THE LATE BRONZE AGE ANIMAL MOBILITY AND HERDING STRATEGIES: A GEOMETRIC MORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF OVIS ARIES AND CAPRA HIRCUS REMAINS FROM HITTITE PERIOD ŠAPINUWA (ORTAKÖY/TURKEY)

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yerleşim Arkeolojisi Anabilim Dalı, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2021

Tezin Dili: İngilizce

Öğrenci: GONCA ÖZGER

Danışman: Evangelia Pişkin

Özet:

Animal husbandry were the basis of agrarian production in Hittite period Anatolia. The faunal analysis of different Hittite sites indicates well-developed animal husbandry and a good knowledge of breeding practices which is also mentioned in Hittite archives. Ovis aries and Capra hircus formed the foundation of pastoral activity in the Late Bronze Age Central Anatolia. The aim of this thesis is to explore the animal husbandry management, mobility and breeding in the Hittite Late Bronze Age period through interdisciplinary research and taking as the case study the materials covered from the excavation of Šapinuwa (Ortaköy). Šapinuwa, which was thought of as the second capital of Hittite Empire in the 14th century BCE, is located in Central Anatolian Steppe. In this research two-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis is employed to investigate whether a specialized veterinary activity was practiced by the Hittite Empire and if so, how it affected socio-economic hirearchy during the Late Bronze Age period. This research focuses on the analysis of Ovis aries and Capra hircus astragalus, metacarpal and metatarsal bones on the basis of a multidisciplinary approach. For the effectiveness of the technique, other than geometric morphometrics, traditional measurements will then be used as a comparison. This study employs standard and specialized zooarchaeological techniques to present three aspects of animal husbandry in Hittite; flock management, mobility of animals and selective breeding.