©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project

Boncuklu

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Boncuklu
Type:
 Mound
Altitude:
 m
Region:
 Central Anatolia
Province:
 Konya
District:
 Karatay
Village:
 Hayiroglu
Investigation Method:
 Excavation
Period:

     

Location: The mound of Boncuklu is southeast of Konya and 9 km from Çatalhöyük.
Geography and Environment: It covers about 1 ha and rises 2 m above the plain.
History:
Research and Excavation: The Boncuklu Project, directed by Douglas Baird of the University of Liverpool, aims to document the appearance of sedentary, cultivating and herding communities (forerunners of Çatalhöyük) in central Anatolia. The proposed ten-year project began in 2006 with a short season to evaluate the site [http://cat.une.edu.au/page/boncuklu; 16.11.2009, 13:45].
Stratigraphy: Surface survey suggests it has a stratified sequence extending from the late 9th to 8th millennium BC. In 2007 studies radiocarbon dates for the site confirm its occupation at 8500 - 7500 BC (cal.). [http://cat.une.edu.au/page/boncuklu; 16.11.2009, 13:45].
Small Finds: Architecture: In 2006, hhree 5x5 m areas (H, K and M) were scraped and K and M were excavated. All revealed mud brick structures of 9th-8th millennia directly below the surface. Area M contained flimsy, curving walls around an accumulation of floor surfaces, with postholes and pits also occurring. The function of this structure has not yet been determined but the area also had midden deposits contemporary with and earlier than the structure. Such midden deposits were also observed in many other areas of the site, unlike the situation at Çatalhöyük where rubbish was contained within abandoned houses. n Area K earlier deposits were accessed where a track had been cut into the site. Here an ellipsoid building was excavated. It probably had a doorway at the southeast, another point of difference with Çatalhöyük. The walls and floor were well plastered (at least seven plasterings were observed) and in the centre of the floor were mats preserved as phytoliths. An area of floor beside the north wall and the lower wall there were painted red, and the basis of a red-painted plaster installation that had perhaps collapsed from the north wall was also found [http://cat.une.edu.au/page/boncuklu; 16.11.2009, 13:45]. n 2007 work continued on the curvilinear structure (building 1) in Area K partially excavated in 2006. It was an ellipsoidal structure about 5 x 3 m in size. In its first phase the walls consisted of a single row of mud bricks. Associated with this phase were five replasterings of the floor, while two more plasterings belonged to a later phase when a second row of mud bricks was added to the wall. Throughout this history there was a circular hearth in the northwest, and in the later phases a plaster kerb was added to it. Four postholes near the south wall show there were posts there at various times during the use of the building, and crossweave matting was found on the top floor. Areas where the floor has slumped suggest there may be burials under the floor, as at Çatalhöyük. The painted plaster feature and painted surfaces on the floor and against the north wall belong to the latest phase of the building, although they were replastered and the relief remodelled several times. The relief was partly removed by the bulldozer cut but consists of an elongated projection with a series of curving protrusions. The paint was orange or red. There were at least two earlier buildings below building 1. This building shows some obvious differences from the structures at Çatalhöyük: the plan is ellipsoid/oval, the entrance is at ground level, the hearths is in the north part of the room and there were mats on the floor. However, like Çatalhöyük it has painted reliefs and paint on the north wall. Excavation in Area O, to the south of K, and Area M, at the highest part of the site, revealed only middens and suggests a low building density compared with Çatalhöyük. In M was an area with a succession of plaster surfaces, a curving edge of mud brick and a line of postholes for a screen along the east side. It probably formed a work area [http://cat.une.edu.au/page/boncuklu; 16.11.2009, 13:45]. During the 2010 campaign, the excavations were carried out in 7 different buildings. In the three working areas, it was discovered that the buildings were continuously rebuilt in the same place. In the Area K, it has been seen that after Building 6 was demolished, it was renewed and Building 10 was built on it. The earliest building of those 6 buildings on the Area K is Building 2 and Building 9 was built with the same plan and features on top of it. In Building 9, the last floor