Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Social Complexity and the Evolution of Sheep and Goat Pastoralism in Central Anatolia

在Richard H. Meadow，Benjamin阿巴克尔将收集和分析与安纳托利亚中部绵羊和山羊畜牧业演变有关的考古数据。继续他在2004年开始的初步工作，阿巴克尔将加入安卡拉和伊斯坦布尔大学的国际考古项目，以收集和分析来自安纳托利亚中部（土耳其中南部）四个遗址的动物骨骼遗骸。本研究的目标是详细了解公元前6000-2000年该地区第一个复杂政体和早期城市国家出现之前和出现期间绵羊和山羊畜牧业的组织和演变。这项研究意义重大，因为尽管绵羊和山羊畜牧业是古代和现代中东最重要的社会经济形态之一，关于安纳托利亚中部的畜牧系统是如何组织的，它们是如何随着时间的推移而演变的，以及这些系统是如何受到早期城市国家发展的影响和影响的，我们知之甚少。因此，安纳托利亚中部文化体系的主要部分及其在社会政治演变中的作用仍然鲜为人知。该项目分析了该地区四个遗址的动物遗迹，包括埃尔巴巴、科斯克霍尤克、古韦钦卡亚西和阿塞姆霍尤克，每个遗址都代表了该地区从简单村庄到城市中心的文化演变序列中的不同点。特别注意力集中在解决有关动物经济的整体组织的问题，何时以及在何种程度上利用绵羊和山羊群的产品，如牛奶和羊毛，以及何时以及在何种程度上绵羊和山羊放牧成为一个专门的职业。牛奶和羊毛等产品的利用程度对于理解古代畜群的生产潜力以及它们的经济、社会和政治重要性非常重要。畜牧业生产和畜牧产品分配专业化的证据将提供一种手段，以确定安纳托利亚中部早期社会内部组织的各个方面，这些方面可能无法从其他证据中获得，以及有机会测试关于青铜时代城市经济的集中和再分配性质的假设。最终，这项研究将有助于对畜牧实践的起源和发展有一个新的认识，这些实践在该地区今天仍然很重要。通过描述绵羊和山羊放牧系统的性质，并通过解决有关畜牧经济专业化与新兴社会复杂性之间关系的问题，这项研究也为理解安纳托利亚中部早期复杂政治的组织和演变做出了重要贡献。此外，该项目是与土耳其和其他外国研究人员密切合作开展的，研究成果将通过在英文和土耳其文科学期刊上的合作出版物传播给科学界。最后，这项研究使作者有机会获得动物考古学和考古学研究方法的宝贵经验，并将动物区系研究介绍给几个重要的土耳其挖掘项目。

Under the supervision of Dr. Richard H. Meadow, Benjamin Arbuckle will collect and analyze archaeological data related to the evolution of sheep and goat pastoralism in Central Anatolia. Continuing preliminary work that he began in 2004, Arbuckle will join international archaeological projects based at Ankara and Istanbul Universities in order to collect and analyze animal bone remains from four sites in Central Anatolia (South Central Turkey). The goal of this research is to develop a detailed understanding of the organization and evolution of sheep and goat pastoralism leading up to and during the appearance of the first complex polities and early urban states in the region from 6000-2000 BC.This research is significant because, although sheep and goat pastoralism is one of the most important socio-economic formations in the ancient and modern Middle East, little is known about how pastoral systems were organized in Central Anatolia, how they evolved over time, and how these systems were affected by and affected the development of early urban states. As a result a major portion of the cultural system in Central Anatolia and its role in socio-political evolution remains poorly known. This project analyzes faunal remains from four sites in the region, including Erbaba, Kosk Hoyuk, Guvercinkayasi, and Acemhoyuk, each representing a different point in the sequence of cultural evolution in the region from simple villages to urban centers. Particular attention is focused on addressing questions concerning the overall organization of the animal economy, when and to what extent sheep and goat herds were utilized for products such as milk and wool, and when and to what degree sheep and goat herding became a specialized occupation. The extent to which products such as milk and wool were utilized is important for understanding the productive potential of ancient herds and therefore their economic, social, and political importance. Evidence for specialization in pastoral production and in the distribution of pastoral products will provide a means to identify aspects of the internal organization of early societies in Central Anatolia that may not be available from other lines of evidence, as well as the opportunity to test assumptions concerning the centralized and redistributive nature of the urban Bronze Age economy.Ultimately, this research will contribute to a new understanding of the origins and development of pastoral practices that continue to be important in the region today. By characterizing the nature of the sheep and goat pastoral system and by addressing questions concerning the relationship between specialization in the pastoral economy and emerging social complexity, this research also makes an important contribution to understanding the organization and evolution of early complex polities in Central Anatolia. Furthermore, this project has been conducted in close cooperation with Turkish and other foreign researchers, and the results of this research will be disseminated to the scientific community through collaborative publications in scientific journals in both English and Turkish. Finally, this research has given the author the opportunity to gain valuable experience in the methods of zooarchaeological and archaeological research and has introduced faunal research to several important Turkish excavation projects.