Broadening Horizons 4

A Conference of young researchers working in

the Ancient Near East, Egypt and Central Asia,
University of Torino, October 2011

Edited by

Giorgio Affanni
Cristina Baccarin
Laura Cordera
Angelo Di Michele
Katia Gavagnin

BAR International Series 2698

2015

Published by
Archaeopress
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Gordon House
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Oxford OX2 7ED

bar@archaeopress.com
www.archaeopress.com

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Broadening Horizons 4: Conference of young researchers working in the Ancient Near East, Egypt and
Central Asia, University of Torino, October 2011


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Presentation
de Martino Stefano

viii

Introduction to the Broadening Horizons 4 Conference Proceedings

Affanni Giorgio, Baccarin Cristina, Cordera Laura, Di Michele Angelo, Gavagnin Katia ix

Settlement patterns and exchange networks

Copper Mining Community in Transcaucasia during Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages
Gailhard Nicolas

Circulating through the city: an analysis of movement and urban space of a Northern
Mesopotamian city
Tom Andr

A Comparative Analysis of the Cultural Interaction Between the Western and Central Areas
of Anatolian in the Third Millennium BC
De Vincenzi Tommaso

21

The socio-economic landscape of the Early Bronze IV period in the Southern Levant: a
ceramic perspective
DAndrea Marta

31

The Transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age in Northern Palestine
Soennecken Katja

39

Transferred Religion Can Faith be exchanged?

Gropp Andrea

47

Palmyra, City and Territory through the Epigraphic Sources

Gregoratti Leonardo

55

Looking at and beyond Late Chalcolithic Pottery of the Burdur Plain, southwest Turkey
Vandam Ralf - Poblome Jeroen

61

Architecture and Use of Space in Middle Bronze and Late Bronze Ages in Mesopotamian
Temples
Di Michele Angelo

69

Socio-economic reconstruction of ancient societies

based on archaeological, historical or environmental records
Demolition and Restoration at Giza: the Egyptian Sense of History and Heritage
Gilli Barbara



The Modelling Skulls from the Ancient Near East

8

Marchand Florine
The Hammerhead Bowls in Syrian-Jezirah: a Case-Study from Tell Barri

9

Raccidi Mattia

Wagons and Wine in Early Bronze Age central Anatolia

Whalen Jess

9

The Early-Middle Bronze Age transition in Transcaucasia: the Bedeni pottery case
10

Carminati Eleonora
Human Iconography on Metal Vessels From Bronze Age Middle Asia
Morello Martina

11

The Oracle at Didyma, Hittite duddumar and the mercy of the gods
12

Walker Robert
Italian Excavations at Nimrud: Preliminary Studies about Shell, Glass and Stone Small Finds

13

Somma Lorenzo
Ceramics from Achaemenid and Post Achaemenid Qaleh Kali (Tappeh Servan, Jinjun), Iran:
Political Reality versus Cultural Actuality

1

McRae Iona Kat

,QXHQFHRIWKHVRFLDOFODVVGLYLVLRQRQWKH6DVVDQLDQEXULDOULWXDOV$'
Farjamirad Mahdokht

1

New Sealings from Old Nisa

Manassero Niccolo

15

The Islamic relief-moulded jugs from Tell Barri (Syria)

Pappalardo Raffaella

16

Investigating the origin of Early Bronze Age monumental chamber tombs in the Middle
Euphrates Valley
Baccarin Cristina

1

Application of new technologies in archaeological research

Unlocking stories from objects: Some Ancient Near Eastern case-studies based on new
research at the British Museum
17

Simpson St John
Inferential analysis in archaeology: the Chi Square and its application to ceramic studies. A
case study from Middle Bronze Age and Late Bronze Age pottery of Qatna

1

Iamoni Marco
Organic Remains from Middle Bronze Age Ceramic Vessels at Tell Ahmar (North Syria)

19

Perini Silvia
Close Encounters between Archaeology and Archaeometry in Cyprus

20

Chelazzi Francesca - Davit Patrizia

Basalt Vessels Distribution in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age

2

Squitieri Andrea

YL

Broadening the Horizons of Space and Place. A new interdisciplinary, multiscalar approach
on settlement patterns
Andreou Georgia Marina

2

New technologies in archaeological research at Palmyra: the case of the Italian-Syrian

Mission PAL.M.A.I.S.
Palmieri Lilia - Rossi Giorgio

22

A Complete Operational Sequence of a Bone Industry Element from the Northern Near East: a
Neolithic bevelled tool
Taha Buchra

