Researches of Prehistoric Period History in Early Republic Era

Anatolia has become a point of interest for the Western World since the second half of the 17th century for its richness of civilization remnants. And from the 19th century on, excavations start both in Anatolia and Mesopotamia. The historical artifacts ,which were revealed as a consequence of the excavations initiated by many researchers and institutes, were taken abroad for various reasons and exhibited at foreign museums. This was an indicator of the inattentive attitude in the country towards the old artifacts. With ?Osman Hamdi Bey?, a scientific method in archaelogy was started to be followed. First systematical excavations were launched at the early times of Republic. The beginning of building museums in big cities, with Ankara coming ahead, was a result of a protective approach for the old artifacts. The historical, archaeological and anthropological researchs, beginning with the influence of West, were seen as ?a scientific objective? with the aim of establishing ?consciousness of Nation and Culture?. In this study, the improvement of Turkish Museology in the early times of Republic, the research associations and archaelogy institutes that were set up, the process of constituting modern archaelogy with the help of activities by the institutions such as ?Turkish Historical Society?, ?Faculty of Language, History and Geography? , ?İstanbul University? and lastly local and foreign researchers? support to experience this process are examined.