Decorated pottery from the Late Neolithic, Early and Middle Chalcolithic periods in central Anatolia

Within the scope of archaeological research in the Central Anatolian Geography, the region is evaluated in three sub-regions: Konya Plain, Cappadocia Region, and North Central Anatolia. The oldest settlements of the region are known in the Konya Plain as Doğu Çatalhöyük, Batı Çatalhöyük, Canhasan 1, in the Cappadocia Region as Köşkhöyük, Tepecik Çiftlik, Gelveri, Güvercinkayası, and in North Central Anatolia as Büyükkaya, Büyük Güllücek, Alişar, and Alacahöyük. Despite being well-known settlements with stratigraphic data and excavations, the transition between Late Neolithic, Early, and Middle Chalcolithic is not very clear in the region. In this chronological scheme, which we can trace its development through pottery, that is, through material culture, each excavation and research conducted in the region presents data that supports each other. The excavations in North Central Anatolia, carried out in the 1940s as earthworks, were relatively dated by U. Schoop (2005) due to the lack of radiocarbon dating. We can also relatively date the pottery fragments obtained from surface surveys with the settlements that have been strengthened stratigraphically with radiocarbon dating from excavations. Within the scope of the thesis, the current surface survey findings belonging to these regions are examined. The current surface survey findings presented here are the research conducted in the provinces of Niğde, Nevşehir, Aksaray, Yozgat, and Çorum.