Old Assyrian Period

Acemhöyük, situated at the southern half of Anatolia, where four main roads intersect, easily communicated with the surrounding regions and beyond, through its easily accessible position.  Especially, the Acemhöyük settlers, who had established a strong trading network during the Old Assyrian Age, effectively made use of this suitable position. As a result, the increased wealth was reflected in its pottery along with many other items. In the excavations of Acemhöyük, being conducted for more than 40 years, many pottery finds have been unearthed attesting this situation, which is being discussed in this thesis titled as “Acemhöyük Pottery in the Old Assyrian Trade Age”.
In the VIth and partially in the Vth levels of the settlement, the Transition Phase from the Early Bronze into the Old Assyrian Age is observed; and in the IVth level the Early phase of the Old Assyrian Age is observed. These levels have only been investigated in a limited area and for a short period. The most remarkable period of Acemhöyük is the Late Phase of the Old Assyrian Age at the IIIrd level of the settlement. In this level, which can also be named as “The Monumental Buildings Phase”, two palace buildings and one Service Building has been unearthed so far, and in the rooms of these buildings rare and precious finds of the era have been found. In the IInd and Ist levels, the characteristic of the pottery has not changed, eventhough the same can not be told for the monumental architecture. The Lower City/Karum Area of the settlement consists of four levels and has a parallel progress with the top part of the settlement.
In the Transition Phase and the Early Phase of the Old Assyrian Age of Acemhöyük, the pottery with painted decoration inherited from the Early Bronze Age, declines significantly and leaves its space to monochrome ceramic. In this phase, the production of the wheelmade painted pottery begins and for the first time, this pottery is observed besides the hand made painted pottery. In the Late Phase of the Old Assyrian Age the bands on painted pottery get narrower. In this phase, the painted vessels reduce in number, however, the variety of the painted decorations increase. Also the area where the painted decoration is applied gets constricted, especially the upper half of the vessels are preferred for applying the decorations. In the Ist level of the settlement, the pottery with painted decoration looses its charm. The predominant pottery group of Acemhöyük in the Old Assyrian Age is monochrome pottery. Among the slipped and slip-polished  vessels red (wine red) is the most, and brown is the second most preferred color. The other major group, the buff coloured pottery reflects the color of its dough and is wet-smoothed. The Acemhöyük vessels are metallic bright, due to being well polished. Likewise, the vessel types known to be having rounded body shapes from earlier periods, take a carinated body shape in the Late Old Assyrian Age, and this confirms that these pottery vessels are an imitation of metal examples. Also, many stone vessels found in Acemhöyük are imitated. Ivory vessels are imitated as well. These vessel types, utilized with great admiration, were also depicted in seal impressions. The known vessel types of Acemhöyük and their rich derivatives appear in the IIIrd level. The Acemhöyük vessels have a flat appearance and this the most characteristic feature of the Acemhöyük Late Old Assyrian Age vessels. These vessel types, appearing in the Late Old Assyrian Age levels will be inherited to the Hittite Age.       
The most important partner of Acemhöyük has been Kültepe-Kaniş. Most of the vessel types recorded in Acemhöyük is found in Kültepe as well. It is obvious that the Kültepe finds are more diverse. The vessel types of the different levels of Kültepe exhibit distinct differences, in Acemhöyük this difference is not as obvious. Acemhöyük also had close relations with the settlements within the Halys arc, its vessel types exhibit similarities especially with the vessel types of Alişar, Boğazköy and Alaca Höyük. The northwestern limit of the Acemhöyük Old Assyrian Age pottery is Polatlı-Karahöyük. There has been a long lasting relation between Acemhöyük and Beycesultan, a settlement in the interior Agean Region. Konya-Karahöyük, situated between these two settlements exhibit a parallel layering, however differ with its vessels having a dim appearance. The eastern frame of Acemhöyük consists of the Middle Euphrates settlements. The Acemhöyük pottery is native, however it is not restricted to Anatolia. Some vessel types in Acemhöyük indicate contacts with Syria through the Amuq Plain.  Many vessel types are common with Yumuktepe and Gözlükule, situated in Cilicia. Also many vessel types found in Cyprus, Crete, Agean Islands and Greece are known in Acemhöyük, mostly they are not used earlier than in Acemhöyük.

This paper deals with votive gifts from the Aššur temple at Aššur (modern Qalʿat Širgâṭ), from an archaeological point of view and from a diachronic perspective (Early Dynastic period to 614 BCE). The focus lies on portable objects, whose inscriptions or types identify them as dedications. The following aspects of dedicatory practices are discussed: object types donated, the donors, differences in comparison to other sanctuaries, and continuity and change.

