Home Region:  Anatolia-Caucasus (Southwest Asia)

Konya Plain - Early Chalcolithic

G SC WF HS EQ 2020  tr_konya_eca / TrClcER

Preceding:
6600 BCE 6000 BCE Konya Plain - Late Neolithic (tr_konya_lnl)    [continuity]

Succeeding:
5500 BCE 3000 BCE Konya Plain - Late Chalcolithic (tr_konya_lca)    [continuity]

No General Descriptions provided.

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
36 S  
Original Name:
Konya Plain - Early Chalcolithic  
Capital:
NO_VALUE_ON_WIKI  
Alternative Name:
wczesna epoka miedzi wczesny chalkolit Centralnej Anatolii  
Fruh chalkolite Zentralanatolien  
une chalcolite precoce d Anatolie centrale pierre d une periode Chalcolithique d Anatolie Centrale  
Orta Anadolu da Erken Kalkolitik Donem  
Temporal Bounds
Duration:
[6,000 BCE ➜ 5,500 BCE]  
Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
uncoded [---]  
Succeeding Entity:
Konya Plain - Late Chalcolithic  
Relationship to Preceding Entity:
continuity  
Preceding Entity:
Preceding:   Konya Plain - Late Neolithic (tr_konya_lnl)    [continuity]  
Succeeding: Konya Plain - Late Chalcolithic (tr_konya_lca)    [continuity]  
Degree of Centralization:
quasi-polity  
Language
Linguistic Family:
Indo-European  
Language:
Indo-European language  
Religion
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
[2,500 to 3,800] people  
Polity Population:
[2,500 to 4,000] people  
Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
2  
Religious Level:
1  
Military Level:
[1 to 2]  
Administrative Level:
[1 to 2]  
Professions
Professional Soldier:
inferred absent  
Professional Military Officer:
inferred absent  
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
inferred absent  
Merit Promotion:
inferred absent  
Full Time Bureaucrat:
inferred absent  
Examination System:
inferred absent  
Law
Professional Lawyer:
inferred absent  
Judge:
inferred absent  
Formal Legal Code:
inferred absent  
Court:
inferred absent  
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Transport Infrastructure
Port:
inferred absent  
Canal:
inferred absent  
Bridge:
inferred absent  
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Written Record:
absent  
Script:
absent  
Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
absent  
Nonwritten Record:
absent  
Non Phonetic Writing:
absent  
Mnemonic Device:
absent  
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
inferred absent  
Sacred Text:
inferred absent  
Religious Literature:
inferred absent  
Practical Literature:
inferred absent  
Philosophy:
inferred absent  
Lists Tables and Classification:
inferred absent  
History:
inferred absent  
Fiction:
inferred absent  
Calendar:
inferred absent  
Information / Money
Token:
inferred absent  
Paper Currency:
inferred absent  
Indigenous Coin:
inferred absent  
Foreign Coin:
inferred absent  
Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
inferred absent  
General Postal Service:
inferred absent  
Courier:
inferred absent  
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
  Wooden Palisade:
absent  
  Stone Walls Non Mortared:
unknown  
  Stone Walls Mortared:
absent  
  Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present  
  Modern Fortification:
absent  
  Moat:
absent  
  Fortified Camp:
absent  
  Earth Rampart:
absent  
  Ditch:
absent  
  Complex Fortification:
absent  
  Long Wall:
absent  
Military use of Metals
  Steel:
absent  
  Iron:
absent  
  Copper:
absent  
  Bronze:
absent  
Projectiles
  Tension Siege Engine:
absent  
  Sling Siege Engine:
absent  
  Sling:
present  
  Self Bow:
inferred present  
  Javelin:
present  
absent  
  Handheld Firearm:
absent  
  Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent  
  Crossbow:
absent  
  Composite Bow:
absent  
  Atlatl:
absent  
Handheld weapons
  War Club:
present  
  Sword:
absent  
  Spear:
present  
  Polearm:
unknown  
  Dagger:
present  
  Battle Axe:
inferred present  
Animals used in warfare
  Horse:
present  
absent  
  Elephant:
absent  
  Donkey:
present  
absent  
  Dog:
present  
  Camel:
absent  
Armor
  Wood Bark Etc:
unknown  
  Shield:
unknown  
  Scaled Armor:
absent  
  Plate Armor:
absent  
  Limb Protection:
inferred absent  
  Leather Cloth:
unknown  
  Laminar Armor:
absent  
  Helmet:
absent  
  Chainmail:
absent  
  Breastplate:
absent  
Naval technology
  Specialized Military Vessel:
absent  
  Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
unknown  
  Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
absent  
Religion Tolerance Nothing coded yet.
Human Sacrifice Nothing coded yet.
Crisis Consequences Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions Nothing coded yet.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Konya Plain - Early Chalcolithic (tr_konya_eca) was in:
 (6000 BCE 5001 BCE)   Konya Plain
Home NGA: Konya Plain