2

Probable cases of leprosy in two skulls from the Koc-Oba Kurgan (Kazakhstan)
Pedrosi Maria Elena - Mariotti Valentina - Belcastro Maria Giovanna

2

Impact of human dynamics on landscape evolution

)URQWLHUVDQG)RUWLFDWLRQVLQ$VV\ULDDQLQWURGXFWLRQ
Morello Nathan

24

Exploitation of the natural environment and sustenance strategies

Iron Age Water Supply Systems regarding agriculture at al Madam, Sharjah (U.A.E.)
2

Del Cerro L. Carmen

The Jaghjagh river valley during the Roman period (II-IV century CE)

2

Palermo Rocco

Posters
Further Remarks about Lithic Production at Akaray Tepe (Middle Euphrates Valley) during
the Late PPNB
25

Borrell Ferran
Parthian period storage jars from the south west building in Old Nisa

29

Ceccarini Giampaolo
THE TESS DATABASE FOR THE CATALOGUING OF THE MOSAICS OF CRETE (GREECE)
Da Pieve Paola

27

The Defences of Hatra: a Revaluation through the Archive of the Italian Expedition
Foietta Enrico

5

$QHZ$VVHVVPHQWRIWKH(QGRIWKH2[XV&LYLOL]DWLRQ6RXWKHUQ&HQWUDO$VLDFD
%&(2YHUYLHZRIWKH7UDQVIRUPDWLRQVRIWKH6RFLHW\
33

Luneau Elise
)RUWLFDWLRQ6\VWHPVLQ&HQWUDODQG/RZHU0HVRSRWDPLD%HWZHHQWKH7KLUGDQGWKH)LUVW
Half of the Second Millennium BC: an Overview

39

Zingarello Melania

YLL

Copyright material: no unauthorized reproduction in any medium

WAGONS AND WINE IN EARLY BRONZE AGE CENTRAL ANATOLIA

Jess Whalen
University of Edinburgh
Abstract
Interpretation of the Alaca Hyk Royal tombs of the central Anatolian Early Bronze Age (3000-2100 BC) involves a controversial
subject: wooden planks across the tombs as wagon representations. This longstanding observation has recently been dismissed on
EDVLVRIGLIFXOWFKURQRORJLFDODVVRFLDWLRQVZLWKVLPLODUWRPEVRIWKHQHDUE\&DXFDVXVDQGDVVRFLDWLRQZLWKSDVWFRQWURYHUVLDOLQWHU-
SUHWDWLRQVRI$QDWROLDQSUHKLVWRU\$QLPDOUHPDLQVDWWKHWRPEVDUHLQVWHDGXQGHUVWRRGDVIHDVWLQJXSRQVDFULFHGFDWWOHVKHHSDQG
SLJDFFRPSDQLHGE\WKHFRQVXPSWLRQRIVSHFLDOEHYHUDJHVSHUKDSVZLQH
This paper presents new evidence that Royal burial ceremonies at Alaca Hyk involved wagons as well as cattle harnessing. This is
VXSSRUWHGE\LFRQRJUDSK\IURPFRQWHPSRUDU\VLWHV:DJRQLQWHUSUHWDWLRQVQHHGQRWEHFRQWUDVWHGZLWKWKRVHRIIHDVWLQJUDWKHUERWK
DUHDSSURSULDWHWRWKHUHJLRQDQGWRVRFLDOVWUDWHJLHVRIWKHSHULRG:DJRQVDUHWWLQJWHFKQRORJ\IRUWKHWHUUDLQRIFHQWUDO$QDWROLD
DVZHOODVWKHQHDUE\&DXFDVXVDQG%ODFN6HDDUHDDQGWKHVDFULFHRIH[SHQVLYHGUDXJKWFDWWOHWVZHOOZLWKWKHFRQVXPSWLRQRI
KLJKTXDOLW\PHWDOZRUNDQGVSHFLDOEHYHUDJHVDWWKHWRPEV:DJRQVDQGZLQHWKHQDUHFRPSOLPHQWDU\DVSHFWVRIVWDWXVFRPSHWLWLRQ
appropriate to the period and especially considering more recent interpretation of the Black Sea region.

