THE EMERGENCE OF THE STATE IN THE LATE CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD: THE CASE OF ARSLANTEPE

With the transition to a settled life, people began to build simply planned houses in order to sustain their daily lives. Excavations carried out at Arslantepe have revealed that such early examples of settlement architecture existed in the Late Chalcolithic Level VIII. The discovery of elite residences and temples in the following phase, Level VII, indicates that the architectural structures diversified in terms of both function and scale.When the findings related to Level VIA are analyzed, the discovered palace complex reveals that administrative, religious, and economic developments were organized around a central authority. The connection of functional rooms—such as the audience hall, temples, archive, storerooms, and armory—through corridors confirms the emergence of a bureaucratic organization. The existing architectural arrangements also indicate that transformations occurred within the social structure. The fact that people began to live together on the same land enabled the quantitative expansion of the family concept, which represents the smallest unit of society. Individuals gathered around shared values started to divide into classes along with the differences brought about by their lifestyles, and the egalitarian structure gradually disappeared. In Arslantepe, along with social organization, a hierarchical structure emerged based on power, authority, and status. Social stratification directly influenced the modes of production and consumption, leading to the emergence of various spheres of activity. In addition to developments in agriculture, animal husbandry, and metallurgy, the discoveries of pottery and sealing practices at Arslantepe provide evidence that economic conditions were being regulated. All these findings constitute the fundamental building blocks of the early state formation process. Keywords: Late Chalcolithic, Arslantepe, Palace, Temple, Early State, Seal, Pottery