of Building 2 on the nortwest was used as cooking area. The hearth of Building 9 was founded on the mudbricks of Building 2. Building 6 shows the general characteristics of Neolithic Boncuklu houses and how the domestic space of the building was used. The majority of the floors belonging to the last phases of the area on the southeast of Building 9 were painted in red. The floors were occasionally painted and later they were renovated with unpainted ones. It has been observed that the later floors have been painted with orange ochre in the small area of Building 6 on the northeast section. Only the south section of Building 4 was preserved. This eliptical building was divided into two parts as east and west. A hearth was found on its southwest section [Baird-Baysal 2013:264-266]. The 2014 studies were conducted in Building 20 and 21 in Area P in the south of the mound, and in Building 12 in Area H in the nourth of the settlement. Building 21 is earlier than Building 20. This building has an oval floor and the south and west walls are straight. This might suggest a transition to rectangular architecture like in Çatalhöyük. The area arranged as a round hearth in the northwest corner of the building was plastered with clay. Building 20 has its own architectural layout. A hearth plastered with white clay was found in the western part of the building. The western sections of this building are irregular and this might show the later phases of the area in which the inhabitants slept and socialized. Both buildings show different practices about abandonment process. Building 21 was filled with mud brick rubbles and therefore it is believed that another building belonging to later period was built on top it. The majority of Building 20 was filled with organic-inorganic remains, reed and mud and burnt materials belonging to another building. It is possible to say that the roof of the building demolished due to fire. No traces of fire were determined on the walls but it is believed that the roof collapsed on the floor. The earlier phases of Building 12 in Area H were excavated. Like the other buildings, this building has a large hearth in the northwest. The floor of the U-shaped fire pit F356 was plastered and it has an arrangement consisting of burnt stones. In the clean areas in the southeast of the building, fire places (probably had a short-term use) were found. However these fire places don't show classical hearth features [Baird et al. 2016:16-18]. In 2015, the studies were conducted in Building 20 and 21 in Area P, Building 23 in Area M and Building 25 in Area J. In Building 20, the hearth measuring 0.85 m in diameter underwent renovation related to later phases. It is found out that the last phase of the building eroded. Building 21 also underwent renovation. A single row of tile was placed on the side of the west wall. In the last phase of the building, the hearth at the center of the northwest section was moved opposite the northwest wall. A temporary small hearth was also found. It is suggested that two hearths were built to increase the cooking and heating capacity during the last phase of the building. For Boncuklu people, the fact that a building had completed its life should have been of special importance. Because the buildings provide data indicating a ritualized abandonment process as in Çatalhöyük. The house was probably closely related to the household in a symbolic way and it required some kind of a burial ritual. The removal of the burials in Building 21 could also be related to these activities. In the last of the building, a round cut was exposed but it was not plastered. It has an appearance of a burial pit. However, no articulated burials were found. Only a few scattered human bones were found in the upper fill. It is possible that it was a re-opened grave and the majority of the burial should have been removed. The floors around the cut have traces indicating as if the people were looking for the cut. Since the tiles fell on the cut, the cut should have been partially open. There is another cut on the floor of the pit and it contains a mandible belonging to canidae family. It suggests that this had a symbolic importance. Also, a few post holes were found on the edges of the walls. One of them contains special objects like obsidian, a bone tool and a bear-like figurine. Considering the bear figures found in Çatalhöyük, it is clear that a symbolic meaning exist. Building 23 has schist floors that do not have the strength of dwellings and the content like marly plaster. The hearth looking like a raised platform is located to the north. In Area J in the north of Area M, Building 25 that shows the characteristics of a typical dwelling was found