General Variables
Identity and Location

Original Name:
Konya Plain - Early Chalcolithic

Capital:
NO_VALUE_ON_WIKI

unknown
We cannot determine the capital for the whole of this region unambiguously. However, it is possible that Can Hasan I, which would provide smaller villages with raw materials, could have had a similar function. Also, Çatalhöyük West, with its 8 ha, is much larger than other sites, and it has beem suggested that it played a role of a central site [1] .

[1]: Baird, D. "Early Holocene settlement in Central Anatolia: Problems and prospects as seen from the Konya Plain. In F. Gerard and L. Thissen eds., ’The Neolithic of Central Anatolia’. Istanbul 2002:150


Alternative Name:
wczesna epoka miedzi wczesny chalkolit Centralnej Anatolii

wczesna epoka miedzi/wczesny chalkolit Centralnej Anatolii; Früh chalkolite Zentralanatolien; une chalcolite précoce d’Anatolie centrale/piérre d’une période Chalcolithique d’Anatolie Centrale; Orta Anadolu’da Erken Kalkolitik Dönem ... this is not machine readable.

Alternative Name:
Fruh chalkolite Zentralanatolien

wczesna epoka miedzi/wczesny chalkolit Centralnej Anatolii; Früh chalkolite Zentralanatolien; une chalcolite précoce d’Anatolie centrale/piérre d’une période Chalcolithique d’Anatolie Centrale; Orta Anadolu’da Erken Kalkolitik Dönem ... this is not machine readable.

Alternative Name:
une chalcolite precoce d Anatolie centrale pierre d une periode Chalcolithique d Anatolie Centrale

wczesna epoka miedzi/wczesny chalkolit Centralnej Anatolii; Früh chalkolite Zentralanatolien; une chalcolite précoce d’Anatolie centrale/piérre d’une période Chalcolithique d’Anatolie Centrale; Orta Anadolu’da Erken Kalkolitik Dönem ... this is not machine readable.

Alternative Name:
Orta Anadolu da Erken Kalkolitik Donem

wczesna epoka miedzi/wczesny chalkolit Centralnej Anatolii; Früh chalkolite Zentralanatolien; une chalcolite précoce d’Anatolie centrale/piérre d’une période Chalcolithique d’Anatolie Centrale; Orta Anadolu’da Erken Kalkolitik Dönem ... this is not machine readable.


Temporal Bounds
Duration:
[6,000 BCE ➜ 5,500 BCE]

[1]
The chronology for areas of Central Anatolia is based on a modified version of the three-age system developed in European archaeology (Stone, Bronze and Iron ages). For areas of Anatolia, two additional terms were introduced: Aceramic Neolithic and Chalcolithic. The latter is not, as the name would suggest, determined on the basis of copper artifacts, but on the basis of the emergence of painted pottery. It derives from Mesopotamia, where the division of the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic was related to the introduction of painted pottery.
The most recent attempt to construct a healthy chronological scheme for the Central Anatolian Neolithic was proposed by the CANeW workshop [2] . On the basis of the archaeological evidence from various sites in the region, the time trajectories of the development were identified, taking into account not a wide scope of aspects - architectural developments, burial practices, material culture (pottery, lithic industry, metallurgy etc.) and economy. The main unit of the proposed scheme is ECA - Early Central Anatolian. The ECA IV (6000-5500 cal BC) corresponds to what is conventionally labeled as ’Early Chalcolithic’.
At the start of the Early Chalcolithic, around 6000 cal. BC, we can see a continuation of the changes settlement patterns that began in the Late Neolithic. This period is marked by a shift in settlement from Çatalhöyük East to Çatalhöyük West and the existence of full- farming sites such as Can Hasan I, Koşk Höyük and Tepecik-Çiftlik. The number of sites in the region increased [3] .
The date 5500 cal BC marks a major disruption: most of the sites were abandoned. This date marks the beginning of the Middle Chalcolithic - it is a completely new period different from the preceding, a prelude of a new system [4] . The nature of this major breakage is still under-recognized.
As for radiocarbon dating:The levels II-V (Neolithic and Chalcolithic)of Koşk Höyük date to 6300-5600 cal BC [5] .From the Early Chalcolithic Level 3 at Tepecik - Çiftlik, we have a single c14 date - around 6000 BC [6] .Six radiocarbon dates are available from Can Hasan 2B which, when combined, provide a time range between 5715-5635 cal. BCE. Absolute dates from levels 7-3 are not available [7] .As for the Çatalhöyük West, the c14 samples were taken from a deep sounding and cannot draw a conclusive picture yet. Nevertheless, onedate 5980 to 5810 cal BC (68% probability [8] ).