Derekutugun is an ancient mining site in the province of Corum, next to the small City Bayat located in Central Anatolia. Some 300 m southern of the ancient native copper mining galleries mainly dated to the Early Bronze Age the mining Settlement Erikli Tarla is located. Between 2015-2018 excavations were carried out here. At the settlement excavations yielded find of the Early Roman Empire, Hellenistic Period, Middle and Late Iron Ages, early part of the Old Assyrian Trade Colonies, Early Brone Age (mainly Early Bronze Age III). 98 C-14 dates support the results of the excavations thus new insight, considiring Central Anatolian Archaeology, is provided.

The present study deals with the elements of the Ḫabbātum, one of the groups that spread across Mesopotamia during the Old Babylonian Period (2003–1595 B.C.). The significance of this study reflects the fact that Ḫabbātum has received little attention from scholars who have been interested in elements that function outside of organised society’s legal structures, such as other elements that have spread in Mesopotamia. Moreover, the present study aims to shed light on the existence of these elements and to investigate the reasons for the major changes in their function within the community in the regions that have appeared during the Old Babylonian Period. In the early texts of the Old Babylonian Period, the nature of the interpretation of ḫabbātum’s function differed from the late Babylonian texts; thus, their social function is discussed. The article tries to examine the reasons for these shifts from outlaw elements to working for the official authority.

for a digital copy refer to:
https://publications.dainst.org/journals/aa/2265/6702
or
https://lens.idai.world/?url=/repository/AA_2019_1_Schachner_Lens/AA_2019_1_Schachner_Lens.xml#toc

The Excavations at Boğazköy-Ḫattuša in 2018 Andreas SchachnerThe evidence of a kārum-period storage building probably connected to the roy-al administration and the final uncovering of a Hittite monumental building in the northern Lower Town convey a new impression of the structural layout and economic structure of the city during the first half of the 2nd millennium B.C. In the north of the city and west of Mıhraplıkaya, the excavations have provided a more detailed picture of the Roman settlement. The evidence of a large-scale villa-, garden- and pond-complex unknown in this form in Anatolia so far shows how strongly Roman culture influenced Galatia and shaped the region for at least 150 to 200 years. Research on the geology of the region shows that Ḫattuša was located in a seismically active area. Traces of ancient earthquakes can be found in the Hittite monumental buildings, even if they cannot be dated at the present time. Another project indicates that the surfaces of the rocks in Yazılıkaya were probably worked on in a further step after being hewn. Southeast of Kesikkaya, the excavation area has been almost com-pletely reconstructed and reveals the architectural development in several building layers from the Hittite period to the Galatian epoch. At the same time, work on the Lion Basin was completed.

Some four thousand years ago, the site of Kültepe in Central Anatolia was the scene of vibrant interaction among a number of ethnic and cultural groups. These cultural encounters are richly demonstrated in the glyptic remains, evidenced as seal impressions on clay tablets as well as seal stones. The seals, employed by merchants, moneylenders and administrators, were carved in different artistic styles, originating across the ancient Near East and stemming from various time periods. Within this cultural meeting, the seals changed and developed. Some were recarved and as a result show elements from more than one artistic tradition.

The meaning of the phrase " to drink the god " has been a long debate among the scholars. Some assume that "to drink the cup of a god" has the same meaning with the "to drink a god". The clause "He will drink the cup of their god" which reflects how an Anatolian takes an oath in a Kültepe text (KT VII-a 294/t) is evaluated here. In order to understand this phrase better, not only the Old Assyrian sources but also the studies about “to drink a god” in Hittitology are reviewed in detail. Both, the practices of “drinking the god” and oath taking by pouring out of a cup are attested in the Old Assyrian and
Hittite texts.

This article publishes two Old Assyrian letters in the Ligabue Foundation (Venice, Italy), L 19 and L 59. Both concern legal and businness matters. L 19 provides evidence of a personal business connection between two otherwise well-attested merchant “families”. L 59 deals with a blockade in Central Anatolia, on the road to Tuhpiya, an important centre in the copper trade.