KEYWORDS: EARLY BRONZE AGE, ALACA HYK, WAGONS, CATTLE, WINE, HARNESSING, NOSE RINGS, SOCIAL, COMPETITION.
The Alaca Hyk Royal tombs are a clear indication of
developing wealth and emergent complexity during the
Anatolian Early Bronze Age (roughly 3000-2000 BC). Of
the incredible array of prestige objects within the tombs,
drinking vessels coated1 in gold, silver and electrum, as
well as animal skeletons atop, within2 and between the
tombs, suggest graveside feasting celebrations. These
tomb decorations also suggest cattle harnessing and wag-
ons were known technologies of the period. Wagon asso-
ciations have generally been dismissed in the literature due
to their association with outdated diffusionist arguments of
Indo-European migration. Cattle remains at the tombs are
instead absorbed into feasting interpretations. This paper
discusses evidence for cattle harnessing, and therefore of
wagons, that is not already present in the literature. Icono-
graphic parallels at contemporary sites show the technol-
RJ\ ZDV UHJLRQDO LQ VFDOH 7KLV LFRQRJUDSK\ UHHFWV WKH
unique local culture of the Anatolian north-central pla-
teau; wagons, then, need not be derived from the eastern
steppes, but are part of a larger exchange of items, ideas,
and cultural practices around the Black Sea that is only
beginning to be investigated. Interpretation of the tombs
need not become polarised between wagons and feasting;
the two compliment each other to more effectively explain
funerary processions, the consumption of wealth, and the
emergence of a social lite on the Anatolian plateau.

VHYHQGLIIHUHQWVLWHUHSRUWVRYHUYHGHFDGHVLQIRXUGLI-
ferent languages: Turkish, French, German, and English.
7KLVSXEOLFDWLRQVFKHPHDORQJZLWKWKHGLIFXOWVWUDWLJUD-
SK\RIWKHVLWHKDVPDGH$ODFD+|\NQRWRULRXVO\GLIFXOW
to untangle.
Excavations at the site revealed fourteen Royal shaft
JUDYHV RI WKH (DUO\ %URQ]H$JH LGHQWLHG E\ OHWWHUV )
K, L, A, A1, C, E, T, T1, D, S, B, R, and H. The mostly
rectangular4 graves were dug into a hillside at the south-
eastern corner of the site,5 theatre-like6 in their view from
the settlement below. Most of the tombs featured rows of
stones lining a shallow pit, over which were placed tim-
EHUVODEVOOHGLQZLWKSHEEOHVWZLJVDQGSODVWHU7 Within
were placed an incredible array of metal items, including
jewellery, weapons, statuettes, and vessels, recoverable in
all tombs but one (F). Atop the tomb roofs were posi-
tioned metal ritual standards featuring stags and bulls,
and the skulls and hooves of cattle and other species,8 often
arranged in rows.9 Between the tombs and throughout the
necropolis were also placed intact carcasses as well as dis-
articulated bones, sometimes arranged in rows or piles,10
indicating the necropolis was an area of recurrent festivi-
ties and a salient aspect of life at the settlement.

2. WAGONS AND THE ALACA TOMBS

1. THE SITE
Alaca Hyk is located 50km southwest of orum on
the Anatolian east-central plateau, within the bend of the
.]OUPDN5LYHUDQGQHDUWR+DWWXDFDSLWDORIWKHODWHU
Hittite Empire. Excavations were begun in 1935 under the
auspices of the new Turkish Republic and Mustafa Kemal
Atatrk,3DWWKHGLUHFWLRQRIUVW5HP]L2X]$UNDQGODW-
HU+DPLW.RD\([FDYDWLRQVRIWKHVLWHZHUHSXEOLVKHGLQ
<DOoQ
Bachhuber 2011, 163.
3
Bittel 1997, 137; Grsan-Salzmann 1992, 4; zyar 1999, 80; Zimmer-
mann 2008, 509.
1
2

Interpretation of cattle remains atop the tombs as for feast-

ing or as wagons occurs early in the literature. Within the
H[FDYDWLRQUHSRUWV$UNQRWHVFDWWOHVNXOOVDQGKRRIV
atop the tombs were likely the discarded, inedible remains

Zimmermann 2008, 511.

