TRAUMA ANALYSIS OF HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS FROM THE ASSYRIAN TRADE COLONIES PERIOD AT KÜLTEPE, CENTRAL ANATOLIA/TURKEY

Year 2023, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 349 - 365, 30.06.2023

Tolga Köroğlu Ayla Sevim Erol Fikri Kulakoğlu

https://doi.org/10.47525/ulasbid.1284766

Abstract

The subject of the study is the demographic analysis and traumas of the people who lived during the Middle Bronze Age Assyrian Trade Colonies Period, excavated from Kültepe on the Central Anatolian plateau. A total of 61 individuals were identified from the examined human skeletal remains, including 25 males, 24 females, 6 individuals of undetermined gender, and 6 children and adolescents. Various traumas were detected on the skeletal remains of these individuals. After analyzing the distribution of traumas based on age and gender, the types of these traumas were explained. Comparisons were made with other societies that existed in Anatolia during the same period. While various traumas caused by violence were encountered in other societies, it is understood that the traumas observed in the population of Kültepe were mainly the result of accidents, falls, and occupational incidents. It is stated that the inhabitants of Kültepe consisted of various ethnic communities. Archaeological studies indicate that the residents of Kültepe, comprised of multiple ethnic groups, lived in accordance with the laws and rules established by the regional authorities. The results obtained from human skeletal remains support these archaeological results.

Keywords

Kültepe, Middle Bronze Age, Skeletal Traumas, Anthropology, Bioarchaeology

KÜLTEPE (İÇ ANADOLU/TÜRKİYE) ASUR TİCARET KOLONİLERİ DÖNEMİNE AİT İNSAN İSKELET KALINTILARININ TRAVMA ANALİZİ

Abstract

Çalışmanın konusunu, Orta Anadolu platosunda yer alan Kültepe’den çıkarılan ve Orta Tunç Çağı Asur Ticaret Kolonileri Dönemi’nde yaşamış insanların demografik analizi ve travmaları oluşturmaktadır. İncelenen insan iskelet kalıntılarından 25 erkek, 24 kadın, 6 cinsiyeti saptanamamış ve 6 çocuk ve adölesan olmak üzere toplam 61 birey saptanmıştır. Bireylere ait iskeletler üzerinde çeşitli travmalar saptanmıştır. Bireylerin yaş ve cinsiyete göre travma dağılımları yapıldıktan sonra, bu travmaların çeşitleri açıklanmıştır. Anadolu’da aynı dönemde yaşamış olan diğer toplumlar ile karşılaştırmalar yapılmıştır. Diğer toplumlar içerisinde şiddet kaynaklı çeşitli travmalar ile karşılaşılırken, Kültepe popülasyonunda karşılaşılan travmaların kazalardan, düşmelerden ve mesleki travmalardan kaynaklandığı anlaşılmaktadır. Yaşanılan dönemde Kültepe’nin sakinlerinin çeşitli etnik topluluklardan oluştuğu bilinmektedir. Çoklu etnik grupların oluşturduğu Kültepe sakinlerinin bölge yöneticilerinin oluşturduğu yasa ve kurallara uygun şekilde yaşadığı, arkeolojik çalışmalarda belirtilmektedir. İnsan iskelet kalıntılarından elde edilen sonuçlar, elde edilen arkeolojik sonuçları desteklemektedir.

Keywords

Kültepe, Orta Tunç Çağı, İskelet Travmaları, Antropoloji, Biyoarkeoloji

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