Excavation and Research
About Güvercinkayasi
The massif of Güvercinkayası (Çatalsu, Gülağaç-Aksaray) flanks the east bank of the Melendez River in the Mamasun Dam reservoir. Excavated since 1996, Güvercinkayası has revealed itself to be remarkable, well-organised settlement of the Middle Chalcolithic Age (cal. C14 5200-4750 B.C.). The main type of the uniform attached permanent houses is a rectangular large room with a narrow cell for storage at its far end.The economy of Güvercinkayası is primarily based on dry, rain-fed farming and animal husbandry. Storage devices of different types like bins or large vessels, grinding benches, grinding equipment, bones of domestic and wild animals, are the best proof of these activities. Horn and antler deposits are one of the special characteristics of the settlement. They are surely along with the naturalistic or stylized symbolic reliefs on pottery, indications of the economic and spiritual importance of the animals in the daily life of Güvercinkayası.
Further proof for agricultural activities, and probably early traces of the management of harvested surplus can be found at the upper settlement, along the so called burned building complexes with extended storage units at the highest and most protected area of the rock plateau. A fortification system attests the importance of this by a big fire desolated units. Two strong walls and a tower separate this area from the lower settlement. Another external retaining wall is to be seen along the edge of the east and north terrace steps. A terrace or cutting wall along the north slope, the stepwise paved slope surface behind the terrace wall, and an enclosure wall, which protects two semicircular silos are the latest discoveries. These structures remind the later Hittite fortification systems.
During its lifetime the settlement acquired more of a defensive character, and Güvercinkayası thus became one of the first Central Anatolian early settlements with a multiple fortification system, with a citadel and lower settlement. This fundamental change marks also a transition from an egaliterian into a socially classified society. This change can not be understand without an economic and a political force behind it.
A major step in the development of the animal husbandry is the milking process. Presumably during the Middle Chalcolithic Age milk products were already added as a valuable surplus to the economies. This innovation leaded to constitution of big flocks and so probably to mobile herders. Even today the crisis between of these two different societies (agriculturals and herders) is observed.
We hope to continue our work on Güvercinkayası to throw light on the foundation of the Anatolian type of urbanization.