Grsan-Salzmann 1992, 64; zyar 1999, 80.
6
zyar 1999, footnote 25, citing personal communication with Mehmet
Akok, 1987.
7
Grsan-Salzmann 1992, 67.
8
.RD\SO/;,,
9
0DQVIHOGJ2UWKPDQQ3LJJRWW
10
$UNJ*UVDQ6DO]PDQQ.RD\SO
&;;,&;/9
4
5

Copyright material: no unauthorized reproduction in any medium

Jess Whalen

of feasts.117KLV SRLQW ZDV UHLWHUDWHG E\ 6WXDUW 3LJJRWW LQ

1962, who added to the discussion iconographic parallels
between the Alaca tombs and the deposition of wagons in
NXUJDQVRI7UDQVFDXFDVLDWKHQRUWK&DXFDVXVDQGWKH3RQ-
tic regions.12 His observations gave rise to arguments by
Mellaart13 and, more extensively, by Orthmann, who made
a persuasive case for the tombs as wagon representations.14

Tomb T1 contained the most explicit evidence for wagons.

Rings Al. 1106 and 1107 are described within the catalogue
as passing through the nose of bucrania found within the
tomb:22
Anneau (du cuivre?). Il est faconn par une baguette tor-
due. Il nous a paru traversant le nez, avec Al. 1107 du bu-
crne. Recueilli dans la T.M. avec les dbris des squelettes
;;,,;;,,,;;,9

The presence of wagons at Alaca Hyk has been dismissed

in recent literature. This is due not to the irrelevance of the
above arguments, but rather to their association with sub-
sequent migration theories.15 Beginning in the late 1950s,
a series of articles suggested migration of Indo-European
speakers into the Black Sea region from the eastern steppe,
bringing metallurgy, language, and other developments to
Europe. In this light, wagon associations16 imply central
Anatolian metallurgy and other developments were de-
rived from the east, carried by solid-wheeled carts from the
Asian steppe. Diffusionist explanations promoted in these
theories have been appropriately criticised,17 especially on
chronological grounds.18 Bull iconography at the Alaca
tombs has thus been interpreted as for feasting instead of
transport. Yet wagons need not be dismissed in the litera-
ture, especially as iconographic parallels continue to be
noted.19 Cattle nose rings, which have so far remained un-
discussed, provide an opportunity to clarify the limitations
of either argument and suggest a cohesive combination of
both, all the while preserving the unique, local inspiration
of the culture of the Anatolian north-central plateau.

In English, the description reads: Ring (copper?): It is

made from a twisted rod. It seemed to us to pass through
the nose, with Al 1107, of bucranium. Collected in the
>7RPE@70ZLWKWKHUHPQDQWVRIVNHOHWRQV;;,,;;,,,
;;,97RPELOOXVWUDWLRQVLQGLFDWHWKHQRVHULQJVZHUHDW-
tached in situ; the sentence, Anneaux paraissant traverser
les mchoires du squelette danimal23 likely mistook the
nasal cavity for the jaw (mchoire) upon tomb opening,
the latter of which would have broken away from the up-
per skull during decomposition. The Turkish version of the
illustration caption is similarly disillusioned, claiming the
ULQJWRSDVVWKURXJKDQDQLPDOWRRWKGL24 it was likely
copied from the French, and the error corrected only in de-
scription of the rings within the catalogue.
7RPE&VWUHQJWKHQVLGHQWLFDWLRQRIWKHULQJVDVIRUFDWWOH
This tomb, excavated in 1936, revealed more rings associ-
ated with bovine skulls, though these are not illustrated:25
Bei den verschiedenen vor den Tierkopf-Knochen ge-
fundenen Ringen (z. B. AI/a 23 und 324) handelt es sich
scheinbar um Nasenringe.

 1(:(9,'(1&()25:$*216

,Q(QJOLVKWKHWH[WUHDGVDPRQJWKHQGVRIDQLPDOERQHV
were found rings, apparently, nose rings. As with Tomb
T1, rings were abundant throughout Tomb C.26 The occur-
rence, in both tombs, of cattle statuettes, which in Tomb T
pierced the nose,27 make it likely rings in the tomb were
originally attached to the cattle skulls.

Two of the Alaca Hyk tombs contained items which,

from their context, are cattle nose rings. Similar rings pierce
WKHVQRXWVRIFDWWOHJXULQHVDWWKLVDQGVHYHUDORWKHUVLWHV
across the north-central region. The pierced snouts likely
indicate harnessing and wagons, as such implements are
depicted upon Middle and Late Bronze Age metal wagon
models from southeastern and central Anatolia.20 This ico-
nography also continues into later, Hittite periods, illustrat-
ing the suitability of harnessing to the region.21 Nose rings
do not challenge feasting associations; the abundance of
animal remains and their treatment at the Alaca necropolis
makes it clear that feasting was practiced. Rather, the two
interpretations, when considered together, appropriately
UHHFWZLGHUFKDQJHVRFFXUULQJZLWKLQ(DUO\%URQ]H$JH
Anatolian communities.

