Fifth Millennium Anthropomorphic Figurines in Southeastern and Central Anatolia: Comparative Museum Research.

Authors

Ellen H. Belcher, John Jay College of Criminal JusticeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2007

Abstract

The Halaf cultural horizon occurred during the fifth millennium B.C. (uncalibrated) and extended throughout upper Mesopotamia, including southeastern Anatolia. Halaf material culture is well-known for its imaginative and beautifully made architecture, polychrome-painted pottery, geometric stamp seals and figurines. The regional character and variation of Halaf figurine assemblages however, is poorly understood, particularly in southeastern Anatolia. My research and study of these figurines reveals distinct southeastern Anatolian styles and technologies, some of which demonstrate direct connections to central Anatolia.

This article presents preliminary conclusions from a comparative analysis of contemporaneous anthropomorphic figurines belonging to the Halaf and Chalcolithic cultures conducted at museums and ongoing excavations in central and southeastern Turkey.

Comments

This work was originally published in Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı.