An Early Bronze Age Red-Cross Bowl from Acemhöyük

Abstract

Acemhöyük, located just south of Tuz Gölü, is one of the key trading and political center of the Assyrian Trade Colonies Period. Excavations at the site have revealed that the earliest settlement dates back to the first half of the 3^rd millennium BC, and the site became one of the largest kingdoms of Central Anatolia at the beginning of the 2^nd millennium BC. In this study, a bowl from the Early Bronze Age unearthed during the excavations on the southern slope of Acemhöyük was discussed. The bowl discovered in a bothros on the southern slope is an example of bowls with red-cross motifs, the earliest examples of which were seen in Anatolia in the Neolithic Period. It is known that the red-cross decorated bowls were widespread in a limited area around inland Western Anatolia during the first half of the Early Bronze Age. However, their recovery at several sites with archaeological layers dating to the final phase of the Early Bronze Age suggests their increasing popularity. The geographical distribution of the sites that yielded red-cross bowls reveals a wide area extending from Western Anatolia to Cilicia. The Acemhöyük bowl is first discussed in line with its archaeological context and technical characteristics. Decorative elements and form characteristics of the bowl have been compared with similar samples and it has been recognized that the bowl is deeply connected with the spreading of the red-cross bowls. Macroscopical characteristics such as form, paste, and slip suggest that the bowl was not imported to the site. Consequently, the red-cross motif observed inside the Acemhöyük bowl is considered a symbol transferred into pottery production from belief systems of the related period.

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