Cattle statuettes with noses pierced by metal rings are found

across the region (Figure 1). From Horoztepe, near Erbaa
in the Tokat province of Anatolia, were recovered two bull
statuettes; intact front plating upon one of the bulls exhib-
its two thin wires through the nose.28 Another bull statu-
ette from Horoztepe set upon a ritual standard has round
nostrils;29 a display of the item at the Museum of Anato-
lian Civilizations in Ankara includes a small circular wire
placed upon one horn. It seems likely the wire came lose
from the nose, and its placement upon the horn is to ensure
the wire remains associated with the statuette. An almost
identical statuette, acquired by the Boston Museum of Fine

$UN
3LJJRWW
13
Mellaart 1966, 155-156.
14
Orthmann 1967.
15
Zimmermann 2008, 512-514; Littauer and Crouwel 1973, 120; Bach-
huber 2011, 164.
16
See Gimbutas 1970 for arguments and references.
17
Bachhuber 2011, 164; Zimmermann 2008, 514.
18
&KHUQ\NK5DVVDPDNLQJ)RU$ODFDSH-
ULRGLVDWLRQ VHH %DFKKXEHU  J  *UVDQ6DO]PDQQ  
261-275; Orthmann 1963, 32-34, 94-95; zyar 1999.
19
Abramishvili 2010, 173; Rahmstorf 2010.
20
.XODNROX/LWWDXHUDQG&URXZHO
21
Neve 1965.
11

12

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26
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28
g]JoDQG$NRNSO;,Jg]JoDQG$NRNJV
7-8, 27-29.
29
g]JoDQG$NRNSO;,JDF
22
23



Copyright material: no unauthorized reproduction in any medium

WAGONS AND WINE IN EARLY BRONZE AGE CENTRAL ANATOLIA

Arts in 1958, features a similar hole across both sides of

the nose,30 while a fourth statuette, described by Tezcan,31
is without piercing rings but connects two bulls via a long
rod at the base of their necks, perhaps comprising a yoke.
A similar yoke-like construction appears around the necks
of two bulls balancing either side of ritual standard Al. 656
from Alaca Hyk Tomb B.32
Additional similarities between the bull statuettes may
allude to harnessing apparatus. Most of the statuettes de-
scribed here feature inlaid triangles upon their foreheads,
including the two statuettes from the antiquities market
described by Tezcan. Of seven bull statuettes within the
$ODFDWRPEV7RPEV./&(7'DQG+VXIFLHQWLQ-
IRUPDWLRQLVDYDLODEOHIRUYHRIZKLFKIRXUIHDWXUHLQODLG
triangles (K, E, D, and H: Figure 2).33 Aside from provid-
ing a conceptual link between the statuettes, the triangles
suggest associated harnessing equipment. The forehead of
the statuette E1 from Tomb E is decorated in small cir-
cles arranged in the shape of a triangle; additional circles
at the chest and upon the back of the bull34 may reference
such gear (Figure 2). The association between bulls and
triangles is conceptual,35 and persists on the plateau in
later periods when it is adopted, along with other Hattian
traditions, by the arriving Hittites: two ceramic statues of
divine bulls Huri and eri recovered from Bykkaya in
1963 and dating to the Hittite Old Kingdom (1650-1500
BC) feature inverted triangles upon their foreheads. Im-
portantly, these statues also feature nose rings turned up at
the snout, attached to rope that reaches from the nose ring
to below the eyes and behind the head.36 The rings upon
Huri and eri are clearly for driving bulls from behind. The
co-occurrence of the inlaid triangle with metal nose rings
suggests these items operated in conjunction, or were at
least ideologically related. It is appropriate, then, that in-
laid triangles upon bulls at Alaca Hyk and Horoztepe
indicate harnessing and driving cattle in lines during the
Early Bronze Age.
Metal wagon models illustrate nose rings in harnessing
apparatus. Littauer and Crouwel detail several Anatolian
models with cattle noses pierced to take a line.37 While
generally dated to the second millennium BC, the almost
pure copper, lost-wax cast form of one model kept in the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts would seem to substantiate
its alleged provenience from a cache near to Alaca Hyk,

perhaps contemporary with the Royal tombs.38 The agri-

cultural features of the Anatolian models, including their
solid wheels and preference for bovid draught (as opposed
to equid), is appropriate to the region,39 but need not be in-
troduced as late as the second millennium. Here could be a
unique style, appropriate to mobile pastoralism40 and plau-
sible from existing, early connections between Syria and
Anatolia.41 Stylistically, the bulls from the Boston model
parallel those from Horoztepe and from the Oriental In-
stitute of Chicago detailed by Tezcan; had exterior plating
survived on the Boston model, inlaid triangles might have
provided a more direct association between the forms.

4. A CASE FOR WAGONS

Revisiting the original association of wagons at the Alaca
tombs, two main tenants remain viable: Orthmanns ob-
servation that the oxen skulls arranged in rows atop the
tombs resemble cattle driven in lines,42 and iconographic
DIQLWLHVZLWKWKH&DXFDVXV&ULWLFLVPPDLQO\VWHPVIURP
the latter, rejecting wagons on chronological grounds and,
in the process, deeming the allusions noted by Orthmann
as somehow erroneous. Yet recent research shows Cauca-
VLDQ DIQLWLHV DUH QRW UREXVW FRQFHUQLQJ DQ\ RQH FXOWXUH
EXW UDWKHU UHHFW D ODUJHU VSKHUH RI LQWHUDFWLRQ WKDW LQGL-
cates Anatolia was partially connected with regions to the
north. In this light there is little reason to reject Orthmanns
observations, and therefore little to discourage wagon as-
sociations.
:DJRQVDW$ODFDDUHPDLQO\FULWLFLVHGRQWKHEDVLVRIGLI-
cult chronology.43(DUO\QRWHGDIQLWLHVEHWZHHQWKH$ODFD
Hyk tombs at the burial kurgans of Maikop culture44
have been shown to be untenable, as Maikop has recently
been re-dated to the late fourth millennium BC,45 nearly a
millennium previous to the earliest dates for Alaca Hyk.
This criticism fails to consider that the majority of wagon
burials are Late Maikop in date, or Novotitorovskaya,46
which precedes Alaca Hyk only by a few centuries.47
Yet the Novotitorovskaya burials, which encased whole
wagons,48 look nothing like the Alaca Hyk Royal
tombs. The Alaca Hyk tombs also contained no traces of
wagon pieces.49 Instead, tombs at Alaca Hyk resemble
timber graves of the Trialeti period, the most striking of
which dates to the Middle Bronze Age.503DUDOOHOLGHRORJ\
/LWWDXHUDQG&URXZHOSO;;;9,,$&2UWKPDQQ
3LJJRWW
39
/LWWDXHUDQG&URXZHO3LJJRWW
40
3LJJRWW
41
Littauer and Crouwel 1973, 124.
42
Orthmann 1967.
43
Zimmermann 2008, 513.
44
.RD\SO&;,,
45
&KHUQ\NK5DVVDPDNLQJ
46
Gei 2000, 176-177.
47
.RKO.DYWDUDG]HJ
48
*HLJ
49
Zimmermann 2008, 513; Orthmann 1967, 36, footnote 12a; Littauer
and Crouwel 1973, 120.
50
Abramishvili 2010, 173; Dschaparidze 2001, 109; Kavtaradze 1999,
81, 86.
38

7H]FDQSO;9,,,
7H]FDQSO;,;
32
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33
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  SO &/ &/;,, &/;;,,, &/;;; .RD\   SO
;&9,,, 2I VHYHQ EXOO VWDWXHWWHV YH DUH SLFWXUHG LQ VLWH UHSRUWV ZLWK
VXIFLHQWYLHZRIWKHLUIRUHKHDGV)RXURIWKHVHDUHLOOXVWUDWHGE\0OOHU
Karpe (K, E, T, and H). Of these, only the bull from Tomb T appears not
to feature an inlaid triangle. Though not illustrated by Mller-Karpe, the
EXOOVWDWXHWWHIURP7RPE'GRHVIURPSKRWRJUDSKVE\.RD\DSSHDUWR
have a raised shape atop the forehead, presumably a triangle.
34
.RD\SO&/;,,
35
Hrouda and Spanos 1993, 203.
36
Neve 1965, 19 abb, 14a and b; Littauer and Crouwel 1973, 118, 125.
37
Littauer and Crouwel 1973, 104-107, 118.
30
31