Çeyiz verme evlilik süreci içerisinde önemli bir gelenek olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Çeyiz, günümüzde babanın evlenecek olan kızına verdiği evlilik hediyesidir. Ancak bazı çivi yazılı Akadca belgelerde, çeyiz bir hediye olmasının yanında babanın kızına mirasından pay vermesi olarak da yorumlanmaktadır. Bununla birlikte babalar bazen çeyizin içeriğini tespit etmek ve kızının çeyiz üzerindeki haklarını korumak için erkek tarafıyla bir anlaşma yaptığı yazılı belgelerden anlaşılmaktadır. Babasının evinden çeyiziyle ayrılan kadın, yaşamı boyunca çeyizi üzerinde kullanım hakkına sahip oluyordu ve öldüğünde bu çeyiz çocuklarına miras olarak aktarılıyordu. Eski devirlerde, kanun metinleri ve sivil halka ait özel kayıtlarda bu konuya sıklıkla yer verilmesi, meselenin hem hukuki hem de toplumsal sorunlara yol açtığını göstermektedir. Çeyiz kelimesi çivi yazılı Akadca kaynaklarda genellikle “šeriktu(m)” ve “nudunnû(m)” kelimeleri ile karşılanmıştır. Devletin yazılı kanunlarında ve halkın özel kayıtlarında bu konu üzerinde durulması, muhtemelen daha önce karşılaşılmış olan sorunların önüne geçme ve çeyizin sahibi olan kadını koruma amacı taşıyordu.
The dowry is an important tradition in the marriage process. Dowry is a marriage gift given by fathers to their married daughter at the present time. However dowry is interpreted as giving a share of the inheritance to the father's daughter as well as being a gift in some cuneiform Akkadian documents. At the same time, it is understood from the text (the written documents) that, fathers make sometimes an agreement with the male side (the family of male/other side? bu kısma bir bak) in order to determine the content of the dowry and to protect the rights of his daughter on the dowry. The woman, who left from her father's house with her dowry, had the right to use the dowry during her life and the dowry was transferred as an inheritance to her children at the time of her death. The fact that this issue was frequently

mentioned in the old times, the texts of the law and the private records of the civilian population shows that the issue has caused both legal and social problems. Dowry was named as “šeriktum” and “nudunnûm” in cuneiform Akkadian resources. To focus on this issue in the written laws of the state and the public's private archives had the aim of protecting the woman who owns the dowry and probably preventing of the problems that have faced before.

This research is a multidisciplinary study of textual evidence and archaeometrically analysed metal artefacts of the 2nd millennium BC Near East. The integrated approach followed, presents valuable information regarding the metallurgical practices, general metal usage preferences and the role of the human agent in the manufacturing and value ascription processes.
The distribution, exchange and trade of metals are issues that have generally been approached from two principal, but isolated, perspectives: the written sources, on the one hand, and the archaeometallurgical and geological data, on the other. Most past studies focus on one of these two aspects and specifically on a particular metal, area or time-period. However, this research is taking a more holistic and multidisciplinary approach towards the study of the exchange and use of metals, by integrating information from written texts, archaeometallurgical analyses, experimental archaeology, geological studies of the pertinent areas and ethnoarchaeology.
The textual sources used for the purposes of this research are the Old Assyrian texts from Kaneš in Central Anatolia, pertaining to trade conducted during c. 2000-1715 BC, and the letters from Amarna in Egypt dating to the mid-14th century BC, referring to gift-exchanging in service to the royal international diplomatic relations of the Late Bronze Age Near East. The collected information from the studied texts, regarding the movements and the amounts and varieties of metals transported, were used in basic statistical analyses in order to observe preference in use and exchange. Furthermore, the collective data deriving from chemically or otherwise analysed objects and relative samples were studied and evaluated as to how they correspond with the recorded qualifications and metal treatments. Particular attention is given to the importance of the external appearance, and more specifically of colour, to the identification of a metal, its properties, composition and quality and how this related to or affected selection for trading or gift-exchanging reasons.
The gathered textual information combined with the data provided by archaeometallurgically analysed metal artefacts present a number of conclusions regarding the treatment and use of metals. First, gold refinement was indeed possible, but most probably not very often used due to the fact that external appearance was more important than true content. Second, silver, and more specifically refined silver, was used as currency. Third, arsenical copper was still in use in the Old Assyrian period, when tin was imported and preferably alloyed with pure copper to produce bronze, the alloy in favour of the Late Bronze Age. Moreover, it is supported that iron was described with only one group of words, further suggesting that the meaning of all other iron-related words should be reconsidered.
Finally, the combined information from texts, archaeometric analyses and experimental archaeology show the importance of physical characteristics and external appearance – factors which are very often overlooked – to the identification, manufacture and valuation of metals and metal objects.