Michele R . Massa
Bilkent University, Archaeology, Faculty Member
- University of Chicago, Mansueto Institute, Post-DocUniversity of Chicago, Oriental Institute, Post-Docadd
- Survey Methodology, Old Assyrian Karu/Colony Period in Anatolia, Anatolian Languages, Anatolian Studies, Experimental Archaeology, Archaeological GIS, and 29 moreLandscape Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology, Settlement Patterns, Near Eastern Archaeology, Archaeometallurgy, Anatolian Archaeology, Funerary Archaeology, Aegean Archaeology, Computational Statistics, Paleoenvironment, Caravanserais, Silk Road, Environmental modeling, Network Analysis, Commercial Routes, Maritime Routes, Evolutionary Archaeology, Adoption and Diffusion of innovations, Hittite, Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), Harry Potter, portable XRF (PXRF) in Archaeology and Museum Science, Cuneiform, Writing systems, GIS and Landscape Archaeology, Digital Archaeology, Death and Burial (Archaeology), and Geoarchaeologyedit
- I am an Assistant Professor at the Bilkent University's Department of Archaeology. I previously held a joint postdoct... moreI am an Assistant Professor at the Bilkent University's Department of Archaeology. I previously held a joint postdoctoral fellowship at the Mansueto Institute and Oriental Institute @UChicago, and was an assistant professor at Bilecik University (2016-2018). My primary area of interest is the prehistoric Eastern Mediterranean and Near East, and I specialise in landscape archaeology and different aspects of the process of urbanization and state formation -including water management, warfare, long distance exchange networks, administration and elite behaviours. My fieldwork focuses on central Anatolia, where I co-directed the Konya Regional Archaeological Survey Project between 2017 and 2022.edit
This chapter employs the western Anatolian Early Bronze Age (c. 3200–1950 BCE) as a case study to analyse the existence, development and persistence of social and cultural boundaries at different spatial scales, from the intra-settlement... more
This chapter employs the western Anatolian Early Bronze Age (c. 3200–1950 BCE) as a case study to analyse the existence, development and persistence of social and cultural boundaries at different spatial scales, from the intra-settlement to the supra-regional contexts. The results
suggest an active process of identity building that involves individuals, communities and emerging territorial entities, a process paralleled by the formalisation of social and cultural differences.
Prominent arenas for signalling diversity and boundedness include funerary ceremonies, defensive architecture, and fortifications systems around major valleys.
suggest an active process of identity building that involves individuals, communities and emerging territorial entities, a process paralleled by the formalisation of social and cultural differences.
Prominent arenas for signalling diversity and boundedness include funerary ceremonies, defensive architecture, and fortifications systems around major valleys.
Research Interests: Anatolian Studies, Ancient borders and borderlands (Archaeology), Anatolian Archaeology, Prehistoric Western Anatolia, Anthropology of Borders, and 8 moreAegean Archaeology, Anatolia, Anatolian Archaeology (Archaeology), Anatolian Prehistory, Ancient Anatolia, Borders and Frontiers, Old Assyrian Karu/Colony Period in Anatolia, and Borders and Borderlands
This paper focuses on the analysis of the cemetery of Demircihöyük-Sarıket, for which exists one of the largest Early Bronze Age funerary datasets published to date in Anatolia. The size and quality of the sample allow the dataset to be... more
This paper focuses on the analysis of the cemetery of Demircihöyük-Sarıket, for which exists one of the largest Early Bronze Age funerary datasets published to date in Anatolia. The size and quality of the sample allow the dataset to be approached quantitatively, to determine both normative and anomalous funerary practices, and to detect distinct patterns of burial treatment for different segments of the population represented in the cemetery. Despite the small size of the community (ca 100–130 people), the results suggest a rather complex picture, in which the choice of specific burial containers, the relative wealth of grave assemblages and the selection of particular sets of items were dependent on differences in the age, gender, occupation and achieved status of the deceased. Comparison with other contemporary funerary assemblages helps to place Demircihöyük-Sarıket and these community-scale observations within their wider cultural context in central Anatolia.
