Category: Voices

Voices From the Field (2025-05-09)

We are pleased to share a new publication on genomic changes in grapes (Vitis Vinifera) between those found at Bronze Age Kaymakçı and modern varieties that may hint to selective preferences for certain colors and aromas. See below for details!

Kaya, Zeki, Funda Özdemir Değirmenci, Sevgi Yorulmaz, Kıvılcım B. Vural, Christina Luke, Christopher H. Roosevelt, Mehmet Somel, and David B. Neale. 2025. “Genomic Variation in Vitis Vinifera, from Extant to Contemporary Varieties.” Plant Molecular Biology Reporter, May. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-025-01573-7.

Abstract

Ancient DNA (aDNA) of 3500-year-old charred grapevine (Vitis vinifera) seed material excavated from the archaeological site of Kaymakçı, Gölmarmara, Türkiye, was subjected to whole genome shotgun sequencing using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. After grapevine DNA sequence data was filtered by quality scores and the grapevine DNA file was aligned with the two reference grapevine genomes (Pinot Noir-clone ENTAV115 and PN40024), 44 consensus mapped (CMap) ancient DNA sequences common to both reference genomes were obtained. Majority of these sequences (63.6%) were specific to the nuclear genome while 20.5% and 15.9% were specific to chloroplast and mitochondria genomes, respectively. Thus, 57.1%, 42.8%, and 100% of the CMap DNA sequences were related to previously identified genes in the grapevine nuclear, mitochondria, and chloroplast DNA genomes, respectively. Despite the vegetative propagation of grapevine, substantial base differences between ancient and modern varieties were found; that is, mean SNP (single nucleotide polymorphic) sites per the CMap DNA sequences varied between 1.71 in mitochondria and 2.89 in chloroplast sequences. In general, mean SNPs were low in the CMap DNA sequences annotated to known genes compared to those without any gene assignments. Further analysis of the association of the CMap DNA sequences of nuclear and organelle genomes with the SNP sites pointed out that base changes occurred in modern grapevine varieties compared to ancient grape variety involving genes controlling colour and aroma of grape fruits. To gain further insights about the role of domestication and clonal propagation in grape, future studies dealing with ancient grape DNA need to focus on certain gene regions using whole genome aDNA enrichment as the source of template DNA. The results of this study could provide invaluable reference information for identifying the genes or gene regions in such future studies. However, given the scarcity of ancient grape seeds, the degraded nature of ancient DNA, and measures to prevent contamination and bias, the limited CMap sequences likely represent only a small fraction of the ancient grapevine genome. Accordingly, the findings should be interpreted with these limitations in mind.

Voices From the Field (2025-04-16)

This year’s work at the Kaymakçı Archaeological Project began earlier than ever. In addition to maximizing our time to push the project’s many interrelated components forward in general, the early start this year had a specific target. Whereas the worm is the proverbial aim of the early bird in the common saying, our target was soil moisture. What? Yes, soil moisture, because it is the prime variable of the local landscape that dictates the quality of geophysical (electrical resistance) survey results at Kaymakçı (separate from an excellent team, of course!). Start to late in the spring, and prolonged exposure to the hot Mediterranean sun dries out the soil, making it entirely unconducive to resistance survey.

This year’s season began with the annual start-of-season visit to the Manisa Museum, which is rumored to be opening its permanent exhibition doors again to the public soon, after some 20+ years of transition and temporary exhibitions.

Thereafter, the seals on the finds depot at Kaymakçı were broken and the interior inspected under the supervision of Manisa Museum officials.

The first job for the geophysics team was to stake out the series of 20 × 20 m grids that will be the focus of the season’s survey efforts. This year, survey concentrates on three distinct areas outside Kaymakçı’s well-defined citadel, in order to explore the extent of buried architecture, bedrock cuts, and other features in these extramural areas of the site: the southwest slope, the northeast slope, and the Kaymakçı Lakeshore (although it’s anachronistic to still use this latter term, given the lake has been desiccated since 2021).

We hope the results will reward this early start and look forward to sharing them in the future!

Voices From the Field (2025-01-28)

We are pleased to share a new publication on Bronze Age grinding stones from Kaymakçı appearing in the latest issue of Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. See below for details!

Doležalová, Kristina, Tunç Kaner, Ján Bobik, Peter Pavúk, Christina Luke, and Christopher H. Roosevelt. 2025. “A Tale of Volcanic Rocks: Life Histories of Grinding Stones from Bronze Age Kaymakçı.” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 62: 104996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.104996.

Abstract

Life history processes embedded in archaeological artefacts reveal individual phases of artefact life cycles as well as associated sociocultural aspects of communities. In this paper, the life histories of the macrolithic assemblage from Kaymakçı are explored. Active during the 2nd millennium BCE in western Anatolia, Kaymakçı became a major fortified citadel. People here privileged local interests when procuring stone and in the manufacturing of these artefacts; as follows, we offer insights into the significance of their life histories at Kaymakçı. Importantly the local histories of ground stone complement other assemblages more indicative of external influences, such as those from the Aegean (Mycenaean/Minoan) or central Anatolia (Hittite). Here we present for the first time Kaymakçı’s robust grinding stone assemblage of ca. 300 samples, all from excavated contexts. Our data demonstrates that volcanic stones were procured from within a wider catchment, with sources located as far away as ca. 50 km from Kaymakçı. Contextual and spatial data indicate the clustering of these objects in the urban spaces of the citadel. Significantly, life histories are revealed in the careful documentation of design and technologies, specific choices in ergonomic adjustments, reuse, and disposal.