[1]: Düring Bleda S., 2010. The prehistory of Asia Minor. From complex hunter-gatherers to early urban societies.,Cambridge University Press, p. 127-129

[2]: Özbaşaran, M., Buitenhuis, H., “Proposal for a regional terminology for Central Anatolia” The Neolithic of Central Anatolia. Internal developments and external relations during the 9th-6th millennia cal BC, F. Gerard, L. Thiessen (eds.).2002, Ege Yayinlari, Istanbul;

[3]: Baird, D., ‘Konya Plain’ Anatolian Archaeology 3 (1997), p. 13

[4]: Özbaşaran, M., Buitenhuis, H., 2002, Proposal for a regional terminology for Central Anatolia, F. Gerard, L. Thiessen (eds.), The Neolithic of Central Anatolia. Internal developments and external relations during the 9th-6th millennia cal BC, Ege Yayinlari, Istanbul; p.71

[5]: Öztan, A. 2012 “Koşk Höyük” .M. Özdoğan , N. Başgelen, P. Kuniholm (eds.) , The Neolithic in Turkey. New excavations & new research, Central Turkey, Archaeology and Art publications, Istanbul: 45

[6]: Bıçakçı,E. 2012, “Tepecik - Çiftlik” M. Özdoğan , N. Başgelen, P. Kuniholm (eds.) , The Neolithic in Turkey. New excavations & new research, Central Turkey, Archaeology and Art publications, Istanbul: 104

[7]: Çilingiroglu, Ç. "Central-West Anatolia at the end of 7th and beginning of 6th millennium BCE in the light of pottery from Ulucak (Izmir)." (2009).

[8]: Biehl, P., et al. "One community and two tells: the phenomenon of relocating tell settlements at the turn of the 7th and 6th millennia in Central Anatolia." Socio-environmental Dynamics Over the Last 12 (2012): 59.


Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
uncoded [---]

The area of Central Anatolia is distinct for the fact that each site corresponds to a separate culture. However, it is possible to posit contacts between them, through similarities in pottery decorations (motifs)or architectural systems.


Succeeding Entity:
Konya Plain - Late Chalcolithic

Relationship to Preceding Entity:
continuity

Preceding Entity:
Konya Plain - Late Neolithic [tr_konya_lnl] ---> Konya Plain - Early Chalcolithic [tr_konya_eca]
Preceding Entity:
Konya Plain - Early Chalcolithic [tr_konya_eca] ---> Konya Plain - Late Chalcolithic [tr_konya_lca]

Degree of Centralization:
quasi-polity

Language
Linguistic Family:
Indo-European

Language:
Indo-European language

Indo-European language ? There is a hypothesis proposed by Colin Renfrew in 1987 - that Indo-European languages ​​began to spread with the beginning of agriculture [1]

[1]: C. Renfrew, 1987. Archaeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins, Cambridge University Press


Religion

Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
[2,500 to 3,800] people

Between 2564-3846 people.
Calculations are based on the level 2B of Canhasan I, and the assumption that in each of the buildings, a family with about 5 persons resided [1]

[1]: During Bleda S., Constructing Communities. Clustered Neigbourhood Settlements of the Cental Anatolia Neolithic CA. 8500-5500 Cal. BC. 2006, p. 278


Polity Population:
[2,500 to 4,000] people

Between 2564-3846 people.
Calculations are based on the level 2B of Canhasan I, and the assumption that in each of the buildings, a family with about 5 persons resided [1]
Çatalhöyük West: 8 ha; Canhasan I: 9ha; Yümüktepe/ Mersin: 12ha; Tepecik - Çiftlik: 6 ha; Köşk Höyük:4 ha [2] [3]

[1]: During Bleda S., Constructing Communities. Clustered Neigbourhood Settlements of the Cental Anatolia Neolithic CA. 8500-5500 Cal. BC. 2006, p. 278

[2]: Düring Bleda S., 2010. The prehistory of Asia Minor. From complex hunter-gatherers to early urban societies.,Cambridge University Press, p. 138-139

[3]: Sharp Joukowsky Martha, 1996. Early Turkey Anatolian archaeology from prehistory through the Lydian Period., Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company USA, p. 108


Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
2

For the social complexity variables, we do not have a lot of data. The site of Canhasan should be mentioned here - while territorially it is not the largest settlement for this period (about 3 hectares less than Yümüktepe / Mersin), it is possible that Canhasan could have served as the capital, which would provide smaller villages with raw materials. For the category of ’Specialized Buildings’, it was not easy to determine types of buildings, because buildings for this period are characterized by compact clusters of buildings, which often serve residential, ceremonial or storage functions, as they did in the previous period.


Religious Level:
1

Not mentioned by sources, would require expert input. Rituals in the Early Chalcolicthic include burials of all types. Most burials are located under the floors of houses, bodies stacked on the right side in hocker position. In many cases, the skull is missing. At Köşk Höyük, all burials have burial gifts such as vessels, beads, and obsidian tools. Anthropomorphic figurines have also been found, which are most probably connected to some unspecified rituals. Widespread standardisation and routinisation of ritual practices (e.g. burial, house burning, wall plastering) at Çatalhöyük suggests at least some religious hierarchy [1] .

[1]: Whitehouse, H. & Hodder, I. in Religion in the emergence of civilization: Çatalhöyük as a case study (ed. Hodder, I.) 122-145 (Cambridge University Press, 2010).


Military Level:
[1 to 2]

For the period of the Early Chalcolithic, we do not know of any specific conflicts between different social groups or cultures. We have no evidence of archaeological or historical warfare. However, the lack of such evidence does not mean we can exclude the potential of warfare taking place. The listed handheld weapons have been placed in the category of warfare because we have no archaeological evidence for the purposes for which they were used - whether they were used only for hunting or for hypothetical battles. PF: However, the presence of finds such as a large copper mace head from Can Hasan I, the removal and caching of plastered human skulls from Kösk Höyük suggest a socially competitive environment [1]

[1]: Arbuckle, B. S. "Animals and inequality in Chalcolithic central Anatolia." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31.3 (2012): 303


Administrative Level:
[1 to 2]

For the social complexity variables, we do not have a lot of data. The site of Canhasan should be mentioned here - while territorially it is not the largest settlement for this period (about 3 hectares less than Yümüktepe / Mersin), it is possible that Canhasan could have served as the capital, which would provide smaller villages with raw materials. For the category of ’Specialized Buildings’, it was not easy to determine types of buildings, because buildings for this period are characterized by compact clusters of buildings, which often serve residential, ceremonial or storage functions, as they did in the previous period. PF: However, the presence of finds such as a large copper mace head from Can Hasan I, the removal and caching of plastered human skulls from Kösk Höyük suggest a socially competitive environment [1]

[1]: Arbuckle, B. S. "Animals and inequality in Chalcolithic central Anatolia." Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31.3 (2012): 303


Professions
Professional Soldier:
absent

Professional Military Officer:
absent

Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
absent

No information found in relevant literature.



Full Time Bureaucrat:
absent

Examination System:
absent

Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System


Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
absent

The following quote indicates that among the variety of decorated objects found, none had any markings that could be interpreted as inscriptions
At Çatalhöyük West, L-shaped clay objects were found, with geometric incised decorations. The same objects were found also in Çatalhöyük East [1] . In total, nearly 400 of these objects have been recorded at Çatalhöyük [2] . These are the so-called ’potstands’. Placed in pairs over the fire, they would support a cooking pot [3] . As they appear in the Late Neolithic, they may be an important indicator of a shift away from the use of interior fixed architectural fire installations for cooking, towards the use of ceramic vessels balanced on potstands [2] .Potstands have also been found at Can Hasan (mainly in levels II and I). [4] . "At Can Hasan is some evidence that walls were coated with white plaster, and fragment of red-on-white painted plaster suggest some rooms were ornamented with geometric patterns." [5] "Simple; geometrical decorated painted plaster pieces; recovered in the space deposit; on the floor; are observed to have come from the upper levels due to their lying position. A thin level of gray or light blue whitewash on white plaster was revealed in one of the rooms of a building (No:3). Red paint on white plaster was used on the walls and on the floor of another building (No:9)." [6] Here, decorated pottery should be mentioned. Some of the sherds reveal pointille, impressed, scratched, incised and channeled decoration. Triangles, zigzags, and wavy-lines are the frequent patterns in decoration [7] . Pottery in the Early Chalcolithic is mostly painted. The majority of the decorations are red or brown painted straight‐line geometric motifs, applied over a cream or yellowish‐buff slip, which is subsequently burnished. It is characteristic of the Konya Plain sites, such as Çatalhöyük West and Canhasan. For sites of Cappadocia, pottery is characterized by relief decorations (e.g. sites: Köşk Höyük and Tepecik / Çiftlik) [8] . "The fine wares decorated with high reliefs of Köşk Höyük Levels I and II are extraordinary. These depict the mother goddess; other deities; human figures; vegetation; and various animals such as bull; goat; donkey; antelope; deer; serpent; ram; tortoise; and birds. Some of these depictions are stylized like the goddess figures with her hair waving with the wind and the one with her hands on her waist or realistic like a chamois. Some are decorated with white incrustation and some (especially serpents’ eyes) with inlayed obsidian pieces." [9] PF: interpretation of the figurines as representations of the Goddess is nowadays considered universalistic and non-context dependent and, as such, rejected.

[1]: Düring Bleda S., 2010. The prehistory of Asia Minor. From complex hunter-gatherers to early urban societies.,Cambridge University Press, p. 133

[2]: Ketchum S., “The Ovens and Hearths of Çatalhöyük: Neolithic and Chalcolithic Cooking and Pyrotechnology”. Catalhoyuk Archive Report 2013: 260

[3]: Mellaart, J., "Çatal Hüyük West." Anatolian Studies 15 (1965): 153, fig. 10

[4]: French, D. 2010. Canhasan Sites 3: Canhasan 1: The Small Finds. London: 43-44, fig. 39-40

[5]: Sagona Antonio, Zimansky Paul, 2009. Ancient Turkey. Routledge, London, New York, p.128

[6]: French D.H., 1968. Can Hasan 1966. Ankara, p.90

[7]: Tezcan B., 1958. Aksaray Çevresinden Derlenen Eserler. Ankara.

[8]: Burcin ERDOGU, 2009. Ritual symbolism in the Early Chalcolithic period of Central Anatolia. Journal for Interdisciplinary Research on Religion and Science, p.134

[9]: http://www.tayproject.org/TAYages.fm$Retrieve?CagNo=1990&html=ages_detail_e.html&layout=web



Non Phonetic Writing:
absent


Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
absent


Religious Literature:
absent

Practical Literature:
absent


Lists Tables and Classification:
absent




Information / Money




Information / Postal System

General Postal Service:
absent


Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Wooden Palisade:
absent

not yet found in settlements such as Çatal Höyük


Stone Walls Non Mortared:
unknown

No information in the archaeological evidence for this time, even if stone architecture has been found in Göbekli Tepe, it does not appear to be for military purposes [1]

[1]: https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_a/advanced/ta_1_2b.html


Stone Walls Mortared:
absent

Only archaeological evidence for mudbrick walls at this time


Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present

Base camps with fortified walls are present, defending against animal or human attackers [1]

[1]: (Leverani 2014, 39-42) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.


