohen, A. (1992), From foraging to farming in the Mediterranean Levant. In: A.B. Gebauer and T.D. Price (eds.) Transitions to Agriculture in Prehistory. Monographs in World Prehistory No. 4. Prehistory Press: Madison. pp. 21-48 google scholar
  7. Başoğlu, O., Güngördü, F. V. & Karakoç, M. (2018). Nevşehir’de en erken yerleşim izleri: Sofular Höyük. Colloquium Anatolicum, 17, 19–31. google scholar
  8. Belfer-Cohen, A., & Goring-Morris, N. (2020). From the Epipalaeolithic into the earliest Neolithic (PPNA) in the South Levant. Documenta Praehistorica, 47. https://doi.org/10.4312/DP.47.3 google scholar
  9. Belfer-Cohen, A., & Goring-Morris, N. (2011). Becoming farmers: The inside story. Current Anthropology, 52(SUPPL. 4). https://doi.org/10. 1086/658861 google scholar
  10. Binder, D. (2002). Stones making sense: What obsidian could tell about the origins of the Central Anatolian Neolithic. In F. Gérard & L. Thissen (Eds.), The Neolithic of Central Anatolia, 79–90. Ege Yayınları. google scholar
  11. Carter, T., Bourdonnec, F., Kartal, M., Pouppeau, G., Calligaro, T., & Moretto, P. (2011). Marginal perspectives: Sourcing Epipaleolithic to Chalcolithic obsidian from the Öküzini Cave (SW Turkey). Paléorient, 37(2), 123–149. google scholar
  12. Cauvin, J. (2000). The Birth of The Gods and The Origins of Agriculture. Cambridge University Press. google scholar
  13. Cauvin, M.-C., Anderson-Gerfaud, P., Helmer, D., & Cauvin, J. (1991). Les travaux de 1986-1988 sur le site néolithique précéramique de Cafer Höyük (Malatya, Turquie). Anatolia Antiqua, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.3406/anata.1991.1136 google scholar
  14. Cauvin, M.-C., Balkan, N., Besnus, Y., & Şaroğlu, F. (1986). Origine de l’obsidienne de Cafer Höyük (Turquie): Premiers résultats. Paléorient, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.3406/paleo.1986.4411 google scholar
  15. Çilingiroğlu, Ç. (2005). The concept of “Neolithic package”: Considering its meaning and applicability. Documenta Praehistorica, 32. https://doi.org/10.4312/dp.32.1 google scholar
  16. Daly, K., Mullin, V., Hare, A., Halpin, Á., Mattiangeli, V., Teasdale, M., Rossi, C., Geiger, S., Krebs, S. Medugorac, I., Sandoval-Castellanos, E., Özbaşaran, M., Duru, G., Gülçur, S., Pöllath, N., Collins, M., Frantz, L., Vila, E., Zidarov, P. & Bradley, D. (2025). Ancient genomics and the origin, dispersal, and development of domestic sheep. Science, 387, 492–497. google scholar
  17. During, B. S. (2006). Constructing communities: clustered neighbourhood settlements of the Central Anatolian Neolithic CA. 8500-5500 Cal. BC. Nederlands Instituut Voor Het Nabije Oosten, Leiden, PhD. google scholar
  18. Duru, G. (2018a). Sedentism and solitude: Exploring the impact of private space on social cohesion in the Neolithic. I. Hodder (Ed.), Religion, History, and Place in The Origin of Settled Life (pp. 162–185) içinde. Colorado: University Press of Colorado. google scholar
  19. Duru, G. (2018b). Değişen Zaman, Dönüşen Geçmiş: Volkanik Kapadokya’da Neolitik. Anadolu, 0(44), 157 - 179. google scholar
  20. Duru, G., & Kayacan, N. (2018). Volkanik Kapadokya’da Epipaleolitik Toplulukların İzinde: İlk Değerlendirmeler. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 1(45), 91-104. google scholar
  21. Duru, G., & Özbaşaran, M. (2024). Preserving collectivity through continuity. Archaeological Research in Asia, 40, 100555. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.ara.2024.100555 google scholar
  22. Duru, G., Özbaşaran, M., Yelözer, S., Uzdurum, M., & Kuijt, I. (2021). Space making and home making in the world’s first villages: Reconsidering the circular to rectangular architectural transition in the Central Anatolian Neolithic. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101357 google scholar
  23. Erek, M. C. (2012). Güneybatı Asya ekolojik nişi içinde Direkli Mağarası Epipaleolitik buluntularının değerlendirilmesi. Anadolu/Anatolia, 38, 53–66 google scholar