Voices From the Field (2024-11-20)

We are proud to announce another completed PhD from the Kaymakçı team! This time, Assistant Director Tunç Kaner has earned his doctoral degree with a dissertation submitted successfully to the Department of Archaeology and History of Art at Koç University. See below for details!

Ceramic Energetics: A Holistic Approach to Pottery Production

Tunç Kaner

Abstract: Ceramics are the most frequently encountered archaeological material and are often used simply as chronological markers or indicators of consumption habits. However, their production is a sophisticated and collaborative process that requires a considerable workforce, raw materials, and time. This dissertation aims to go beyond traditional typological analysis to reconstruct the size, organization, and energetic requirements of ceramic production at Kaymakçı, a second millennium BCE site in western Anatolia.

This research develops a new methodological approach, referred to as “ceramic energetics,” to investigate the processes and necessary infrastructure for ceramic production throughout the different phases of occupation at Kaymakçı. Ceramic energetics combines petrographic analysis, traditional ceramic studies, experimental archaeology, and ethnographic comparisons to assess the labor and resources required for each stage of ceramic production. These stages include raw material acquisition and transportation, water and fuel provision, and firing infrastructure. The research employs quantitative methods, including 3D volumetric calculations and ceramic fabric group classifications, to estimate the time and labor required to produce ceramic assemblages from each phase of occupation at Kaymakçı. This approach aims not only to reconstruct the operational organization of ceramic production, but eventually also to enable exploration of the socio-economic structures communities at Kaymakçı. By examining ceramic fabric types, their phase-specific distribution, and their associated energetic costs, this dissertation assesses how ceramic production may have shaped broader settlement dynamics.

Ultimately, the study contributes to a deeper interpretation of the role of ceramics in ancient societies and provide a replicable methodology that can be applied to ceramic assemblages from diverse archaeological contexts anywhere in the world.

Voices From the Field (2024-10-30)

We are pleased to share a new publication in The Holocene that evaluates animal husbandry and management practices in western Anatolian communities based on faunal isotopes data from Kaymakçı. See below for details!

Irvine, Benjamin, Christina Luke, Canan Çakırlar, Tunç Kaner, Rana Özbal, Şengül Fındıklar, and Christopher H. Roosevelt. 2024. “Stable Isotope Analysis of Faunal Remains from Bronze Age Kaymakçı, Western Anatolia.” The Holocene 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836241297077

Abstract

This paper presents the results of stable carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) isotopic analysis of bulk bone collagen from faunal remains from the Bronze Age site of Kaymakçı in western Anatolia. We use the isotopic values in conjunction with zooarchaeological data and contextual archaeological information to examine human-environment interactions; in particular, animal management and husbandry. Middle and Late Bronze Age agricultural systems in western and central Anatolia remain poorly understood, and this research aims to contribute to rectifying this research gap. We obtained stable isotopic values from both wild and domestic species, including deer, hare, birds, catfish, dogs, pigs, caprids, and cattle. The δ¹³C values range from -22.0‰ to -16.9‰ and the δ¹⁵N values range from 2.3‰ to 10.3‰. For cattle, the δ¹³C values suggest that some specimens were subject to different management strategies, likely related to feeding or herding patterns or even the movement of animals in and around the region through some exchange mechanism. There appears to be no fixed location or strategy for the management of caprids and, furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that the herding/management areas of some caprids overlapped with those of wild animals such as deer and hare. Variation in δ¹⁵N values for pigs may indicate that whilst some animals in the sampled assemblage were free-roaming, others were penned. For the pigs and some other herbivorous domesticated species variation in δ¹⁵N values may also point to the exploitation of the wetland areas around Lake Marmara.

Voices From the Field (2024-06-15)

We are pleased to announce a new publication from team members that grew out of a collaborative symposium.

This peer-reviewed edited volume brings together the results of a diverse group of international researchers conducting new fieldwork, applying new approaches, and making new interpretations about the archaeology of Middle and Late Bronze Age western Anatolia. The territory is huge, and it shows considerable regional diversity. What makes western Anatolian cultures different from their neighbors? Is it possible to identify discrete subregions clearly? And what trajectories of local cultural change and regional interaction did they follow? In addressing these and many other questions, the contributors to this volume provide fresh overviews of current states of research, demonstrating material and chronological synchronicities and/or gaps in knowledge that stretch across the broad territory of western Anatolia, just as they encourage further research into defining regional and sub-regional specificities. Such specificities suggest that the area should not be thought of as one monolithic cultural whole. Rather, they allude to a collection of related yet discrete units, whose shared commonalities stem from participation in overlapping spheres of communication, exchange, and political interaction, justifying their consideration together in a volume like this one.

The volume includes chapters on several projects involving (if not focusing specifically on) Kaymakçı:

• Between the Hammer and the Anvil-Western Anatolian Metallurgy (Alberghina 2024)
• Conspicuous Cattle-Zooarchaeological Evidence for Elite Consumption (Fındıklar et al. 2024)
• The Development and Importance of Gold Wash Wares in the Bronze Age (Kaner 2024)
• Interregional Exchange and Communication in Western Anatolia (Pieniążek 2024)
• Spatial Structure and Stratigraphy at 2nd-Millennium BCE Kaymakçı (Roosevelt 2024)