Zooarchaeological analysis on faunal remains from Salat Tepe, South-Eastern Turkey

Date

2014

Author

Silibolatlaz Baykara, Derya

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This dissertation is based on investigation of faunal remains from Salat Tepe, a small mound is located in Batman province, where lies within the Ilısu Dam area, at the north of the Tigris River, south-eastern Turkey. Salat Tepe is a multi-period site and studied materials were taken from Chalcolithic to Hellenistic periods have been analyzed. Mainly, this dissertation addresses how faunal remains could add to our understanding of the social and economic organization of the site. The principal domestic species (sheep, goat, pig and cattle) are spread more consistently across the periods. Besides, the domestic animals, the exploitation of wild animals especially red deer were also important, however those were not play as major role as the domesticates. In addition, this research has aimed to explore how herding decision were made, whether the analysis concentrated on the herding strategy changes or continuity in patterns of animal use over time. The animal bone evidence from Salat Tepe and other sites points to diversity in pastoral activities throughout the region and indicates that herding decisions are based on a range of variables with varying degrees of archaeological context and chronological phases. Herding strategies for Salat Tepe including the use of caprines for secondary products in the Bronze Age, while cattle role was for mainly the agricultural activities. Resource variation at Salat Tepe showed existence of both animal husbandry and hunting activities at the site in Bronze Age. This research has shown that the site was the self-contained small agricultural settlement in Bronze Age, while Iron Age is characterized with simple dwelling houses attested with nomadic or semi-nomadic communities.

Subject Keywords

Animal remains (Archaeology), Animal diversity, Herding, Bronze age

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12617048/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/23469

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis