TARSUS-GÖZLÜKULE HÖYÜK: THE CONTINUITY OF LATE BRONZE AGE IIB CERAMIC FINDS

Abstract

The period extending from the end of the Bronze to the Iron Age is one of the most discussed in the East Mediterranean, marked by the collapse of re­gional powers, a shift from urban and centralized or­gan­i­za­tion to a more rural one, migrations, and an over­all heterogeneity in material culture. However, in the last three decades many new excavations in the region and the re-evaluation of past excavations has confirmed that the narrative of this period is more nuanced. This article investigates the local pottery tradi­tion of Tarsus-Gözlükule in the Cilician Plain during the Late Bronze Age IIb Period. This settlement is at an important cross-roads linking the Syro-Anato­lian world with Central Anatolia and to maritime trade routes opening into the Mediterranean. Both continui­ties and divergences from the earlier Late Bronze Age pottery traditions of this settlement are studied, with the aim of understanding the reconfigura­tions of various networks during this period, tumultu­ous for the entire eastern Mediterra­nean region. The results indicate that this is a period of both instability and continuity eventu­ally taking the different regions in their distinc­tive trajectories, each determined by a wide variety of var­ia­bles, the combina­tion of these variables being specific to each region.

Keywords

• Tarsus-Gözlükule • Cilicia • Eastern Mediterranean • Late Bronze Age IIb • Ceramic

TARSUS-GÖZLÜKULE HÖYÜĞÜ GEÇ TUNÇ IIB KATMANINDA RASTLANAN SERAMİK DEVAMLILIKLARI

Abstract

Doğu Akdeniz havzasında Geç Tunç’tan Erken De­mir Çağı’na geçiş, bölgesel güçlerin yıkılması, şehirleşmiş ve merkeziyetçi devletlerin çökmesiyle daha kırsal bir yapıya dönüşülmesi, büyük göçlere tanık olunması ve maddi kültürdeki genel çoktürellik sebebiyle bu dönemi ilginç ve tartışmalara açık kılar. Fakat son yıllarda böl­gede yeni başlatılan kazılar ve eski kazı malzemelerinin yeniden incelenmeye alınması ile bu dönemin anlatısı­nın daha detaylı olduğunu görmekteyiz. Bu makale Çukurova’da bulunan Tarsus-Gözlükule höyüğünün Geç Tunç IIb Dönemi’ne ait yerel seramik geleneklerini irdeler. Bu yerleşim İç Anadolu’yu Suriye’ye ve denize ulaşımı sayesinde de Akdeniz’e bağlayan stratejik bir ko­numa sahiptir. Bu bağlamda, yerleşimin seramik üreti­mindeki değişimleri ve devamlılıkları incelenerek Doğu Ak­deniz havzasının geçirdiği bu karmaşık evrede bölge­lerin değişen ilişkiler ve bağlantılarını daha iyi anlamak amaçlanmaktadır. Sonuç olarak ise bu dönemde yeni ba­zı oluşumların yanı sıra Geç Tunç IIa’da görülen bazı ge­le­neklerin devamı sayesinde değişik bölgelerin kendine özgü yeni yörüngeler çizmeye başladığını söyleyebiliriz.

Keywords

• Tarsus-Gözlükule • Çukurova • Doğu Akdeniz • Geç Tunç IIb • Seramik

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