Çadır Höyük is an important ancient settlement and archaeological site in
Yozgat Province
Yozgat Province () is a province in central Turkey. Its area is 13,690 km2, and its population is 418,442 (2022). Its adjacent provinces are Çorum to the northwest, Kırıkkale to the west, Kırşehir to the southwest, Nevşehir to the s ...
,
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
16 kilometers south of
Sorgun. It lies around 70 kilometers from the Hittite capital of
Hattuša
Hattusa, also Hattuşa, Ḫattuša, Hattusas, or Hattusha, was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age during two distinct periods. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey (originally Boğazköy) within the great loop of t ...
. The artificial mound contains the remains of some 6,000 years of human settlement ranging from the Middle
Chalcolithic
The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...
era to the Byzantine period.
[Steadman, Sharon R., et al., "Stability and change at Çadır Höyük in central Anatolia: a case of Late Chalcolithic globalisation?", ''Anatolian Studies'' 69, pp. 21-57, 2019] The mound reaches the height of 32 metres above the valley plain. Recent excavators of Cadir Hoyuk have identified this site tentatively with the Hittite city of
Zippalanda.
Location
Çadır Höyük is located in a bend of the
Kızılırmak River
The Kızılırmak (, Turkish language, Turkish for "Red River"), once known as the Halys River () and Alis River, is the longest river flowing entirely within Turkey. It is a source of hydroelectric power and is not used for navigation.
Geogra ...
near
Kerkenes, a sacred mountain of the Hittites. Nearby are several other important Hittite sites, such as
Uşaklı Höyük.
Occupation history
Evidence of the first known settlement at Çadır Höyük has been radio-carbon dated to the
Early Chalcolithic (5300–4500 BC); nevertheless the occupation may well be even earlier than that, and go back to
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
(ca. 5500 BC).
During the
Late Chalcolithic period, at the larger centers in the area such as
Alişar Hüyük
Alishar Hüyük (in modern Yozgat Province, Turkey) was an ancient city in Central Anatolia. It is near the modern village of Alişar, Sorgun. It has been suggested that in the Iron Age the site was part of the polity of Tabal (state), Tabal.
Hi ...
and Çadır Höyük, rather large courtyards and buildings such as the "Burnt House" indicate a form of administration that organized significant construction projects. At this time the settlement developed a Lower Town and a terraced Upper Town. Towards the end occupation retreated to the Upper Town. Pottery shows that, during this period, there were contacts with southeastern Europe. Some other objects indicate that there were also contacts with the
Kura–Araxes culture
The Kura–Araxes culture (also named ''Kur–Araz culture, Mtkvari–Araxes culture, Early Transcaucasian culture, Shengavitian culture'') was an archaeological culture that existed from about 4000 BC until about 2000 BC, which has traditionally ...
in the Caucasus. Some of the pre-adult burials in this period showed evidence of
head shaping.
Following the Late Chalcolithic occupation, evidence for the Early Bronze Age at Cadir is sparse, mostly coming in the form of handmade ceramics.
Cadir Hoyuk appears to have flourished during the Middle and Late Bronze Age (2000–1100 BC). The remains from this period represent a revival of political complexity and construction efforts. This is the time of the emergence of the Hittite state in the mid-seventeenth century BC. The period between the end of the
Karum period (
Old Assyrian period
The Old Assyrian period was the second stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of the city of Assur from its rise as an independent city-state under Puzur-Ashur I 2025 BC to the foundation of a larger Assyrian territorial state after th ...
) and the beginning of Hittite administration is well represented at Cadir.
The settlement continues from the Hittite era into the Iron Age.
Archaeology
The site of Çadır Höyük is about 260 meters by 200 meters (about 5 hectares in area) at its base. It rises to a height of about 32 meters above the plain. It was first worked in a salvage excavation ahead of expected inundation by the
Gelingüllü Dam. Work began with a survey in 1993 and an excavation season in 1994. After it turned out that the site would not be flooded the project converted to a regular excavation which worked annually from 1998 to the present time. Work was directed by Ronald L. Gorny on behalf of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
Work included obtaining a number of radiocarbon dates, from the Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, Middle Bronze, Late Bronze, and Early Iron Ages.
[Ross, Jennifer C., et al., "When the giant falls: endurance and adaptation at Çadır Höyük in the context of the Hittite Empire and its collapse", ''Journal of Field Archaeology'' 44.1, pp. 19-39, 2019]
See also
*
Yozgat Museum
*
Cities of the ancient Near East
The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by ...