Modern Fortification:
absent

Technology not yet available


not yet found in settlements such as Çatal Höyük


Fortified Camp:
absent

Technology not yet available


Earth Rampart:
absent

not yet found in settlements such as Çatal Höyük


not yet found in settlements such as Çatal Höyük


Complex Fortification:
absent

Technology not yet available



Military use of Metals

Technology not found in archaeological evidence until much later


Technology not found in archaeological evidence until much later


Technology not found in archaeological evidence until much later. Beads and tools carved from copper have been found but no weapons or smelting at this time [1]

[1]: https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_a/advanced/ta_1_2c.html


Technology not found in archaeological evidence until much later


Projectiles
Tension Siege Engine:
absent

Not invented yet


Sling Siege Engine:
absent

Not invented yet


At the site of Can Hasan I, clay sling bullet was found, which may suggest the use of slings. [1] 4500 BCE: "Sling invented at Catal Huyuk in Anatolia." [2] The shape and appearance of the blunt force traumatic injuries identified at Çatalhöyük are consistent with injuries from both handheld blunt objects but also from projectiles - thrown stones or other objects. The number, shape, and location on the top and back of the cranium suggest that objects, thrown or sling-delivered, support an association. [3] At the site of Canhasan I, clay sling bullet was found [4] , which may suggest the use of slings, but whether it was used for warfare purposes is unknown.

[1]: (French 2010: 44) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/U6GA7BJN.

[2]: (Gabriel 2007, xii) Richard A Gabriel. 2007. Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Ancient World. Greenwood Press. Westport.

[3]: Christopher J. Knüsel, Bonnie Glencross, ‘Çatalhöyük, Archaeology, Violence’, ‘’Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture’’, Volume 24, 2017, pp. 29-32

[4]: French D. 2010."Canhasan I: The Small Finds", The British Institute at Ankara. pg. 44.


Arrowheads were found at Köşk Höyük site. [1] [2]

[1]: Silistreli U., 1987. 1985 Köşk Höyüğü. Ankara, p. 174

[2]: Silistreli U., 1991. Les Fouilles de Köşk Höyük. p. 95


Bone harpoons found for this time, but it is unclear if used for warfare or hunting. [1] The harpoon could have been used for hunting or warfare. No evidence yet of a javelin weapon designed specifically for or in active use for warfare.

[1]: (Leverani 2014, 36) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.

Bone harpoons found for this time, but it is unclear if used for warfare or hunting. [1] The harpoon could have been used for hunting or warfare. No evidence yet of a javelin weapon designed specifically for or in active use for warfare.

[1]: (Leverani 2014, 36) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.


Handheld Firearm:
absent

Not invented yet
Handheld weapons


Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent

Not invented yet


Not invented yet


Composite Bow:
absent

"Composite bows are known from both Mesopotamia and the Great Steppe from the III millennium BCE." [1] "The composite bows spread into Palestine around 1800 BCE and were introduced into Egypt by the Hyksos in 1700 BCE." [2]

[1]: Sergey A Nefedov, RAN Institute of History and Archaeology, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. January 2018.

[2]: (Roy 2015, 20) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London.


New world weapon.


Handheld weapons

The shape and appearance of the blunt force traumatic injuries identified at Çatalhöyük are consistent with injuries from both handheld blunt objects but also from projectiles - thrown stones or other objects. The number, shape, and location on the top and back of the cranium suggest that objects, thrown or sling-delivered, support an association. [1] There is a rich groundstone industry, both for grinding plant material and ochres, and for small axes and maces. [2] According to a military historian (this data needs to be checked by a polity specialist) "The mace was among man’s oldest weapons (at least 6000 B.C.E. at Catal Huyuk)". [3]

[1]: Christopher J. Knüsel, Bonnie Glencross, ‘Çatalhöyük, Archaeology, Violence’, ‘’Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture’’, Volume 24, 2017, pp. 29-32

[2]: Ian Hodder, ‘Çatalhöyük: A Prehistoric Settlement on the Konya Plain’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 945

[3]: (Gabriel 2002, 51) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


According to a military historian (this data needs to be checked by a polity specialist) "All armies after the seventeenth century B.C.E. carried the sword, but in none was it a major weapon of close combat; rather, it was used when the soldier’s primary weapons, the spear and axe, were lost or broken." [1]

[1]: (Gabriel 2002, 26-27) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


At Köşk Höyük site [1] [2] .

[1]: Silistreli U., 1987. 1985 Köşk Höyüğü. Ankara, p. 174

[2]: Silistreli U., 1991. Les Fouilles de Köşk Höyük. p. 95


No information in the archaeological evidence for this time


At Tepecik - Çiftlik site [1] . At Köşk Höyük site [2] [3] .