  24. Ergun, M., Tengberg, M., Willcox, G., & Douché, C. (2018). Plants of Aşıklı Höyük and changes through time: First archaeobotanical results from the 2010–14 excavation seasons. In M. Özbaşaran, G. Duru, & M. Stiner (Eds.), The early settlement at Aşıklı Höyük: Essays in honor of Ufuk Esin (pp. 191–218). google scholar
  25. Esin, U., & Harmankaya, S. (2007). Aşıklı Höyük. In M. Özdoğan & N. Başgelen (Eds.), Anadolu’da uygarlığın doğuşu ve Avrupa’da yayılımı, Türkiye’de Neolitik dönem: Yeni kazılar, yeni bulgular (s. 255–272) içinde. Istanbul: Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları. google scholar
  26. Frahm, E., Hauck, T. C., & Tryon, C. A. (2017). Origin of an obsidian scraper at Yabroud Rockshelter II (Syria): Implications for Near Eastern social networks in the early Upper Palaeolithic. Archaeological Research in Asia, 11, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2017.03.001 google scholar
  27. Goring-Morris, A. N., & Belfer-Cohen, A. (2011). Neolithization Processes in the Levant. Current Anthropology, 52(S4). https://doi.org/10. 1086/658860 google scholar
  28. Goring-Morris, A. N., Munro, N. D., Özbaşaran, M., Kayacan, N., Ergun, M., Uzdurum, M., F. Kalkan., & Duru, G. (2024). Variation in the development of Neolithic societies atop the Central Anatolian Plateau: recent results from Balıklı. Antiquity, 98(401), 1163–1180. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.100 google scholar
  29. Heraclides, A., Aristodemou, A., Georgiou, A. N., Antoniou, M., Ilgner, E., & Davranoglou, L.-R. (2024). Palaeogenomic insights into the origins of early settlers on the island of Cyprus. Scientific Reports, 14, 9632. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60161-z google scholar
  30. Hodder, I. (1982). Symbols in action: Ethnoarchaeological studies of material culture. Cambridge University Press. google scholar
  31. Kartal, M. (2002). The microliths of Öküzini Cave. In I. Yalçınkaya, M. Otte, J. Kozłowski, & O. Bar-Yosef (Eds.), La Grotte d’Öküzini: Evolution du Paléolithique final du Sud-Ouest de l’Anatolie / Öküzini: Final Paleolithic evolution in Southwest Anatolia (pp. 235–252). ERAUL, 96. google scholar
  32. Kayacan, N., Goring-Morris, A. N., Duru, G., & Özbaşaran, M., (2022). A Prehistoric Survey in Cappadocia and a New Early Holocene Site, Balıklı. Tracking the Neolithic in the Near East (pp.387-396), Leiden: Oxbow Books. google scholar
  33. Kozlowski, S. K., & Aurenche, O. (2005). Territories, Boundaries and Cultures in the Neolithic Near East. BAR International. google scholar
  34. Kuijt, I., & Goring-Morris, N. (2002). Foraging, farming, and social complexity in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the southern Levant: A review and synthesis. Journal of World Prehistory, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022973114090 google scholar
  35. Lev-Yadun, S., Gopher, A., & Abbo, S. (2000). The cradle of agriculture. In Science (Vol. 288, Issue 5471). https://doi.org/10.1126/science. 288.5471.1602 google scholar
  36. Mellaart, J. (1962). Excavations at Çatal Hüyük: First Preliminary Report, 1961. Anatolian Studies, 12. https://doi.org/10.2307/3642517 google scholar
  37. Mellaart, J. (1964). A Neolithic City in Turkey. Scientific American, 210(4). https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0464-94 google scholar
  38. Taşkıran, H. (2007). The supply areas of Karain Cave in Southwest Anatolia. In M. H. Moncel, A. M. Moigne, M. Arzarello, & C. Peretto (Eds.), Raw material supply areas and food supply areas: Integrated approach of the behaviours (pp. 207–211). BAR International Series 1725. Proceedings of the XV UISPP World Congress, Lisbon, 4–9 September 2006. google scholar
  39. Otte, M., López, I., Bayon, P., Bar-Yosef, O., Yalçınkaya, I., Kartal, M., & Léotard, J. (2003). Sedimentary deposition rates and Carbon-14: The Epipalaeolithic sequence of Öküzini Cave (Southwest Turkey). Journal of Archaeological Science, 30(3), 325–341. google scholar
  40. Özbaşaran, M. (2011). The Neolithic on the Plateau. S. Steadman & G. McMahon (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of ancient Anatolia (10,000– 323 B.C.E.) (s. 99–124) içinde. Oxford: Oxford University Press. google scholar
