Eastern Anatolia | Ricerc@Sapienza

The procurement of obsidian at Arslantepe (Eastern Anatolia) during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. Connections with Anatolia and Caucasus

Arslantepe is a hoyük (= tell) located within the fertile Malatya Plain, near the right bank of the
Euphrates River. The site is excavated since more than 55 years by the Italian Sapienza University archaeologists
and reveals periods from at least the sixth millennium BCE until the final destruction of the
Neo-Hittite town. This long sequence records the changing relations and connections with various civilizations
and regions of the Near East.
Using the chemical characterization of a large group of artefacts (388 analysed), we propose, in this

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

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 mi- nor changes throughout the investigated periods. For the eval- uation of wood use practices, charcoal was chronologically grouped according to depositional context.