Research Interests: Anatolian Studies, Anatolian Archaeology, Funerary Archaeology, Social Organisation (Archaeology), Death and Burial (Archaeology), and 7 moreEarly Bronze Age (Archaeology), Anatolian Archaeology (Archaeology), Anatolian Prehistory, Archaeology of burials, Funerary Practices, Social Complexity (Archaeology), and Burial Customs
"This paper offers a reassessment of the horizon of destructions and decline in number of settled communities at the end of the third millennium BC in west and central Anatolia. This phenomenon, despite being well-known in the... more
"This paper offers a reassessment of the horizon of destructions and decline in number of settled communities at the end of the third millennium BC in west and central Anatolia. This phenomenon, despite being well-known in the archaeological literature, has been so far not analysed in detail. Preliminary results based on excavation and survey data are here presented within the context of the increasing social complexity experienced by the late Early Bronze Age communities in the area and the rapid climatic change occurred around 2200-1900 cal B.C."
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Bu makale, M.Ö. üçüncü binyılın sonunda Batı ve İç Anadolu’da yerleşik topluluklarının sayısındaki düşüş ve yangın felaketleri ufkunda yapılan bir yeniden değerlendirmeyi sunmaktadır. Bu durum arkeolojik yayınlardan iyi bilinmesine... more
Bu makale, M.Ö. üçüncü binyılın sonunda Batı ve İç Anadolu’da yerleşik topluluklarının sayısındaki düşüş ve yangın felaketleri ufkunda yapılan bir yeniden değerlendirmeyi sunmaktadır. Bu durum arkeolojik yayınlardan iyi bilinmesine rağmen, günümüze kadar detaylı olarak analiz edilmemiştir. Kazı ve yüzey araştırması verilerine dayanan ön sonuçlar, burada Ön Asya’nın daha geniş çerçevedeki sosyal dinamikleri bağlamında sunulmaktadır.
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This short paper gives some preliminary results on research I have done about retracing the main exchange routes active in the third millennium BC, comparing the location of large mounds with high continuity in settlement occupation and... more
This short paper gives some preliminary results on research I have done about retracing the main exchange routes active in the third millennium BC, comparing the location of large mounds with high continuity in settlement occupation and the well-known Roman road network.
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A brief report on the first season's findings of the survey project in the Çumra and Karatay districts (Konya, Turkey)
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The brief paper introduces a new project, co-hosted by Oxford University and Bilecik University and co-sponsored by British Institute at Ankara and Wainwright Fund, regarding the re-analysis of legacy survey materials from the Konya... more
The brief paper introduces a new project, co-hosted by Oxford University and Bilecik University and co-sponsored by British Institute at Ankara and Wainwright Fund, regarding the re-analysis of legacy survey materials from the Konya Plain. The pottery had been collected in the 1950s and 1960s by several BIAA members, including notably David French and James Mellaart, and is for the first time now re-assessed in detail both through functional chronotypology and through geochemical analysis, in order to provide a more refined understanding of settlement patterns and exchange networks in a diachronic perspective.
Research Interests: Anatolian Studies, Anatolian Archaeology, Anatolian Archaeology (Archaeology), Anatolian Prehistory, Central Anatolian Neolithic, and 4 moreLegacy Data, Pottery studies, Aegean Prehistory. Anatolian Prehistory. Cypriot Prehistory. Archaeology of the Near East. Chalcolithic. Early Bronze Age. Inter- and intra-site organization in Prehistory. Policy, economy and society in Prehistory., and Archaeometric analysis of pottery
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The brief paper introduces a new, BIAA sponsored project on prehistoric metallurgy in north-western Anatolia, aimed at understanding patterns of metal procurement, manufacture and exchange between the Late Chalcolithic and the Late Bronze... more
The brief paper introduces a new, BIAA sponsored project on prehistoric metallurgy in north-western Anatolia, aimed at understanding patterns of metal procurement, manufacture and exchange between the Late Chalcolithic and the Late Bronze Age (ca 3700-1200 BCE).
