Çukuriçi Höyük. Stratigraphy and Architecture of the EBA

The systematic archaeological investigations at the settlement mound ukuriçi Höyük (Turkey) opened prospects of shedding light on numerous questions, especially with regard to the social structure and settlement organisation of an early metalworking centre. The excavation campaigns between 2006 and 2014 form the base of this first detailed study on the sites Early Bronze Age stratigraphy and architecture of the phases uHö IV and III (c. 2950/29002750 BC). In Early Bronze Age 1, a hitherto unique metalworking centre for the region of western Anatolia is found at ukuriçi Höyük. The large-scale excavations uncovered a densely built-up settlement area, which consisted of numerous buildings that can be accessed from squares and paths. In addition to the building materials used in the individual room units, this volume also deals with different construction techniques, accessibility, and installations such as ovens and hearths. Detailed stratigraphic and building research studies clearly show that the living and workshop areas successively expanded from free-standing buildings to an agglutinating construction method over the settlement mound. In the context of already extensively investigated Early Bronze Age key sites in the Aegean and in western Anatolia, ukuriçi Höyük provides numerous new and interesting data for the Early Bronze Age 1. In addition, based on the new excavation results and considering interdisciplinary studies, information on the socio-cultural structure of the Early Bronze Age metalworking centre at ukuriçi Höyük can be obtained. A close examination of the research results thus generates new perspectives and interpretative approaches for the social structure at the beginning of the 3 rd millennium BC in western Anatolia and the Aegean.