Copyright material: no unauthorized reproduction in any medium

Jess Whalen

and arrangement of wagon burials in the Caucasus, then,

spans nearly two millennia, and in searching for parallels
to Alaca Hyk one is spoilt for choice. This can be ex-
plained by another similarity between the cultures: Mai-
kop, Novotitorovskaya, Trialeti and Alaca Hyk cultures
are all lacking in settlement data.51 Known purely by their
necropoleis these cultures parallel only by illusory corre-
lation, and probably differ widely from each other. When
we look again at the original comparisons between the
bull iconography at Maikop and Alaca, similarities seem
strained: Maikop bulls are much more of a hunkered-down,
beast of burden, whereas the Alaca bulls are lean, almost
sprite, more akin to stags than bulls. The very conception
of the bull seems different within either culture, their only
DIQLW\EHLQJWKDWWKH\DUHVLPLODUO\SLHUFHGRQORQJSROHV
a distinctive motif that can also be cited for Classical-era
Scythia.
Instead of viewing material culture parallels as evidence of
contact, it is perhaps more accurate to conceive of a much
wider network of interactions around the Black Sea at the
time. Similarities in transport and iconography, then, re-
HFWJHQHUDOVLPLODULWLHVEHWZHHQVHYHUDOLQWHUDFWLQJ%ODFN
Sea culture provinces. Chernykh suggests the existence
of metallurgical provinces,52 spheres of interaction that
encompassed cultures and communities around the Black
Sea, expanding in punctuated manner, with earlier areas
suddenly collapsing and others emerging,53 differing in
climate, raw materials, and implement typologies and fo-
cused upon obtaining metal resources.54 This network was
H[WHQVLYHFRQQHFWHGWRUHJLRQVIDUWKHUDHOGDQGHPHUJHG
in tandem with metallurgical developments in other re-
gions. The movement of tools and ceremonial weapons
has long been recognised across the Black Sea and eastern
Mediterranean, extending also to Mesopotamia, the Aege-
an and also to Crete;55 similarly, the exchange of lead bot-
tles, bone tubes, depata, and a host of other prestige items
are known to accelerate during the closely-following EBA
II-III.56
Chernykh suggests we view the Black Sea as a thorough-
fare, enabling a larger system of interaction between a net-
work of contemporary cultures. From this position, goods
and ideas were adopted in accordance with individual cul-
ture preferences. Similarities are due more to comparable
HQYLURQPHQWV WKDQ WR GLIIXVLRQ RU PLJUDWLRQ 3DUDOOHOV LQ
wheeled transport make a great deal of sense considering
the regional topography of the Black Sea, where specif-
ic design features such as solid wheels would have been
particularly effective.57 Such vehicles would have become
associated with prestige goods by virtue of their referenc-
ing transport; their deposition or reference in graves, then,

makes sense as a more general association between metal-

lurgy, prestige, exchange, and the outside world.

