Aspects of the ancient economy in West-Central Turkey in the first millennium BC

Abstract

The Iron Age sites, Gordion and Kalehöyük are studied in their environmental settings in the regional context of Central Anatolia to present an overview of ancient subsistence economy. The purpose of selecting two different sites is to determine the role of the physical differences of their environments on shaping the regulation of agricultural activities. This thesis attempts to correlate all lines of available environmental and subsistence data from excavations and surveys with the present day land use analysis and ethnographic researches. It is hoped that through a comparison of available data from these two sites that a better understanding of ancient agricultural systems can be determined. The results obtained from several sources indicate that the ecological variables are the basis of the subsistence economy and economic strategies of the ancient inhabitants of Gordion and Kalehöyük.