References
Further reading
*Cassis, Marica, and Sharon R. Steadman, "Çadır Höyük: Continuity and Change on the Anatolian Plateau", In East to West: Current Approaches to Medieval Archaeology. Edited by Scott Stull. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 140–154, 2014
*Cassis, Marica, Anthony J. Lauricella, Katie Tardio, Madelynn von Baeyer, Scott Coleman, Sarah E. Adcock, Benjamin S. Arbuckle, and Alexia Smith, "Regional Patterns of Transition at Çadır Höyük in the Byzantine Period", Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 7, pp. 321–49, 2019
*Cassis, Marica, and Anthony Lauricella, "Positive Abandonment: The Case for Çadır Höyük", In Deserted Villages: Perspectives from the Eastern Mediterranean. Edited by Rebecca Seifried and Deborah B. Stewart. Grand Forks: University of North Dakota Digital Press, pp. 27–66, 2021
*Erdal, Yılmaz Selim, "Interpreting Subadult Burials and Head Shaping at Çadır Höyük", Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology & Heritage Studies 7.3, pp. 379-385, 2019
*Gorny, Ronald L., et al., "The 2000 and 2001 seasons at Çadır Höyük in Central Turkey: a preliminary report" ,Anatolica 28, pp. 109-136, 2002
*Gorny, Ronald L., "The 2002-2005 Excavation Seasons at Çadır Höyük: The Second Millennium Settlement", Anatolica 32, pp. 29-54, 2006
*Lauricella, Anthony J., Stephanie Offutt, and Tevfik Emre Şerifoğlu, "Landscape heritage at Çadir höyük: From cartography to digital imagery", Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology & Heritage Studies 7.3, pp. 368-378, 2019
*S. M. Paley, "The Excavations at Çadır Höyük, 2004", 27. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı. 30 Mayıs – 3 Haziran 2005, Antalya, pp. 351–366, 2005
oss, Jennifer C., Gregory McMahon, Ya ̆gmur Heffron, Sarah E. Adcock, Sharon R. Steadman, Benjamin S. Arbuckle, Alexia Smith, and Madelynn von Baeyer, "Anatolian Empires: Local Experiences from Hittites to Phrygians at Çadır Höyük", Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 7, pp. 299–320, 2019
*Ross, Jennifer, "Çadir Höyük: The Upper South Slope 2006-2009", Anatolica 36, pp. 67-87, 2010
teadman, Sharon R., et al., "The 2009 and 2012 seasons of excavation at Çadır Höyük on the Anatolian north central plateau", Anatolica 39, pp. 113-167, 2013
*Steadman, Sharon R., et al., "The 2013 and 2014 Excavation Seasons at Çadir Höyük on the Anatolian North Central Plateau", Anatolica 41, pp. 87-123, 2015
*Steadman, Sharon R., Gregory McMahon, and Jennifer C. Ross, "Chalcolithic, Iron Age, and Byzantine Investigations at Çadır Höyük: The 2017 and 2018 Seasons", In The Archaeology of Anatolia: Recent Discoveries (2017–2018). Edited by Sharon R. Steadman and Gregory McMahon. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, vol. III, pp. 32–52, 2019
*Steadman, Sharon R., and Gregory McMahon, 'Recent Work (2013–2014) at Çadır Höyük on the North Central Anatolian Plateau", In The Archaeology of Anatolia: Recent Discoveries (2011–2014). Edited by Sharon R. Steadman and Gregory McMahon. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, vol. I, pp. 69–97. 2015
*Steadman, Sharon R., Gregory McMahon, Jennifer C. Ross, Marica Cassis, T. Emre Serifo ̆glu, Benjamin S. Arbuckle, Sarah E. Adcock, Songül Alpaslan Roodenberg, Madelynn von Baeyer, and Anthony J. Lauricella, "The 2013 and 2014 Excavation Seasons at Çadır Höyük on the Anatolian North Central Plateau", Anatolica 41, pp. 87–124, 2015
*Steadman, Sharon R., T. Emre ̧Serifo ̆glu, Gregory McMahon, Stephanie Selover, Laurel D. Hackley, Burcu Yıldırım, Anthony J. Lauricella, Benjamin S. Arbuckle, Sarah E. Adcock, Katie Tardio, and et al., "Recent Discoveries (2015–2016) at Çadır Höyük on the North Central Plateau", Anatolica 43, pp. 203–50, 2017
External links
Dig site for Çadır HöyükEarly Byzantine Excavations at Çadır Höyük in Central Anatolia - Dumbarton Oaks - 2006The Byzantine Period at Çadır Höyük: A Rural Community in the Byzantine Hinterland: Report on the 2008 Season - Dumbarton Oaks - 2009
*Ece Nagihan - 5 August 2022
Cadir Hoyuk - Archaeological Excavations Continue Without Slowing Down.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Çadır Höyük
Archaeological sites in Central Anatolia
History of Yozgat Province
Geography of Yozgat Province
Hittite sites