[1]: Biçakçi E., Ç. ALTINBİLEK, E. FAYDALI, 2006. Tepecik Çiftlik 2004 Yılı Çalışmaları. Ankara, p. 224

[2]: Silistreli U., 1987. 1985 Köşk Höyüğü. Ankara, p. 174

[3]: Silistreli U., 1991. Les Fouilles de Köşk Höyük. p. 95


Battle Axe:
present

"Axes made of polished stones." [1] PF: interpretation of those axes (that often have small dimensions) as battle axes is tentative. There is a rich groundstone industry, both for grinding plant material and ochres, and for small axes and maces. [2]

[1]: BIÇAKÇI E., S. BALCI, Ç. ALTUNBİLEK-ALGÜL, 2009. Tepecik-Çiftlik 2007 Yılı Çalışmaları. Ankara, p. 208-209

[2]: Ian Hodder, ‘Çatalhöyük: A Prehistoric Settlement on the Konya Plain’, The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000-323 BCE), Edited by Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, 2011, p. 945


Animals used in warfare

unclear if domesticated horses became widespread in this period

unclear if domesticated horses became widespread in this period


Technology not found in archaeological evidence until much later


In the Near East pack animals appears by around 7000 BC onward. [1] "The donkey was probably domesticated from the African wild ass ’in more than one place’ but for the Nubian subspecies 5500-4500 BCE in the Sudan. [2] (Only in Africa, presumably, so the donkey would not have been here yet). "Well before 3000 BC donkeys in Upper Egypt were trained to carry loads." [3]

[1]: (Leverani 2014, 41) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.

[2]: (Mitchell 2018, 39) Peter Mitchell 2018. The Donkey in Human History: An Archaeological Perspective. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

[3]: (Drews 2017, 34) Robert Drews. 2017. Militarism and the Indo-Europeanizing of Europe. Routledge. Abingdon.

In the Near East pack animals appears by around 7000 BC onward. [1] "The donkey was probably domesticated from the African wild ass ’in more than one place’ but for the Nubian subspecies 5500-4500 BCE in the Sudan. [2] (Only in Africa, presumably, so the donkey would not have been here yet). "Well before 3000 BC donkeys in Upper Egypt were trained to carry loads." [3]

[1]: (Leverani 2014, 41) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.

[2]: (Mitchell 2018, 39) Peter Mitchell 2018. The Donkey in Human History: An Archaeological Perspective. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

[3]: (Drews 2017, 34) Robert Drews. 2017. Militarism and the Indo-Europeanizing of Europe. Routledge. Abingdon.


Dogs were used to defend villages against attacking humans/animals [1]

[1]: (Leverani 2014, 41-44) Liverani, Mario. Tabatabai, Soraia trans. 2014. The Ancient Near East. History, society and economy. Routledge. London.


Technology not found in archaeological evidence until much later


Armor
Wood Bark Etc:
unknown

No information in the archaeological evidence for this time


No information in the archaeological evidence for this time


Scaled Armor:
absent

Technology not yet available


Plate Armor:
absent

Technology not yet available


Limb Protection:
absent

According to a military historian (this data needs to be checked by a polity specialist)the earliest reference in Greece c1600 BCE: "Early Mycenaean and Minoan charioteers wore an arrangement of bronze armor that almost fully enclosed the soldier, the famous Dendra panoply." [1] It is also earlier than the earliest reference in Anatolia, the Hittite period. [2]

[1]: (Gabriel and Metz 1991, 51) Richard A Gabriel. Karen S Metz. 1991. The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. Greenwood Press. Westport.

[2]: Bryce T. (2007) Hittite Warrior, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, pp. 15


Leather Cloth:
unknown

No information in the archaeological evidence for this time


Laminar Armor:
absent

Technology not yet available


Earliest reference for present we currently have is for the Hittites. [1] In Egypt helmets were probably first worn by charioteers in the 18th Dynasty c1500 BCE. [2] According to a military historian (this data needs to be checked by a polity specialist) earliest known helmet dates to 2500 BCE in Sumer. [3]

[1]: Bryce T. (2007) Hittite Warrior, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, pp. 15-16

[2]: (Hoffmeier 2001) J K Hoffmeier in D B Redford. ed. 2001. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

[3]: (Gabriel 2002, 22) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.


Technology not yet available


Breastplate:
absent

Technology not yet available


Naval technology
Specialized Military Vessel:
absent

Technology not yet available


Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
unknown

No information in the archaeological evidence for this time


Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
absent

Technology not yet available



Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
- Nothing coded yet.
- Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions
- Nothing coded yet.