in the east part [Baird et al. 2017:88-91]. Chipped Stone: Chipped stone from the site is predominantly obsidian and mostly consists of microliths [http://cat.une.edu.au/page/boncuklu; 16.11.2009, 13:45]. Human Remains: In 2010, a burial belonging to 20 year old adult female was discovered on the southeast section of Building 4. In Area K 3 burials were encountered in the phases of 6 buildings while 6 burials were found in the phases of 3 buildings in Area H [Baird-Baysal 2013:266]. The most important find of season 2014 is the stone axe found in the grave. The burnished face of this axe is completely covered with ochre. The stone slab found in Area P has a groove decoration and an anthropomorphic figure [Baird et al. 2016:19]. Human Remains: In 2014, unlike the other buildings, an oval burial pit was found in the north of the living area of Building 21. The burial pit (numbered as 40) contains a child burial. There are also ochre traces and shell-beaded necklace. Unlike the other seasons, 8 burials were found in the rubbish pits that were collectively used in 2014. A single skull was found in burial no 43. The burial no. 39 contains an adult burial with pelvis and long bones. However, the upper section of the skeleton was damaged due to midden activities. The burial no. 42 probably belongs to an important (?) person. Beads were found around the skull but the grave was disturbed by animals. F306 contains disturbed bones belonging to four individials: 2 adults, 1 juvenile and 1 neonate. The bones belonging to adults bear clear pathological traces. The child burial in Building 12 yielded almost 180 shell-beaded necklaces. The fact that these shell beads were found far from the raw material source indicates they spread over a large area [Baird et al. 2016: 16, 18-19]. In 2015, the studies related to rituals were conducted. The burial no. 46 contains an adult skeleton in a crouching position whose head looks towards the northwest. In burial no. 49, more than 50 marine snail beads were found around the neck of the burial. The majority of these beads were covered with red earth dye. The traces of head removal, circulation and clustering activities were detected in the pits near the burials. The skull, found in the burial no. 43 in the previous season, is placed on a burnishing stone and a yellow ochre, and it contains marine shell beads scattered around it. This suggests that the external burials are more elaborated than the internal ones. The studies concentrated on who these people were [Baird et al. 2017:91]. Fauna: Preliminary studies of animal bones show a wide range of species, including caprines, equids, cattle, pigs, deer, tortoise and carnivores, as well as many birds [http://cat.une.edu.au/page/boncuklu; 16.11.2009, 13:45]. Two animal skulls which were embedded in the wall located in the area where the southwest and southeast sections of Building 4 intersects were found in 2010 [Baird-Baysal 2013:266]. Flora: Wetland flora predominates in the plant remains. There are no hulled cereals but free-threshing wheat does occur. In 2007, study of the plant remains shows domesticated cereals and wetland flora. [http://cat.une.edu.au/page/boncuklu; 16.11.2009, 13:45]. The horns belonging to a wild cattle found in Building 21 in 2014 indicate that at least one of the walls was decorated with a bucranium. A massive bone cluster that could correspond to a couple of thousand-kilo meat was found on the burnt layer of Building 20. This cluster was lithified due to fire. It contains a great number of bones belonging to wild cattle, equids and wild boars. This suggests that the building was used for butchering activities. It also shows the existence of feast-like activities. It is found out that the boar skulls were deliberately broken to remove long pointy teeth and some bones were broken to get the marrow [Baird et al. 2016: 16-17].
Remains:
Interpretation and Dating: The inhabitants of Boncuklu can thus be categorized as sedentarizing hunter-gatherers, who did not practise cultivation. There is some overlap with Pınarbaşı but Boncuklu continues later. Some features are like those at Çatalhöyük (for example, the focus on the north wall suggests some symbolic practices in common), but the architectural tradition is different [http://cat.une.edu.au/page/boncuklu; 16.11.2009, 13:45]. Based on the usage of the domestic space and the symbolic rituals, it is possible to consider Boncuklu Mound as the precursor to the civilization at Çatalhöyük. The mound yields very significant evidences about the beginning of the agricultural practices and the dispersal of agriculture in Central Anatolia [Baird-Baysal 2013:268].


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