  41. Özbaşaran, M., & Duru, G. (2020). The early Sedentary Community of Cappadocia: Aşıklı Höyük. In La Cappadoce méridionale de la Préhistoire à l’époque Byzantine. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.ifeagd.3237 google scholar
  42. Özbaşaran, M., Duru, G., & Stiner, M. C. (2018). The Early Settlement at Aşıklı Höyük: Essays in Honor of Ufuk Esin. In The Early Settlement at Aşıklı Höyük: Essays in Honor of Ufuk Esin. Ege Yayınları. google scholar
  43. Özçelik, K. (2011). Karain Mağarası B Gözü Epipaleolitik dönem yontmataş endüstrisi. In H. Taşkıran, M. Kartal, B. Kösem, & G. Kartal (Eds.), Işın Yalçınkaya’ya armağan (pp. 213–225). Ankara. google scholar
  44. Özdoğan, M. (2022). Reconsidering the Early Neolithic of Anatolia. Recent recoveries, some excerpts and generalities. Anthropologie (France), 126(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anthro.2022.103033 google scholar
  45. Özdoğan, M. (2023). Emergence and Dispersal of Neolithic Lifeways: From Core to Peripheries. In The Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic in the Eastern Fertile Crescent: Revisiting the Hilly Flanks. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003335504-4 google scholar
  46. Pérlès, C. (2001). The early Neolithic in Greece: The first farming communities in Europe (S. Wernke, Trans.). Cambridge University Press. google scholar
  47. Peters, J., Pöllath, N., & Arbuckle, B. S. (2017). The emergence of livestock husbandry in Early Neolithic Anatolia. In The Oxford Handbook of Zooarchaeology. google scholar
  48. Stiner, M. C., Buitenhuis, H., Duru, G., Kuhn, S. L., Mentzer, S., Munro, N., Pöllath, N., Quade, J., Tsartsidou, G., & Özbaşaran, M. (2014). A forager-herder trade-off, from broad-spectrum hunting to sheep management at Aşıklı Höyük, Turkey. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8404–8409. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1322723111 google scholar
  49. Stiner, M. C., Munro, N. D., Buitenhuis, H., Duru, G., & Özbaşaran, M. (2022). An endemic pathway to sheep and goat domestication at Aşikli Hoyuk (Central Anatolia, Turkey). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(4). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2110930119 google scholar
  50. Stiner, M. C., Özbaşaran, M., & Duru, G. (2022). Aşıklı Höyük: The Generative Evolution of a Central Anatolian PPN Settlement in Regional Context. Journal of Archaeological Research, 30(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10814-021-09167-z google scholar
  51. Watkins, T. (2023). Becoming Neolithic: The Pivot of Human History. Routledge google scholar
  52. Yaka, R., Mapelli, I., Kaptan, D., Doğu, A., Chyleński, M., Erdal, Ö. D., Koptekin, D., Vural, K. B., Bayliss, A., Mazzucato, C., Fer, E., Çokoğlu, S. S., Lagerholm, V. K., Krzewińska, M., Karamurat, C., Gemici, H. C., Sevkar, A., Dağtaş, N. D., Kılınç, G. M., … Somel, M. (2021). Variable kinship patterns in Neolithic Anatolia revealed by ancient genomes. Current Biology, 31(11). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021. 03.050 google scholar
  53. Yelözer, S. (2018). The beads from Aşıklı Höyük. M. Özbaşaran, G. Duru ve M. Stiner (Eds.), The early settlement at Aşıklı Höyük: Essays in honor of Ufuk Esin (pp. 383–404) içinde. Istanbul: Ege Yayınları. google scholar
  54. Yelözer, S. (2024). More than just ‘pretty things’: Body adornment and identity construction in prehistoric Anatolia. Paper presented at the ARWA Lecture Series: Anatolian Identities, 01.02.2024. google scholar
  55. Uzdurum, M., Mentzer, S. M., Duru, G., Kuzucuoğlu, C., & Özbaşaran, M. (2023). Kerpiç production and environmental dynamics in an early sedentary community: Micromorphological evidence from Aşıklı Höyük, Central Anatolia (Turkey). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 15, 204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01904-3 google scholar
  56. Zeder, M. A. (2011). The origins of agriculture in the Near East. Current Anthropology, 52(SUPPL. 4). https://doi.org/10.1086/659307 google scholar
  57. Cauvin, J. (2000). The Birth of The Gods and The Origins of Agriculture. Cambridge University Press. google scholar