5. CONCLUSION
Direct and iconographic evidence for cattle nose rings in-
dicates that the east-central plateau used harnessing dur-
ing the Early Bronze Age. Finds of cattle nose rings sup-
plement iconographic depictions of harnessing, and likely
are connected to draught representations (wagon models)
farther south. Bull and cart characteristics make sense con-
VLGHULQJWKHXQLTXHWRSRJUDSK\RIWKH&DXFDVXVDQG3RQWLF
regions, while regional similarities indicate similar adapta-
tion strategies rather than direct contact. This assessment
is hardly out of place when considering the transmission of
metallurgical advances and items such as shaft-hole axes
and moulds, lead bottles, drinking vessels, and other pres-
tige items.
Draught harnessing at the Alaca Hyk Royal tombs
complements existing feasting interpretations, and togeth-
er, both indices reveal the scope of wider changes occur-
ring on the Early Bronze Age Anatolian plateau. Central
Anatolian communities are, at this time, still without writ-
ing and administration or large, central buildings; at most,
they are small and centralised,58 and organised very differ-
ently to the settlements of Mesopotamia. The grand scale
RIHYHQWVDWWKHWRPEVPD\UHHFWWKHFRPSHWLWLRQRIORFDO
lite groups or factions.59 Special beverages and animal
VDFULFHDWWUDFWHGSDUWLFLSDQWVIURPWKHZLGHUFRPPXQLW\
prestige items not only advertised wealth, but helped to re-
cruit and maintain participant support. Wagons reference
transport, exchange, and foreign contact; by themselves,
they are enduring symbol of prestige and wealth acquisi-
tion. At tomb feasting events, they also imply procession
and display. We may combine feasting and wagon inter-
SUHWDWLRQVDQGVXJJHVWWKHFDWWOHVDFULFHGDW7RPEV7DQG
C were draught cattle; if so, they would have constituted
WKHXOWLPDWHVDFULFHRIZHDOWKIRUPV60 of sacred61 animals
which were also of practical value to the entire settlement.
Their physical consumption would have effectively bound
participants to one another and very tangibly demarcated
group boundaries, appropriate alongside the consumption
of special beverages and expensive, precocious62 metal-
work forms. Like these ultimate forms of value,63 their sac-
ULFHFUHDWHGDQHQGXULQJUHSURGXFWLRQRIFRPPXQLW\VR-
cial life which was highly competitive precisely because of
its fragile organisational structure, not unlike communities
across the larger Circumpontic region.64 It is appropriate
that the assertion of lite groups was derived from a pow-
evik 2007.
Whalen in preparation.
60
 6DFULFHG FDWWOH DUH OLNHO\ WR EH W DQG KHDOWK\ DV DJHG VSHFLPHQV
would be biologically suspect.
61
Hrouda and Spanos 1993, 203.
62
6HHDPRQJVWRWKHUVDUHFHQWSXEOLFDWLRQE\<DOoQZKRGHWDLOV
the complexity of metallurgy techniques for Alaca Hyk metalwork, in-
cluding drinking vessels.
63
Bachhuber 2011, 171.
64
HUQ\FKet al. 1991, 594, 596, 615.
58

$EUDPLVKYLOLHUQ\FKet al. 1992, 596; also see Kohl 2007,

74, 82, 112-113, 224, 247.
52
&KHUQ\NKJ&KHUQ\NKet al. 1991.
53
Kohl 2009, 14-15.
54
HUQ\FKet al. 1991, 609-613.
55
Betancourt 1970; Rahmstorf 2010; Stronach 1957.
56
*HQ]DKROX=LPPHUPDQQ
57
.XODNROX/LWWDXHUDQG&URXZHOg]JHQ
3LJJRWW
51

59



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WAGONS AND WINE IN EARLY BRONZE AGE CENTRAL ANATOLIA

HUIXOLQGLJHQRXVLGHRORJ\UHHFWHGLQWKHORFDOFKDUDFWHU
of bull iconography, yet referencing the wider cosmos of
Black Sea interactions to advertise the prime position of
Alaca, its lite, and its technological capacities. Wagons
were a symbol of foreign contact, but even more tangibly
DIRUPRIORFDOZHDOWK7KHLUVDFULFHZDVDPDQLSXODWLRQ
of settlement technology towards the aims of competing
groups, and a vehicle not for diffusion, but for support
upon local, central Anatolian social platforms.

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Copyright material: no unauthorized reproduction in any medium

WAGONS AND WINE IN EARLY BRONZE AGE CENTRAL ANATOLIA

)LJXUH%XOOVWDWXHWWHVIURP$QDWROLD'RXEOHEXOOVWDWXHWWHFRQQHFWHGZLWKKDUQHVVOLNHDSSDUDWXV3UROHYLHZRI

ULWXDOVWDQGDUG$OIURP7RPE%DW$ODFD+|\NZLWKKDUQHVVOLNHLPSOHPHQWVDORQJWKHQHFNVRIWZREXOOJXUHV
3)Bull statuette from Horoztepe with pierced snout. 4) Bull statuette from Horoztepe with ring still attached within nostrils,
and inlaid triangle upon forehead. All images redrawn from Mller-Karpe 1974, pl. 315: 3, 5, 7 and supplemented with
LWHPGHVFULSWLRQVIURPg]JoDQG$NRNJZLWKWKHH[FHSWLRQRIWKHVWDQGDUGIURP$ODFD+|\N7RPE'
ZKLFKLVGUDZQGLUHFWO\IURPWKHVLWHUHSRUWSKRWRJUDSKLQ$UNSO&;&9,,1RWWRVFDOH

Figure 2 - Bull statuettes from the Alaca Hyk Royal tombs E, T, H, L, C, D, and K, lettered accordingly. Redrawn
from Mller-Karpe 1974, pl. 311-313 with the exception of the bull from Tomb D, which was redrawn from the site report
SKRWRJUDSKLQ.RD\SO&/1RWWRVFDOH