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This paper presents a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) organic residue analysis (ORA) of samples extracted from five Early Bronze Age ceramic bottles excavated at the archaeological site of Küllüoba in Anatolia (modern... more
This paper presents a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) organic residue analysis (ORA) of samples extracted from five Early Bronze Age ceramic bottles excavated at the archaeological site of Küllüoba in Anatolia (modern Turkey), and the first attempt at directly analysing the content of this category of products. Our results show that various types of liquid have been contained in different bottles and identify the presence of dicarboxylic and oleic acids with a large amount of palmitic acid in most samples, suggesting that they may have mostly contained a plant-based oil. The presence of diterpenoids further shows the addition of ingredients such as conifer resin and other plant-derived products. Overall, the analytical results presented here indicate the exchange of scented oils in Anatolia already during the late third millennium BCE. The different organic residue profiles contained in different samples also suggest a range of different recipes for these products.
Research Interests: Anatolian Studies, Anatolian Archaeology, Mesopotamian Archaeology, Archaeometry, Residue Analysis (Archaeology), and 6 moreAnatolian Archaeology (Archaeology), Ancient Trade & Commerce (Archaeology), Anatolian Prehistory, Organic Residue Analysis, Archaeometric analysis of pottery, and Anatolian and the Near Eastern Archaeology
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The following is chapter 1 (text and plates) from my PhD dissertation on the analysis of social interaction in west and central Anatolia during the Early Bronze Age (EBA, c.3200-1950 BC). The dissertation aims at identifying potential... more
The following is chapter 1 (text and plates) from my PhD dissertation on the analysis of social interaction in west and central Anatolia during the Early Bronze Age (EBA, c.3200-1950 BC). The dissertation aims at identifying potential rationales for and mechanisms of exchange from the intra-settlement to the interregional scale, within the context of growing socio-economic and political complexity experienced by the local communities across the EBA. Through distributional and contextual analysis of a large range of case studies, this dissertation explores how different products, raw materials, technological knowledge and cultural behaviours circulated within Anatolia, and does so both by mapping likely flows of goods and ideas and by analysing the context of artefact use and deposition. It also investigates how increasing degrees of organization affected patterns of exchange, both at the production (specialisation, scale and intensity of production) and the circulation stages (presence of specialised exchange intermediaries, innovations in transport technology, investment in road infrastructure, control over routes). This research further attempts to reconstruct the structure of physical and social networks in EBA Anatolia, looking at how topographic and cultural constraints funnelled movement (and hence interaction) along specific landscape corridors. Lastly, it explores the role played by rising local elites and the importance of Anatolia’s vast metal resources in the process of expansion of long-distance exchange networks, which ultimately allowed the integration of Anatolia within the Near Eastern and Aegean worlds towards the end of the EBA.
Research Interests: Near Eastern Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Anatolian Studies, Anatolian Archaeology, Aegean Bronze Age (Bronze Age Archaeology), and 10 morePrehistoric Western Anatolia, Ancient Near East, Aegean Prehistory (Archaeology), Aegean Archaeology, Cross-cultural interaction (Archaeology), Anatolian Archaeology (Archaeology), Anatolian Prehistory, Ancient Anatolia, Aegean Prehistory, and Old Assyrian Karu/Colony Period in Anatolia
My Masters thesis, focused on the analysis of the well-known EBA necropolis of Demircihöyük Sarıket in the Eskişehir valley, which thanks to the largest corpus of published graves in the whole region, represents an ideal arena to use... more
My Masters thesis, focused on the analysis of the well-known EBA necropolis of Demircihöyük Sarıket in the Eskişehir valley, which thanks to the largest corpus of published graves in the whole region, represents an ideal arena to use statistical analysis for revisiting the panorama of Anatolian burial customs in the third millennium BC. The different techniques here employed follow two general foci: on one side the reconstruction of the funerary rituals, on the other side the use of funerary evidence as proxy to infer some general hypotheses on the social complexity of the Demircihöyük community.
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The aim of this workshop is to bring together philologists, archaeologists and researchers on landscape studies working on pre-Classical Anatolia to develop a diachronic perspective on the use of the main Anatolian routes and roads from... more
The aim of this workshop is to bring together philologists, archaeologists and researchers on landscape studies working on pre-Classical Anatolia to develop a diachronic perspective on the use of the main Anatolian routes and roads from the Early Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age (c.2500-550 BC). The themes of the papers include theoretical approaches to human geography and network structures, and various methods for identifying routes—from textual analysis to the study of artefact distribution, from targeted surveys and excavations to comparison with later roads and GIS landscape analysis.
Research Interests: Near Eastern Archaeology, Hittitology, Anatolian Archaeology, Dromography (Historic Routes Research), Anatolian Languages, and 9 moreHittite, Writing systems, Cuneiform, Archaeology, Historical Archaeology. Medieval Archaeology, Anthropology, Social Identities, Material Culture, Artefact Studies, Diaspora Studies, Trade and Exchange, Iron Age Anatolia, Archaeology of Roads, Old Assyrian Karu/Colony Period in Anatolia, Ancient Roads, and Aegean Prehistory. Anatolian Prehistory. Cypriot Prehistory. Archaeology of the Near East. Chalcolithic. Early Bronze Age. Inter- and intra-site organization in Prehistory. Policy, economy and society in Prehistory.
"Interaction between individuals and human communities and societies has always entailed movement, an action that does not occur randomly in the landscape, but is instead focused on specific paths that allow faster and easier connections.... more
"Interaction between individuals and human communities and societies has always entailed movement, an action that does not occur randomly in the landscape, but is instead focused on specific paths that allow faster and easier connections. Roads and routes are therefore essential in carrying vital materials and information from one location to another. Turkey offers amongst the richest remains of routes, roads and tracks worldwide. The aim of this conference is to discuss these, networks and their impact on society from different angles from the prehistory onwards.
Themes for contributions will include theoretical approaches to human geography and network structures as well as diachronic comparison of systems of roads and routes and GIS landscape analysis. Various methods for identifying roads and routes including textual analysis, the study of artefact distribution or targeted epigraphical and archaeological surveys, as well as excavations are equally welcomed. Papers focusing on the impact of roads, routes and network on society will allow the study of communication from a social angle. The conference is not intended as a forum for the publication of finds of individual stretches of ancient roads; the intention is to incorporate such finds into their wider geographical and social context. "
Themes for contributions will include theoretical approaches to human geography and network structures as well as diachronic comparison of systems of roads and routes and GIS landscape analysis. Various methods for identifying roads and routes including textual analysis, the study of artefact distribution or targeted epigraphical and archaeological surveys, as well as excavations are equally welcomed. Papers focusing on the impact of roads, routes and network on society will allow the study of communication from a social angle. The conference is not intended as a forum for the publication of finds of individual stretches of ancient roads; the intention is to incorporate such finds into their wider geographical and social context. "
Research Interests: Anatolian Studies, Maritime History, Anatolian Archaeology, Pilgrimage Routes, Dromography (Historic Routes Research), and 15 moreByzantine Studies, Mediterranean, Late Antiquity, Hittite, Byzantine Archaeology, Seljuks (Islamic History), Late Roman and Early Byzantine Anatolia, Seafarers, Port cities, Old Assyrian Karu/Colony Period in Anatolia, Islands, Insularity, Ports, Roman Archaeology, and Trade Routes
The presentation offers a panoramic view of the funerary rites in western Anatolia and south-eastern Aegean between the late 5th and late 3rd millennia BCE, a phase that marks the rapid intensification of exchanges at the supra-regional... more
The presentation offers a panoramic view of the funerary rites in western Anatolia and south-eastern Aegean between the late 5th and late 3rd millennia BCE, a phase that marks the rapid intensification of exchanges at the supra-regional scale. It further compares the identified burial customs with contemporary contexts in the wider Aegean basin, attempting to highlight possible patterns in the circulation of funerary behaviours across the area. Its explicit aim is to challenge the concept of prehistoric Aegean as a cultural region delimited by the boundaries of the modern Greek state. I instead argue that the Anatolian seaboard was an integral part of the prehistoric Aegean and indeed one of its cultural cores.